TikTok has inspired me to do many things I wouldn’t normally do, including broiling a whole block of feta, attempting to give myself an at-home sugar wax (yikes), and making my grandma—a retired professional dancer—learn Caroline Polachek choreography. Recently, my algorithm has been flooded with beauty hacks, from the genuinely helpful to the utterly bizarre.
This week, I tried out one of the more popular TikTok hacks: using self-tanner to contour your face. The concept is simple enough, but it’s the execution I was concerned with. I have the type of pasty dry skin that self-tanner doesn’t generally work on. No matter how much I exfoliate and moisturize, my skin always turns out orange and patchy. Putting self-tanner on my face seemed like it would be a disaster, but I’m armed with another bit of knowledge gleaned from TikTok: a strong chemical exfoliant can erase artificial tan. So the most I’m risking is a couple nights recouping my skin’s moisture barrier. Find out exactly what happened when I used self-tanner as face contour, below.
@gwmakeup Your 4th @ has to buy you self tanner!! 🤎 #faketan #faketanroutine #contour #contourtutorial
Before
Photo: Courtesy of Maraya Fisher
For this experiment, I used the St. Tropez Gradual Tan Classic Everyday Body Lotion, though I would recommend a stronger self-tanner if you are paler than me. I applied a healthy dollop to the areas I normally contour (around the top of my forehead, my temple, the lower half of my cheekbones, and the sides of my jawline) with the e.l.f. Contour Brush at 9 a.m.
The Results
Self-tanner with no makeup.
Photo: Courtesy of Maraya Fisher
Self-tanner with daily makeup.
Photo: Courtesy of Maraya Fisher
By about 3:30 p.m. I had a subtle glow where I had applied the self-tanner. It was slightly warmer than I prefer my contour, but when I applied tinted moisturizer and blush it looked natural. The self-tanner only lasted a few days, but the results were really nice—perfect for a low-key, summer makeup routine sans bronzer. TikTok has led me astray many times, but this is actually a hack I'd repeat!
