From Facebook to YouTube to fashion magazines we've seen countless beauty hacks surface to the public eye. I mean, who doesn't love a good hack? If it saves you time and money while simultaneously making you feel like a DIY goddess, why not?! It must be a good thing!
However, sadly this isn't the case for absolutely all beauty hacks out there. Some are dangerous to your skin, make you spend more money and ultimately prove to be more of a hassle than a hack. Thus, here are the top 5 popular beauty hacks and tricks that
1. The Sock Beauty Blender
Beauty Guru,
However, upon closer observation, it can be said that Mayra uses nearly double the amount of foundation that she'd normally use. Throughout the application process, she begins pumping foundation onto the sock for it to spread. Despite her review, the fabric of socks in general simply absorb makeup instead of spreading it — thus this supposedly "cheap" hack is costing you much more money in the long run. It should also be said that the process of cleaning this makeup sock would be more difficult. If not cleaned properly this could result in mildewing and other not so glamorous things. In summary, hun — you're better off buying some cheap Amazon dupes if you want to save yourself from buying the classic $30.00 beauty blender. It's a much better deal and probably, even more, cost effective than ruining a perfectly good sock.
2. Swatching Foundation Colors on your Wrist to Match Yourself
This one isn't so much as a hack as it was an accepted truth amongst all of us. Heck! I remember going to the JCPenney's as a young girl and having the professional Sephora ladies match me this way.
But when you think about it, it makes no sense at all.
Your wrist's color and the color of your face are very different colors. Actually, because your arm is face down to your side most of the time, it is the one that gets the least sun action and thus, it is a different color depending on who you are. I remember girls often comparing their summer tans to their wrist colors all the time back in my youth. But the takeaway is, if you're trying to color match, you should match it to the shade of the part of your body that you will be using it on. (Hint: Your face!)
3. Perfect Winged Eyeliner Using the Tape Method
Taping off your skin to do winged eyeliner right does work in some regard. It's popular among the beauty community and does give some good results — HOWEVER
Even if you go the extra mile and try this bare-faced, tapes contain adhesive chemical stuff which isn't necessarily the best for your skin. Also the whole ripping it off your eyelid thing isn't so good on a daily basis either. Take a look at this gal chillin with tape over her eyebrow — ouch.
Furthermore, this "hack" isn't necessarily making you better at applying your eyeliner, but giving you more of a hassle than anything.
4. Did you learn to apply makeup in this order? Concealer, foundation, then powder?
Chances are when being taught how to layer makeup, you were taught to layer in this order — Concealer, to hide blemishes, foundation and then powder to set. While this might be good in theory to get rid of the dark circles, you're ultimately using more product than you need. If your foundation is doing its job correctly, it should already be able to cover up these blemishes pretty well. Use concealer for the parts that your foundation does not totally cover — hence this is why it is called "cover up." In turn, you'll be using less makeup and have a better cohesive look altogether!
BONUS Your concealer color DOES NOT have to be shades lighter than your own.
...
This is usually introduced under the guise of a trick to getting rid of dark circles and the discoloration, however, very fair concealer tends to pop out and highlight the exact things you're trying to cover up. In turn, using a shade that matches your foundation is just fine!
5. Cocoa Powder + Lotion = Self Tanner?
Cocoa Lotion was going around Pinterest for quite some time and gaining quite a large following. It is seemingly a very good deal in regard to getting a $50.00 spray tan or possibly shoveling out more for a tanning membership. The Self Tanner is made by mixing Cocoa Powder and Lotion the results on Pinterest looked something like this —
It is instructed to build up the color with multiple layers in order to achieve the beautiful bronzy look in the photo on the right. ...However, results were not so glamorous.
DIYers around the world were met with a streaky demise. Not only was it hard for DIYers to apply, it also came off very easily. It seems now that it's much better to spend your money on a smooth cohesive tan than to risk "melting" in public.
In conclusion, might this be a fair warning to all my beauty lovers out
