You’ve watched all of the YouTube videos down to the second, bought every single #sponsored product under the sun, and scoured through Pinterest to find every all-natural D.I.Y. face mask recipe, yet your beauty game is still far from perfect. With all of the oversaturated (and usually wrong) information out there, some beauty “hacks” can actually cause some damage in the long run.
But, as Beauty Editor and (un)official guinea pig to the COOLS fam, I’ve tried and tested just about every product and chatted with nearly every beauty expert under the sun and found some life-changing—and constantly overlooked—tips for amping up your beauty routine. Below, check out the crème de la crème of tips to make your beauty game next-level fierce.
Break up with your cleansing brush.
Your sonic-powered cleansing brush may be fancy (and pricey), but seriously, it’s time to sever ties with it. Board-certified dermatologist Dr. Loretta Ciraldo tells COOLS that these bristle brushes are coated in bacteria, which can lead to more breakouts and really do some damage to your skin. But, don’t fret: Check out Dr. Ciraldo’s other options to keep your skin flake-free and clean.
Keep your alcohol intake to a minimum.
For the sake of your complexion, celebrity esthetician and owner of Skin Lab Joshua Ross advises staying away from alcohol. “Alcohol breaks out skin because of the high sugar content, and sugar of course leads to breakouts,” he says. “And of course, alcohol causes dehydration, which affects the skin too.” As someone who enjoys a glass of Pinot Grigio every now and then (okay, maybe every night), I’m not going to tell you to quit cold-turkey. But, poppin’ bottles every night isn’t the best for your skin. So, as the old saying goes, drink responsibly.
Don’t forget to set your lips!
We’ve all heard of “baking” our concealer, but what about our lips? Well, celebrity makeup guru Manny Gutierrez’s foolproof tip for a smear-free lip is setting it with translucent powder to keep it in place. Psst: In need of more lip-saving hacks from Manny? Check out his go-to guide for the perfect red lip, here.
Stop dousing your face in product.
Some of us have gotten a little too addicted to 12+ steps in our skincare routines, but New York-based esthetician Softie Pavitt says that’s not a good idea. “A lot of acne lines are tailored to contain all of these actives in a cleanser, toner, moisturizer, and so on, and people will load up on them,” Pavitt says. “Their skin becomes irritated because they’re using all of these actives at once, and their skin becomes flaky and dehydrated. It’s like a vicious circle: a breakout starts because of the oil that’s being stripped down to nothing, and the barrier is gone on the skin. It’s cyclical because of the product overload we tend to put our skin through.” If you’re in need of a complexion resurrection, check out more of Pavitt’s essential tips.
Don’t wash your hair with beer.
No matter what Bella Thorne says, washing your hair with a bottle of Corona is just a terrible idea. Believe me, I did it myself for a full month, and the results weren’t cute.
Blend, blend, blend!
The one tip celebrity makeup artist Romero Jennings has for everyone: blend the f*ck out of your makeup. “Blend. Seriously, blend,” Jennings says. “Once you’re finished with your eyeshadow or contouring, use a white tissue to take excess makeup off the brush you were using, then go back in and blend. Many times people blend with makeup still on the brush, and that can mess everything up.”
Shave your face.
Got some peach fuzz? Celebrity esthetician Renée Rouleau has a simple fix for that: shaving your face. “My bathroom gets really great natural light in the morning, so I end up inspecting my unnecessary facial fuzz and cleaning things up with a razor,” she says. “Face shaving is a popular treatment among women—not only does it remove peach fuzz, which allows for seamless foundation application, but it also helps prevent clogged pores and breakouts and removes surface dry cells.” Find out more of Rouleau’s go-to beauty tips, here.
Green juice is life.
All hail the holy elixir that is green juice. According to celebrity esthetician Joanna Vargas, sipping on green juice is the way to go if you want clearer, healthier skin. “I’m always recommending that clients keep their skin clear and detoxed by the foods they eat, and also in what they drink—a green juice a day keeps the skin clean and glowing,” she tells COOLS. “ It will be a great replacement to your afternoon coffee, and will literally transform your skin in a matter of days. Green juice helps oxygenate the skin and stimulates lymphatic drainage so it’s de-puffing too.”
Scotch tape is your best friend.
Erika La-Pearl (a.k.a. Cardi B’s go-to makeup artist) fully abides by Scotch tape for creating sick looks—and you should too. Don’t know how to create a sharp-as-daggers winged liner? Grab some Scotch tape. Are your hands not giving you an Insta-worthy faux face lift? Grab some more Scotch tape. Want to perfect your nail art, but don’t have the precision to free-hand it? You guessed it: grab some Scotch tape.
Mind your damn business.
The secret to foolproof glam, according to model Dylan Stephens, is pretty simple: “moisturizer, eight hours of sleep, and minding your business.”
