I Tried White Base Makeup Hack: See Photos
I Tried TikTok’s White Foundation Hack For an Instant "Filter"
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♬ original sound - Mireya Rios
There's nothing I love more than a good makeup hack. DIY disco eyes? Sign me up. Setting spray hacks to make my makeup transfer-proof? Immediately yes. I will try any and everything that my TikTok algorithm tells me to.
Still, I am a beauty editor at my core, so I often approach social media trends with a healthy dose of scepticism — and this latest technique is one of them. As explained by TikToker Mireya Rios, this hack involves using a stark white foundation or concealer, before applying your foundation and the rest of your products. In turn, your makeup is supposed to look like a filter. Given that I am a Black woman, I have never in my life used white foundation for anything, much less put it on my face in an effort to help perfect my makeup. Still, my curiosity won and I set out to give it a try and got some surprising results.
How to Do the White Base Foundation Hack
The steps for this makeup hack are fairly simple: use a white base, top it with your darkest foundation, and finish your routine as normal. I chose the Danessa Myricks Colorfix Matte (£18) in the colour lift, a pure white, and the YSL All Hours Foundation (£30) in the shade DW2.
To start, I applied the Colorfix as my base, making sure to blend in sections, as it dries very quickly. After sufficiently making myself look like a ghost, I went over it with the actual foundation. At this point, I was still pretty sceptical because my face was looking grey, at best, but Rios did advise that you do the rest of your makeup routine to see the full effect, so I carried on.
Does the White Base Makeup Hack Work?
I went on to add my favourite concealer, bronzer, and blush, and it was only then that I started to see some semblance of the makeup look I'm used to. In fact, I actually really liked the way my face turned out. Now, would I go as far as to call it a filter? No. There were a few areas on my cheeks that I felt looked a little more grey than I would have liked, but overall, my face didn't look as ghostly as I was expecting it to.
As for whether the hack works, I'd say yes and no. I didn't notice as much of a blurring effect as I would have liked and as someone with acne-prone, textured skin, that's definitely what I look for in an actual filter. Still, the hack is fantastic if you have a darker foundation that you've been trying to use up or are in between shades as you start to navigate summer travels and tanned skin. So, while it's not something I'd employ on a regular basis, this is a useful (and very timely) hack that I will be keeping in my back pocket for emergency use.
