Honestly, what did we all do in terms of beauty hacks before TikTok entered the scene?

From DIY face scrubs using coconut sugar or coffee grounds, to using frozen cucumber slices to depuff our morning faces, I have learned countless tricks watching hours and hours of TikTok videos. The latest beauty trend that is sweeping social media? Freezing your Beautyblender before using it to apply your makeup. According to Purewow, it was user @iki.x who introduced the hack earlier this autumn, and the video went viral soon after. Users loved the hack, with many commenting that freezing their sponges beforehand really did help blend their foundation better. And some even pointed to how they loved the cooling effect, as it both soothes and calms the skin. According to the 2.6 million views under the #frozenbeautyblender hashtag, it seems many TikTok users are curious about this method of applying makeup. And, I mean; just take a look:

@iki.x Makeup hack!!!!#fypシ #hack #makeup #viral #foryou #4u #hacks ♬ Love Nwantiti(Remix) - Ꮲ Ꭺ Ꮍ Ꮪ Ꭺ Ꮑ Ꮻ ?

Tried and tested

Intrigued, I had to test the hack for myself, of course – I even cleaned the Beautyblender and followed the instructions of squeezing out all excess water before plopping into the freezer – next to bags of frozen raspberries and a couple of margarita pizzas from Lidl. The following morning I took it out went upstairs to the bathroom to see what all the fuss was about. I don't really use much foundation, but love applying my tinted moisturiser with the Beautyblender, so on it went. Honestly, my first thought was that it felt super-cold and really cooling on my skin – which can only be a good thing in the morning, no? I mean, what better to make us look less puffy? The problem was that I felt that the blender was initially so frozen none of the product soaked in, and hence was hard to apply. However, after a couple of minutes, the heat from my hand softened it, and it worked a charm. And by charm, I mean pretty much in the same way the Beautyblender always work. So – is the frozen thing not worth the effort? Well, I'm not saying it doesn't work – and the cold beauty blender does feel utterly lovely on my skin. However, when it comes to blending the makeup, I can't say I did notice too much of a difference. Speaking to Purewow, celebrity makeup artist Neil Scibelli explains: "In my opinion, foundations work better when they're warmed up a little bit," he says. "The formula binds best to the skin when there’s a chemistry between the product and the skin. I think leaving it in the fridge may cause the foundation to thicken up, which would affect how well they apply."