You can’t browse the blogosphere without stumbling upon the weirdest of beauty hacks and tips. The real trick, however, is to spot the ones that actually work, and the only way to know for sure is to test for yourself. This is what happened to me when I tried five different beauty hacks bloggers swear by.
I rinsed my hair with beer. Apparently, the proteins and vitamins in beer can repair damaged hair and make it softer and smoother. Alcohol, if not used too often, works as a clearing agent which results in beautiful, shiny locks. Or so the fans of this beer treatment say.
So, with high hopes I jumped into shower with a can of Belgian pale lager. I washed my hair with mild shampoo and then soaked it in beer for a few minutes, then rinsed with lukewarm water. Did it work? Well, kind of. I didn’t magically get rid of my split ends, but once my hair dried it felt soft and voluminous. The malty scent lingered on, but it was actually quite pleasant, not like a sticky pub floor. I guess I could recommend the beer rinse if your current conditioner leaves your hair too sleek and hard to style. But I’d still much rather drink the beer.
According to the World Wide Web, baking soda is a miracle product that can be used for basically everything from stain removal to personal hygiene. I used it to sooth razor burns. Since I am a truly dedicated guinea pig, I sacrificed my skin for this experiment and used a blunt razor to ensure those horrible itchy red bumps. Never again! Thankfully, dabbing the rash with a mixture of teaspoon of baking soda and a cup of water did reduce redness and help with the itch a bit. However, in my experience zink paste works better than baking soda, but for a quick and easy DIY remedy it is worth checking out.
One viral beauty craze you can’t have missed is the red lipstick concealer trick. The idea is to conceal dark circles under your eyes using red and orange tones to balance out the blue tones. Playing with opposite colours does make sense, but as we usually are told to avoid any red near the eyes, this makeup trick is definitely one of those you don’t believe in until you try it.
My skin is naturally pale and veins visible especially around the eyes, so I really hoped this hack would save me from looking like a human jellyfish for the rest of my life. After moisturizing, I dabbed deep red matte lipstick under my eyes in a triangle shape and on my eyelids, let it set and applied concealer on top of that. And again, it kind of worked. The dark circles under my eyes were still there, but surprisingly, lipstick and concealer on my eyelids created a perfect base for eye shadow. Perhaps another shade under the eyes would do the trick?
I’m so happy to say that the next hack really works wonders. It’s easy and simple: I used baby powder for longer, fuller lashes. First, I applied a coat of mascara. Then, with a Q-tip, I dabbed baby powder over my lashes, and then added another coat of mascara. I could see the difference right away! Great for everyday makeup, great for festive faux lashes -look. Love it!
The last beauty hack I tried did work too, but I’m not sure if it is worth the effort. I lined my nails with glue before painting them. Sometimes painting your nails can be messy, but if you cover the skin around your nails with craft glue and let it dry, you can easily peel off any polish that might have missed the nail. This trick is okay if you want a flawless finish and have all the time in the world, but personally I would recommend just practising painting your nails so that you don’t paint the whole tip of your finger. Come on, it is not rocket science! Small mistakes can easily be wiped off with a Q-tip dipped in nail polish remover. Why would you go through so much trouble? Beauty hacks are supposed to make your life easier anyway.
In sum, except for the baby powder trick, these beauty hacks are no game changers. But as I said, the only way toknow for sure is to test it yourself. It might work for you!