The Q-tip is actually a surprisingly overlooked essential when it comes to your beauty regimen. There are so many little hacks involving Q-tips from perfume touch ups throughout the day, to perfectly smudging out eyeliner, to cleaning up makeup mistakes. We have seven creative, life-changing ways to use a Q-tip in your beauty routine. After this, you'll never want to be without a Q-Tip in your beauty bag.
1. Prevent bleeding lipstick: A bold lip can be completely ruined by bleeding over the lip line. While typically a lip liner can prevent this, liner isn’t for everyone. A more subtle way to create a barrier is to dip a Q-tip in translucent powder and run it along the outside of your lips.
2. Clean up manis: If you just dip a Q-tip into some nail polish remover, rub it along the outside of your nail to clean up any excess polish. A god technique to keep lines clean and polish from spreading along the skin is to turn the Q-tip inward.
3. Smudge out a smoky eye: If you’re a little unsure on how to create a gorgeous smoky eye, Q-tips can actually make it a lot easier. After placing the primer, take the color you want to smoke out with onto the Q-tip and smudge out. The cotton texture makes for a great smoky effect.
4. Touch up Perfume: It’s such a shame when your favorite fragrance doesn’t last necessarily as long throughout the day as you’d like. You can touch up the scent without luging around the entire perfume bottle now. Just spray your perfume on the Q-tips’ end and seal them in a Ziplock bag. When you feel you need a touch up, just rub them along your wrists and behind your ears.
5. Clean up eye makeup mistakes: It’s one of the most upsetting feelings when you see those black mascara or eyeliner smudges on your perfectly blended eye shadow. You don’t want to start over, but you need to rid of these black spots. A Q-tip allows for a more focused, precise removal with just a dab of water or concealer.
6. Plump up eyelashes: If your mascara isn’t giving you the fullness on each lash you desire, after applying the first layer of mascara, take a bit of baby powder on a Q-tip and rub along the underside of your lashes before applying the second layer. It will thicken each lash for more volumized eyelashes.
7. Place highlighter: Highlighting underneath your brow takes precision to emphasize a gorgeous arch. Sometimes your fingers just can’t get the arch your craving. A Q-tip will allow you to push up under the brow for a precise highlight and thus gorgeous arch to your brow.
