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It is actually hard to imagine a world without beauty hacks — thank you, TikTok. Really, where would we be? For the majority of us that aren’t professional makeup artists or beauty experts (or even if we are) a beauty hack is more than just a hack. So — where we can, we back a hack.
To put things into perspective, at the time of writing, #beautyhacks has over 22 billion views on TikTok. So, no doubt this year, the immeasurably layered TikTok ecosystem has been racking up the beauty hacks so much so that there are even TikTokers doing full-face trends videos.
Want to update your beauty routine with a few quick fixes? Teen Vogue outlines the most notable TikTok ones from 2022.
Contour Hack
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Understandably, 2022 has a contour craze — but this hack is on point (literally). Megan Lavallie, a makeup theorist and TikTok user first shared the nickel-sized contour approach through a video explaining, “there is this one spot on your cheek that if you poked a hole through, it would touch your cheek." After applying the dot of the darker shade of the Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Contour Wand to that spot, she blends it out using a fluffy brush. Easy – one spot, one dot. If contouring is the overall sentence structure in makeup, this feels like the “dotting your i’s and crossing your t’s.”
Custom Fit Sheet Mask
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Having a fit because your Korean sheet mask doesn’t fit? No sweat! This custom fit sheet mask hack is a game changer. In three easy snips, you can achieve a tailored fit. “Used to wear your face mask like this?” says TikTok user @stylekorean_official in her video. She proceeds “all you need are scissors” and cuts the part between her eyes, under her nose and under her chin then adjusts the mask by folding over each cut part to fit her face. TikTok user @glowwithava also previously posted a similar video outlining where to cut sheet masks for a custom fit. In a newer video, she shows how to make the most of an expensive sheet mask which entails using the product in the packaging and putting on other areas of the body. Following this, she highlights that you don’t want “floating edges because that is 1cm areas where the product isn't touching your face.” She proceeds to snip the mask in between the eyes, below the nose, vertically on the chin and even near the cheekbone area. As a serial sheet mask user, I tried this and can’t go back to ever just placing the sheet mask on my face as is it feels like a waste of the product! Why waste the product when you can now tailor it to your face in three easy steps?
Crying Makeup Blurred Lips
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The year definitely had us in our feels at times, so this crying makeup hack is speaking to us — specifically its blurred lips look. And you know it is a trend when even makeup brands, such as Huda Beauty are getting involved. In her tutorial video (with over 4 million views), Zoe Kim Kenealy starts with, “we want that puffy, soft lip” and goes in with a warm lip color that she blends in with a brush for the blurred effect before adding a neutral liner. She tops the lips by saying “but most of all, the gloss” as she adds a shiny red gloss. User Valeria Veng does her own iteration of the crying makeup blurred lips — and TikToker Elise even predicts the wet cherry lips (which arguably has a similar vibe to the crying makeup blurred lips) will be a makeup trend on everyone’s lips for 2023. And that sums up our lip service for the year!
Fake Tan Contour
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How could we possibly achieve a sun-kissed glow without the sun? Where there is a will, there is a way on TikTok. The fake tan contour beauty hack definitely converted many people as fans of fake tan. For full glow, TikTok user, Sasha Morpeth shows how to achieve the fake tan contour hack in her video by using a brush to blend in fake tan across her forehead, cheekbones, on the inside of her nose, above her lips, and under her jawline.
In her own video, TikTok beauty user Abby Baffoe shows off how she applies fake tan to contour and reveals the hack’s next-day results saying, “it is more subtle than you even imagine it to be… it leaves you with a stunning look…” Now, you can glow with the flow too.
Frozen Makeup Sponge
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Not sure how or why someone decided to attempt this, but thankfully they did because it is brrrilliant: the frozen makeup sponge/beauty blender hack. TikTok user Nikkia Joy shared her frozen makeup sponge hack experience saying “this feels bizarre.” First, squeezing her frozen blender, she declares, “it’s so hard and cold!” Applying the foundation with the frozen sponge, she continues, “I think the idea behind this is because it is frozen, it will shrink your pores.” Overall, she backs the hack saying, “it looks ridiculously smooth.” Another user Natalie tried it out and said, “honestly really love how this feels and looks, would you try it out?” Why not Netflix and chill (your makeup sponge) before applying your makeup this holiday season?
Jaw Contouring
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The jaw contouring hack is jaw dropping and jaw popping! It also joins the contour craze among the one dot approach, fake tan, and TikTok filters. To achieve optimum jaw contour, well-known TikToker @Nikkiestutorials demonstrates. Using a darker shade contour stick, she creates a stroke under the jaw and right above the jaw before blending. After highlighting the middle section with powder, she gasps with an “Oh” of approval at the hack’s contour magic.
Korean Makeup Spatula
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Don’t want cakey foundation? Believe it or not, the Korean makeup spatula hack helps you achieve that natural, cake-free look, and using it is a piece of cake! While makeup artists and beauty gurus have long used spatulas as tools in their craft, in particular, Korean makeup spatulas are having their moment this year. Tik Tok creator Jenny Pysh illustrates how to use the Korean makeup spatula saying it is similar to “spreading jam.” Another user, Kristen Titus (aka. @pepperonimuffin) serves a humorous video attempting the Korean makeup spatula hack. After realizing she was “doing it wrong,” she glided the spatula across her face with foundation confirming, “my skin really does look really, really smooth though!” FYI — one of the most popular makeup spatulas this year is the Piccasso which is a stainless steel spatula developed in collaboration with the celebrity makeup artist Ham Kyungsik.
Tinfoil Hair Styling
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First frozen sponges, then spatulas, and now tinfoil? Feels like all the hot hacks require a trip to the kitchen this year. But really, the tinfoil hair styling hack fights static, tames frizz, and is a hack backed by science. Since foil is a metal conductor when it touches static-y hair, the electric charges it transfers tame your mane. Tiktok creator, Lauren Preble tried the tin foil when someone commented on her previous post addressing her static hair issues with “use tinfoil sis! Trust me.” In trusting the tin, she confirmed “are you absolutely kidding me, this looks phenomenal” after running it through her hair. Try it, get that ten out of tin look.
Passport Photos Makeup
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Longing for the days of having to get those travel credentials — the ones in which you weren’t allowed to smile? I mean people must have really missed traveling over those eighteen months when the world was shut down because passport photo makeup went viral this year! TikTok content creator, Georgia Barratt is the originator of the hack which she says is all about symmetry. The makeup hack delivers brushed-up-brows for lift, tons of contouring in the temple and cheek areas, and majorly overlined lips with nude gloss. Georgia ends her video with a kiss and says, “now I’m going to get my passport photo.” By the way, at the time of writing, #passportmakeup has over 141 million views on the app. Regardless of whether you are physically traveling or not, you can get that ultra-sculpted look!
Jelly Nails
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The jelly nails hack nailed the nail art for the year because it is Y2K and so easy to do! In her tutorial, @matcha.lilly demonstrated just how easy it is to DIY by adding colored nail polish to clear nail polish to get the jelly finish. User @denizsarlar28 gave a further tip in the form of red french tip jelly nails — also proof that the variations of jelly nails are endless. If jelly nails aren’t your jam — no problem — but at the time of writing, the hashtag #jellynails has over 295 million views on the app and it just keeps escalating. P.S. Some sister trends are blush nails which give a rosy gradient effect and Hailey Bieber’s glazed donut and candy cane glazed nails.
Rosewater
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Roses are red, violets are blue — this rosewater hack will forever change you. The origins of rosewater date back thousands of years and it forms an integral part of many cultural traditions globally. In terms of a beauty hack, earlier this year, board-certified dermatologist Stacy Chimento told Teen Vogue that it makes sense that rosewater is in so many beauty products because it’s great for the skin and has “key ingredients [like] vitamin C, polyphenols, and carotenoids, and great antimicrobial properties.” She recommends rosewater for its anti-inflammatory, anti-aging, and calming properties. TikTok user Jon (aka. The Skincare Bro as he refers to himself) posted a video with the caption “rosewater is the cheat code to clear healthy skin.” Not only does he use rosewater, but he uses rose and lavender water to get that “bam factor!”
TikTok Filters
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Undoubtedly, Gen Z are experts when it comes to filters — but now with these augmented reality TikTok filters, applying makeup has never been so easy. These filters are a life-changing hack since they project a diagram on a user’s faces to pinpoint exactly where makeup should be applied. Even celebrities such as Shay Mitchell are using the filter. Teen Vogue spoke to the hack’s creator and longtime tech innovator, Grace Choi earlier this year and she shared that it is “rewarding to have created a tool” which encompasses filters such as “Eyebrows'' and “Cheek Contour” that help people do their makeup. Think of it as a tailored, cheat sheet for makeup!
Under-Eye Blush
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Who said that blush can’t be used outside of the cheek area? While conventionally makeup taught us the scope of where blush should be applied, TikTok is here to make you forget all the rules and adopt the under-eye blush hack. LA-based makeup artist and Tiktok user Spencer, (aka. @paintedbyspencer) initially showcased the under-eye blush hack. "If you're not blending your blush up to your under-eye area, you're missing out," Spencer declares in the video. Frequent beauty creator Steph (aka. @stxph.x) tried the hack thinking it would worsen her under-eye dark circles, but confirmed the opposite, captioning “I AM SHOCKED.” She added her own spin to the hack by adding a little Tarte concealer to her Rare Beauty blush.
Under-Eye Primer
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Many of us have gotten used to the crease that lies beneath (the eyes). But this under-eye primer hack releases that crease and leaves a masterpiece. Sarah Galyean, beauty blogger and TikToker shared her under-eye hack saying, “There's not a lot that I have figured out in this life, but the one thing that I have a grip on is how to conceal my under-eyes.” She starts by gliding a primer stick/balm under her eyes and follows it up with tapping a pink color corrector on top using her fingers. “Tap it out,” she says, “you should look crazy.” She finished with a lavender powder from Jacyln Cosmetics. Oh my, oh my —
White Concealer
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I spy another hack that joins the rest of the year’s under-eye pack. In all honesty, white concealer under the eye doesn’t sound too far-fetched. TikToker @blumarinebae first showed the hack in action when she applied white concealer in a triangle shape starting under her inner eye corner in her video. Since then, she’s posted a video “my embarrassing makeup phases… white concealer addiction.” But hey, when it works, it works — and at the time of writing, #whiteconcealer has over 7.5 million views. TikTok user @Nikkistutorials tried out the under-eye white concealer hack with initial doubt saying, “but I’ve been proven wrong before.” Taking a softer, more blended approach — she ends with, “ok it works on me, it’s very bright, it’s very intense… wouldn’t want to do this everyday and it’s not going to work for everybody, but it worked for me today.
Honorable mention: The wildest TikTok beauty hack — Lube as primer.
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It feels like we have carved out new layers of the beauty hack TikTok ecosystem with this one because it certainly elicited a viral response - but while it is intimate, there is nothing romantic about it. Lube as makeup primer. Even the sentence instills a wait, what? reaction. Gaining popularity towards the end of last year, the hack continued into this year. In undertaking "method writing" in order to divulge firsthand insights, I arrived at the sticky summary that falls exponentially short of any beauty hack breakthrough. In summary, don't do it. Perhaps not as far-fetched, comes the other hack from earlier this year of using calamine lotion as makeup primer. The best advice though for both primer “hacks” comes earlier this year from board-certified dermatologist Stacy Chimento who told Teen Vogue that it’s better to “stick with products that are developed as a sole purpose to act as mattifying primers and contain ingredients such as dimethicone and cyclomethicone.” She even gave her primer recommendations which include Laura Mercier’s Pure Canvas Primer, Benefit’s The POREfessional FACE Primer, and The Ordinary’s High-Adherence Silicone Primer.
Ok, so now that you can add at least one or even two of these 2022 TikTok beauty hacks to your beauty regime, what trends are predicted for 2023? Will it be all about embracing hyperfemininity through coquette makeup or about clutching to nostalgia through heavy smudged liners and grunge glam? If TikTok taught us anything this year it is where there is a trend, there is a hack - so stay tuned because the best is yet to come…
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