As a self-care aficionado, I’m always looking for the next “big thing” in the wide, wonderful world of beauty blogging. It seems like there’s always a new and crazy “hack” to try out that will apparently make all the difference in your beauty routine. Usually these hacks are pretty simple, but lately, I’ve seen some extremely interesting ideas on the blogosphere. Because I’m always looking for ways to avoid studying for exams, I decided to give a few crazy beauty hacks a try this week and document the results for science.
- #SoapBrows
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I’ve never had much trouble getting my brows to look well-defined due to my being severely Italian, but the soap brows hack was just too funny for me to pass up trying. Basically, the idea is that you wet a spoolie brush and rub it on a bar of soap, and then use that soap to fill in your eyebrows. Apparently this hack proved popular enough to inspire its own hashtag: #soapbrows! I actually think this hack might have worked a bit, but I don’t think it works better than any eyebrow gel you can buy at the drugstore. I give it 2/5 metaphorical stars.
- Pepto Bismol Mask
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I actually laughed out loud when I first read about this beauty hack. Apparently, there’s something in Pepto Bismol that shrinks pores and tightens skin – or so I’ve read. I couldn’t possibly pass up the opportunity of a bright pink face mask, so I ran to the nearest Publix and picked up some of the generic stuff because I’m a college student operating on a budget. I used a makeup brush, spread it all over my face, and settled in for the twenty-minute wait.
Twenty minutes later and my experiment was done — and I was pretty thankful, because this stuff smells like the color pink on steroids. Surprisingly, this mask seemed to actually work. I mean, it wasn’t groundbreaking or anything, but my skin definitely felt a little bit tighter. I’d give this hack 4/5 stars.
- Earthing
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This last one isn’t really a beauty hack, per se, but more of a lifestyle one. Recently, Goop, the lifestyle blog inspired by Gwyneth Paltrow, came out in support of a practice called “earthing,” which is literally walking around barefoot. Everywhere. According to the people of Goop, earthing can serve as a cure for insomnia, among many other ailments. I don’t have insomnia, but apparently earthing also reduces stress and can have a calming effect. With exams coming up, I decided to give earthing a shot. I walked around barefoot all day on Friday, even around the block to get the mail.
The verdict? Earthing didn’t make me less stressed about exams. If anything, I was a little extra stressed about walking on the sidewalk barefoot because I didn’t want to step on any bugs. Maybe earthing isn’t for everyone, because it’s definitely not for me. Sorry, Gwyneth, I have to give this one 0/5 stars.
If you were thinking about trying any of these beauty hacks, I hope I saved you some time with my reviews! I actually do think the Pepto Bismol mask could be onto something, but as for #soapbrows and earthing, I’d save your time.