The 12 Best TikTok Beauty Hacks That Actually Work

TikTok can be a great source of inspiration for new beauty trends and hacks to try. However, as with anything else on the internet, it's important to take everything you see with a grain of salt and do your own research to figure out what works best for you. But, every now and again, you'll come across a hack that's actually genius and makes your life a whole lot easier!

We've carefully tried, tested, and curated a list of some of the most popular TikTok beauty hacks that can take your skincare, makeup, and hair game to a whole new level. So from making your foundation and lipstick last all day long to achieving frizz-free hair with only one product, here's our selection of the 12 best TikTok beauty hacks that actually work.

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1. Plump, Soft, and Glowy Skin with the "Moisture Sandwich Method"

The term "moisture sandwich" refers to layering hydrating and moisturizing skincare products in a strategic way that will help your skin get the most hydration, plumpness, and glowiness out of each product.

TikTok users advocate starting with your lightest textured products - a fine, hydrating face mist, then trapping that under a heavier product such as hyaluronic acid serum, and finally finishing with your moisturizer that will create an occlusive layer on the surface to seal all that hydration into the skin. This will help your skin feel softer, look plumper, and give your makeup something to grip onto for a glowier complexion.

Product To Try: LANEIGE – Cream Skin Mist, $27

2. Extra Moisturizer for the Ultimate Red Carpet Skin

In a TikTok video that garnered over three million views, user Savannah (@officialsavannahrae) breaks down the three steps to achieving the ultimate red carpet skin.

Savannah mentions her friend, a celebrity makeup artist, spilling the beans on how they get their clients' skin looking so good on the red carpet. The first step is to use a really good hydrating primer and slather a lot of it on your skin. Next comes the combination of two complexion products: a lightweight foundation and a skin tint that will help even out imperfections. The third and final step is to use a damp beauty blender to sheer out the complexion products for a natural-looking finish. And this is how celebrities look so stunning on the red carpet with what looks like minimal makeup!

Product To Try: Yves Saint Laurent – NU BARE Hydrating Skin Tint Foundation, $39

3. Natural Contour with the "Tantouring" Method

Tanning and contouring, or "tantouring," is a technique that gives you defined facial features without having to use heavy makeup products. All you need to achieve this is a good bronzing lotion or self-tanner and a blush brush.

Apply the self-tanner in areas where you usually contour, such as the hollows of the cheeks, temples, and jawline. Give the self-tanner a few hours to work and develop on your skin, and you will have a natural-looking contour that will last for a few days!

Fair warning, this can look very messy as you start, but just as TikTok user Karley (@thenudelip) explains in her video, it will all be worth it in the end.

Product To Try: Lux Unfiltered – No. 12 Bronzing Face Drops, $42

4. Face Lift with Blush

Blush isn't just for the apples of your cheeks anymore, and if the past two years of following beauty trends on social media have taught us anything about makeup, it's that blush can be used in a variety of ways to enhance your makeup game, from giving you a fresh, sun-kissed look to shaping and contouring your face for more defined facial features. This is exactly what TikTok user Alessa (@alessa.miki) breaks down in one of her TikTok videos.

She starts by placing her cream blush on the apples of the cheeks and across the bridge of the nose, which instantly gives her a youthful, sunburnt glow (minus the sun damage). Then she defines her facial features by placing blush high up on the cheekbones and sweeping it back towards her hairline, almost in a half-moon shape, which instantly gives the illusion of lifted cheekbones. Finally, she places her blush in areas where you would place your contour, including the hollows of the cheeks and temples, to give her face more definition and dimension.

So, blush is definitely a more versatile product than we might think it is and can actually change the entire shape of our face, depending on the placement.

Product To Try: MILK MAKEUP – Lip + Cheek Cream Blush Stick, $21

5. Fuller Lips by Contouring Your Mouth

Let's be honest, and admit that overlining our lips only looks good in edited pictures. In real life, it just looks weird. But if you want to create the illusion of bigger, fuller lips, you can do so without looking clownish with a simple hack of contouring your mouth.

Start by grabbing a small, flat makeup brush and your favorite cream bronzer. Then carefully line around your lips until you are satisfied with the depth and dimension of your contour, just as TikTok user Kylie (@kyliekillzzzz) explains in one of her videos.

Blend out with a damp beauty blender to sheer out some of the pigment and make the placement look more natural, and follow up with your regular complexion products. This will give you the illusion of bigger and fuller lips that don't look overdone or fake!

Product To Try: Fenty Beauty – Match Stix Matte Contour Skinstick, $28

6. Set Your Lipstick with Blush

If your favorite lipstick doesn't come in a matte finish, but you desperately need it to last all day without smudging or transferring, the answer is to set it with your blush or bronzer, depending on what shade comes closer.

To do this, simply grab a fluffy or flat brush or even a dry beauty blender that you will use to pick up a little bit of blush and then tap it onto your lips over your lipstick. This will set the color in place and help it last all day, just as TikTok user Suzan (@glamwithsuzan) shows in her video.

Product To Try: tarte – Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush, $29

7. Lasting Matte Look with the "Foundation-in-Water" Method

The "foundation-in-water" method took TikTok users by storm a few months ago and has been one of the most popular beauty hacks to date. The premise is simple and involves filling up a glass of water and then dropping in a pump or two of your favorite foundation. You then swirl the foundation in the glass of water and scoop it out with a makeup brush or your fingers to apply it to your face. The result is a natural, matte finish that doesn't transfer or slide off your face throughout the day, no matter how oily your skin gets.

Product To Try: NARS – Light Reflecting Advanced Skincare Foundation, $49

8. The Best Eyeliner Tip for Hooded Eyes

Hooded eyes, although beautiful, are notoriously challenging to work with when it comes to eyeliner because the hood of the eye creates a shadow that can make any eyeliner placement look messy or unfinished.

The siren eye look is achieved by drawing a winged eyeliner at the outer corner of your eye and flicking it outwards and upwards, almost like a cat eye.

However, to completely transform this look and make it suitable for hooded eyes, you need to draw a small line from the inner corner across the lash line just to where your lashes start. Then, flick downwards and extend the inner corner.

You'll likely need a little bit of practice and cleaning up before you master this look; however, many TikTok users have found this to be the best hack for getting perfect eyeliner on hooded eyes!

Product To Try: stila – Stay All Day® Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner, $23

9. Bump-Free Skin with Body Exfoliation

Little white bumps and rough patches on the arms, known as keratosis pilaris, occur when the hair follicle becomes blocked with dead skin cells. And although super common, it can be pretty bothersome, especially if it starts flaking and itching.

As TikTok user Kim (@tstherealkimshady) explains in one of her videos, to effectively get rid of keratosis pilaris, you can use exfoliating acids such as glycolic acid to gently slough off the accumulated dead skin and dissolve the clog inside the hair follicle that's causing it to become raised. The result is smooth, bump-free skin that's soft to the touch.

Product To Try: First Aid Beauty – KP Bump Eraser Body Scrub, $30

10. "Glass Hair" with an Anti-Frizz Treatment

Glass hair is a trend that's been blowing up on TikTok for the past couple of months that's pretty much what you'd imagine it to be after reading the name. It's that glossy, super-smooth hair that looks like you could see your reflection in it if you run a brush through it. And it only consists of using a single product, which is an excellent anti-frizz treatment that will hydrate and soften your hair and make it super sleek and shiny.

Kim Kardashian's hairstylist Chris Appleton (@chrisappletonhair ), likes to apply the anti-frizz treatment to damp hair and then use a flat iron to smooth it out once it's dry. The heat will help seal in the moisture from the treatment and leave you with a superstar shine that will last all day.

Product To Try: COLOR WOW – Dream Coat Supernatural Spray Anti-Frizz Treatment, $28

11. The "Claw Grip" Hack for Long Hair

If you have long hair that keeps falling out of your claw clip, this easy TikTok hack might be a lifesaver.

All you need to do is gather your hair at the base of your head and wrap it over your index and middle finger. Once that's done, start loosening the hair bit by bit while twisting it up and tucking the ends towards the center. Finally, use your other hand to secure the twist with a claw clip and achieve a hairstyle that looks chic and stays put all day.

Product To Try: Lou – Claw Hair Clip Set, $28

12. Perfume Layering for a Signature Scent

Perfume layering is a great way to create a signature scent that is uniquely you and truly captures your personality. This hack also allows you to set the mood for the occasion and create a unique scent that can be light and fresh, sweet and sultry, or dark and seductive, depending on your preference.

One of the easiest ways to layer perfume is to start with light and fresh scents as your base, such as rose or jasmine, and mix two perfumes that contain similar notes, as Josephine (@jusderose), a certified perfumer, explains in one of her TikTok videos.

She also advises beginners in perfume layering to avoid mixing heavier scents, such as woods, musks, and vanillas, as these can be overwhelming and have the opposite of the desired effect. Another great hack for layering, which will make your perfume last longer, is to use a body lotion with a similar floral, citrusy, or sweet scent to your perfume and apply it all over your body before spraying on your perfume. The lotion will act as a primer for the perfume and help it adhere to your skin and last longer.

Product To Try: Amouage – Material, $360

Closing Thoughts

TikTok has become the go-to platform for beauty lovers all over the world, and it's not hard to see why. Not only is it incredibly entertaining, but it's also packed with useful tips and hacks that can up your beauty game. So if you're looking for some new beauty inspiration, be sure to give some of these hacks a try. You might just be surprised at how well they work.

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