Q-Tips: The Ultimate Beauty Tool
Yesterday I spent the day working as a rep for Q-Tips. As makeup artists for the brand, we were only allowed to use Q-Tips to apply a full face of makeup. It was challenging and I don’t recommend it, but it got me thinking about the best ways to utilize Q-Tips in your own beauty routines. Check out my top 10 ways to use Q-tips:
Erase Mistakes
I use Q-tips mainly for quick and easy clean up when I make mistakes. They are also great for when your mascara or eyeliner start to run. Just dab the Q-tip in a little bit of moisturizer or eye makeup remover and lightly run it over the smudged product.
Smudge Your Eyeliner For Perfect Smokey Eyes
The cotton head of the Q-tip is perfect for smudging your eye makeup to give you that sultry, smokey eye. Apply a black or grey eyeliner to your bottom eye-lid and use the Q-tip to smudge the line, making it less harsh and smoked out. Dip it in a tiny bit of vaseline for an edgy, lived in look.
Soften Harsh Lines and Colors
Use a Q-tip to softly blend in a circular motion over dark, unblended areas. The cotton picks up excess pigment and softens the harshness.
Prevent Bleeding Lipstick
Don’t you hate it when you apply a beautiful red lip, only to find that half-way through the day, the color has traveled past your lip line, and onto the rest of your face? Try dipping a Q-tip in a little bit of loose powder, and run it along the edge of your freshly applied lipstick. The powder acts as a barrier, keeping lipstick on your lips.
Highlight The Inner Corner of Your Eyes
I love highlighting the inner corner of the eyes, it brightens the whole area and makes you seem awake. In order to pull off this little trick, a Q-tip is the perfect size to get in this small area. Dip the Q-tip into a shimmery eyeshadow or pigment and dot the color right at the corner of your inner eye.
Clean Up Excess Nail Polish
Whenever I paint my nails I make a huge mess, I literally paint my whole finder and clean up the rest. If you are as messy as I am, or even if you only make tiny mistakes, they are easily fixed with Q-Tips. Dip the Q-tip in nail polish remover and rub away the errors. The small, precise tip makes it perfect for small details such as this.
On the Go Touch Ups
Keeping several Q-tips in your purse or backpack is a great for touchups. I use them to clean up smudged mascara and bleeding lipstick. Also when wearing a smokey eye, do you ever get the black goop that travels the the inner corners of your eye? Swipe a Q-tip in the tear duct to clean it up in a hurry.
Dab on Some Concealer
The best way to cover up a zit is to dab it concealer and gently pat around the pimple to blend the cover-up into your skin. The only problem is, your fingers are not always clean and the bacteria you could be spreading to your face will only give you more zits. Use a Q-tip to dab the concealer on your blemish and blend with the soft edges of the cotton tip. Clean, sanitary and effective.
Perfect Your Liner
Pointed Q-tip are my favorite disposable. These genius products can be an amazing tool to help you perfect a winged eye liner. First, draw on your liner and bring it out past your eyes into the cat-eye shape. Don’t worry if it’s not perfectly sharp or precise. Next, take your pointed Q-tip and dip it in a little bit of moisturizer. Use the sharp edge to perfect the shape, taking little bits off at a time until your cat eye is perfection.
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Apply Makeup in a Pinch!
Whether your brushes are dirty, or your heading straight to a fancy dinner from the office, Q-tips can be a great tool when you have to apply makeup in a pinch!
