It’s a truth universally acknowledged that we are always working to make our beauty routines simpler, better and faster.
From inventing new technologies to developing specialised tools to do just that, the opportunities for are improvement are endless.
One of our favourite methods when it comes to improving our beauty routines? Hacks, of course! Because who doesn’t love a good hack that saves you time, money, and effort, right?
Still, as with most beauty hacks, there are some that are a lot better than others. With this mind, we set out to try out five of the hottest beauty hacks we’ve spotted recently to see if they’re legit… or losers. (Eek!)
1. Water Bottle Hair Dryer Curling Hack
Reviewer: Emily
Remember when the Dyson Airwrap Styler was released, and everyone just collectively lost their minds? Yup, this nifty little device is a game-changer in the haircare industry as we know it… but, you know, at the exorbitant cost of SGD699 a pop.
So of course the Internet had to compensate by coming up with a better, faster, and convenient hack that costs you about 99.99% lesser than the Dyson Airwrap Styler would. Feast your eyes on the Water Bottle Hair Dryer Curling Hack, which gives you Dyson worthy curls at half the effort and cost. Phew!
As someone who got to try the Dyson Airwrap Styler for herself, I was pretty psyched to see if this method would measure up. To achieve this, all you need is a plastic water bottle and a hair dryer. Easy!
The first step is to cut your water bottle in half like this. You can do it pretty easily with a sharp pair of scissors, though if you’re a little on the clumsier side (me), I recommend you try this with a pen knife instead.
Then, cut a small square in the middle of the bottle, and place the desired hair amount into said bottle. As you can see, I already have one side of my hair curled in anticipation of this hack giving me the blow-out worthy curls I deserve.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY2kGsa2Gk8
The last step? Grab a hair dryer, angle it along the square hole cut along your bottle, and turn it on. As you can see, it gives this cool cyclone effect that mimics the Coanda effect from the Dyson Airwrap Styler. Cool!
The end result is, uh, a little underwhelming than I thought it would be, though. Maybe it’s because my fine, Asian hair can hardly hold a curl as it is (boo) but the slight wave this hack gave me immediately straightened out in all of the five seconds it took for me to reach for my hairspray.
It’s possible that this hack could work better for someone with coarser, thicker hair? Or maybe if I had blasted that dryer for a little longer? Oh well. All in all? Not that great of a hack. Thank you, next!
Verdict: Flop.
2. Applying mascara with your eyes closed
Reviewer: Emily
My first thought upon watching this video was: I am going to gouge my eye out with the mascara wand if I attempt this. Still, the thought of having amazingly long, voluminous lashes was pretty tempting, so I gave in and tried this out for myself.
I applied my mascara how I normally would on one eye (ineptly, but with my eyes wide open, thank you very much) before I attempted this hack on my second eye…
… and ended up with this smudged mess right here. Yikes! There was mascara flecks ALL over, and some of it got in my eye, too, which was not fun.
Left eye: applied mascara how I normally would. Right eye: mascara applied using the closed eyes method.
However, I’ll admit— despite how messy this hack is, it does work. As you can see, my lashes are significantly longer using this closed eye method as opposed to using my usual tried-and-tested way.
Nice! And besides, the messiness is nothing a micellar-water soaked cotton bud can’t fix. I’ll have to give this a 10/10.
Verdict: Fantastic.
3. Applying highlighter with a damp beauty blender
Reviewer: Emily
I’ve been seeing this hack a lot around on Reddit, where you should be applying highlighter with a damp beauty blender to really see it pop. As someone who adores her multitude of highlighters (as well as her trusty fan brush), I was undoubtedly skeptical to try this out.
To allow for comparison, I decided to take a shot of how I would normally do my highlighter with a fan brush. I like it with just a hint of sheen, as you can tell. Then I busted out the damp beauty blender.
The difference doesn’t look THAT stark on photos, but trust me, you can definitely see it in person. Plus, I was pretty cautious when dipping my damp beauty blender in the highlight, so you don’t get to see much product, but trust me when I say that there was a pretty big difference.
My only qualm is that I don’t think it will work quite as well on powder formulas? With my Colourpop highlighter being cream-based, I could see no issue with this hack working, but as for a powder-based one…? Hmm, time to try it for myself on another occasion!
Verdict: Fantastic.
4. Using coconut oil to remove makeup
Reviewer: Emily
I was definitely not looking forward to trying out this hack. Something about the thought of all that oil on my face grosses me out. Plus, I knew the hot and humid weather wouldn’t help things, and would just made me feel I was frying an egg on my face or something.
Nevertheless, I persisted.
A single swipe was enough to wipe off almost all of my brow makeup, which, suffice to say, stunned me into not complaining any further.
I then proceeded to continue with the rest of the side of my face, using only about a small palm full worth of oil. It took off my long-lasting, heavy duty eyeliner off in a swipe of two, which says A LOT.
… annndd there you have it! Sure, my face felt a little oily by the end of it, but the coconut oil did really get my makeup off amazingly well. I’m convinced that it took off some of my water-proof mascara too, which is really saying something.
Verdict: Fantastic.
5. Wearing scrunchies on wrists when cleansing face to prevent water from getting onto shirt.
Reviewer: Emily
Hate that feeling of getting water everywhere on your shirt when cleansing your face? Well, apparently a great hack for it is to slide on some scrunchies on your wrist as you cleanse. The water gets absorbed into the thick material instead, leaving you squeaky clean and dry. Interesting!
Yes, these are the type I mean. Thick, ugly, and a fashion staple for a lot of ’90s kids. Borrow it from your moms if you guys don’t have any. I promise you they’ll have at least one.
With my arm candy strapped on, I then decided to brave it and start cleansing my face. And by the end of it, my shirt was…
… nice and totally dry! It worked because I could feel all the water dripping off my scrunchies instead. Gross, but also detrimental for your clothes.
Cheap, accessible, and time-saving? Check, check, and check!
