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(Beauty Report Card)

TikTok Convinced Me To Buy This Color-Correcting Treatment & I’m So Glad I Did

The product recommendations are *spot* on.

Oct. 30, 2021

I am someone who could be described as rather impressionable. My Instagram newsfeed is littered with posts from accounts like @dakotajohnsonscloset, I tend to think whoever spoke last won the argument, and my favorite book of all time is whichever one I’m reading right now. All of that is to say, I’m kind of TikTok’s target audience here. Every evening when I settle into bed with a cannabis gummy, it’s time to queue the app up and see what sort of beauty techniques I will absolutely be attempting that week, often with the assistance of makeup and skin care products TikTok also convinced me to buy. Since downloading the app in April last year (there truly was nothing else to do except scroll the FYP and dye my hair pink), I’d estimate I’ve tried out around two dozen products recommended by TikTok videos — but less than half of those have earned a permanent place in my routines.

To help my fellow impulse shoppers make sense of what’s actually worth purchasing, these are the absolute best products I’ve bought because of TikTok. Some of them are perennial favorites that made a splash back before “algorithm” was something people outside of the tech world cared about, and some are fresh releases just starting to gain serious traction. But the one thing they all have in common? They seriously work — and I’ve done the road-testing to prove it. Ahead, the eight best TikTok makeup and skin care products I’ve found... so far.

Glued Styling Spiking Hair Gel

Glued Styling Spiking Hair Gel

Ostensibly, this gel is the go-to for middle school boys looking to spike their hair into fauxhawks. But if you’re after that brushed-up eyebrow look that approximates brow lamination and won’t move all day, this is all you need. A pea-sized amount of this gel and a clean spoolie brush separate and fluff eyebrows better than soap and glycerine ever could. And if you keep a spare spoolie on tap, too, you can run the excess through flyaways for sleek hair all over.

Hydro-Stars Pimple Patches

Hydro-Stars Pimple Patches

If town crier was still an occupation, I’d want it just to run through the village square screaming about these utterly life-changing pimple patches. And I have to be honest: when I first saw these little stars dotting the faces of cool TikTok teens like the trendiest constellations ever, I picked them up expecting them to do little more than look cute in some selfies. The fact that it drained a Vesuvius-sized zit on my forehead quite literally overnight changed that right away, though. And just as a side note, I recommend signing up for a regular delivery subscription online — nothing’s worse than needing a patch only to find its Target display ransacked by other Starface disciples.

Dr. Jart+ Cicapair Tiger Grass Color Correcting Treatment SPF 30

Cicapair Tiger Grass Color Correcting Treatment SPF 30

This color-correcting cream was so popular when it went viral on TikTok that every Sephora in my giant city was sold out for weeks — I stopped by “just to check” so many times, I should’ve just filled out an application to work there. When I finally did get my paws on the cream, it was clear why this couldn’t stay on shelves for longer than an hour. Redness from acne, tretinoin irritation, and even winter dryness was neutralized by the green cream, which cut my concealer and foundation usage nearly in half.

Freck OG

To tell you the truth, I’m under no delusions that faux freckles ever *really* look natural — but I don’t think that’s exactly the point, either. All summer 2020, the cottagecore makeup look complete with rosy cream blush and a cheerful smattering of freckles (real and fake) dominated my FYP and I knew it was time to get in on the trend. Freck’s formula is a dream, settling into faint brown spots that are easily adjusted with a foundation brush. While I prefer to use a toothpick or spoolie to dot and splatter the freckles on my face, the brush is great for one thing: temporarily dyeing my flesh-colored beauty mark into a more Monroe-esque shade.

Beauty Highlighter Wand in Spotlight

Charlotte Tilbury

Beauty Highlighter Wand in Spotlight

There are very few Charlotte Tilbury products I haven’t been influenced into purchasing (hello, Pillow Talk lip liner) but the highlight and contour wands are my favorites. First, they’re wildly simple to use thanks to the easy-to-grip tube and rounded sponge applicator. They blend out seamlessly and are buildable for a more dramatic effect. This was the product that got me on board the “nose tip highlight” train found all over TikTok, and now I know that’s really the only way to live.

Cooluli Beauty 12 Liter Mini Skincare Fridge

Cooluli Beauty 12 Liter Mini Skincare Fridge

Once the TikTok skin care products started arriving, the only thing left was a place to put them all. Fortunately, I became obsessed with a genre of videos in which college students share silent montages of their very organized mornings — and many of them featured little bedroom fridges reserved exclusively for skin care products. Convinced this was exactly what I needed to get my entire life in order, a tiny pink refrigerator now sits on my dresser, filled with sheet masks, moisturizers, jade rollers, and candy bars — although those belong to my boyfriend.

Forever Eye Mask

Forever Eye Mask

Transfixed by the relaxing goblet-green color, sustainability aspect, and serious selfie potential, these reusable eye masks and their handy aluminum case became my undereyes’ saving grace this spring. The customization factor was also so appealing — you can apply any serum or eye cream to the patches, which meant I can switch between brightening, moisturizing, and soothing creams as needed.

Major Glow on the Go Lip Shine + Body Oil Duo

Patrick Ta Beauty

Major Glow on the Go Lip Shine + Body Oil Duo

I owe my entire, relatively newfound love for Patrick Ta (the person and the brand) to TikTok’s influence. It seemed like every baddie on my FYP adores something from the collection, and once summer hit, this was everywhere. Conveniently bottled with a spray dispenser for easy, mess-free application, the body oil adds major sheen and sparkle to chests, legs, and arms — perfect for skin-baring weather. For those rare days when full-on glitter feels like too much, I just toggle over to another Patrick Ta TikTok favorite: the Body Balm.