Not all TikTok makeup ideas are worth trying at home, but this recent dramatic eye look has left everyone looking for a special occasion to put the style to use. Now, eye makeup can be one of the trickier beauty elements to master — using small brushes and making detailed designs doesn’t come naturally to everyone. But you’re in luck if you’ve always dreamed of putting together an intricate, colorful eye look but never had the steady hands to pull it off. The secret tool for this trick may come as a surprise: it’s a cheap masquerade mask.
This unusual eye makeup hack from TikTok is a super easy way to get showstopping eye makeup, whether for a neon graphic look or hazy hologram eyes. By using inexpensive masquerade masks as stencils, beauty lovers on TikTok have been showing off some truly gorgeous eye makeup designs. And the best part is anyone can get in on the trend, regardless of their makeup skills or experience.
The results of this TikTok makeup hack may be complex, but getting the look is incredibly simple. All you need is a cheap cloth masquerade mask, an eye makeup brush, and a few of your favorite eyeshadow colors. If you need a visual aid, TikTok user @slaywithsparkle demonstrates how to nail this technique.
You can usually find cheap cloth masquerade masks at a dollar store or party supply store, as well as from various vendors online. Be sure to get a mask made of cloth so that you can lay it down flat against the contours of your face. The design on the lace mask will be the finished look of your makeup, so choose a style that you love, paying attention to the negative space of the mask (the gaps in the fabric).
Align the mask with your eyes and smooth out any wrinkles. These types of masks usually come with ribbons that tie behind your head, so you should be able to get a secure, tight fit. Once the mask is in place, you can begin applying your eyeshadow. Use an eyeshadow brush to pick up the colors of your choice, and gently pat the colors into the open spaces in your mask. Play around with a few different shades if you want a colorful look. You’ll be left with a beautiful, intricate eye makeup design when you remove the mask.
This makeup hack is fairly straightforward, but there are a few ways to level up the look, particularly regarding choosing your materials. Try getting a mask that extends outward and upward past your eyes, as this will make an excellent guide for an eye makeup style that lifts your face. For your eye shadow brush, find one with soft, fine bristles that you can manipulate around all the nooks and crannies of the mask. As far as eye shadows go, you can experiment with all kinds of products, but you’ll get the most reliable results with a brightly pigmented powder. You can create a simple gradient effect by choosing two or three colors next to each other on the color wheel, such as blue and green or purple and pink.
Aside from the products you use, the other factor that will impact your results with this makeup trick is how you utilize the masquerade mask design. You can cover every section of the mask with color, giving yourself a makeup look that spans across your eyelids, temples, cheekbones, and nose bridge. On the other hand, you can also be selective and focus on smaller details, such as only filling in the eyelid and temple areas of the mask.
However you decide to use this masquerade mask technique, it’s sure to become your go-to way of adding a festive flair to your makeup looks come summer.