Huda Kattan sits at the top of her own cosmetic empire (Huda Beauty) and boasts 19.4 million followers on Instagram. Other than serving up killer makeup looks, the beauty guru loves passing on weird beauty hacks to her legions of fans.
Recently, the Dubai-based makeup artist filled Teen Voguein on some of her quirkier skincare routines — and here at Brit + Co, our editors decided to give ’em a go. Read on to find out just what happened when we followed the pro’s wackiest tips.
OJ as Toner
Who tried it: Zoey Washington (Senior Fashion and Beauty Editor)
What happened: I am very particular about what I put on my face. I am, for better or worse, a snob — especially when it comes to beauty. This isn’t to say that I don’t love a good hack when I find one. For this post, I tried using OJ as toner, which is a hard sell to me. I barely even drink orange juice, so the thought of putting it on my face was entirely unappealing.
After washing my face with my usual ZO Skin Health cleanser, I dabbed a cotton ball in a small amount of Simply Orange Juice (no pulp) and swiped it over my face. I didn’t use fresh squeezed OJ, as that is not my life, but the results were clear. Though it was a bit sticky, I immediately noticed that it brightened my complexion. It was a subtle effect, but an effect nonetheless. I have been out of my go-to toner by ZO for over two weeks (that ish is expensive), so this was a nice little surprise. I must have been excited, because I forgot to rinse it off and immediately applied my favorite drugstore moisturizer (I see you, Neutrogena) and felt an instant sense of regret. The combo of OJ and moisturizer is akin to drinking juice right after you brush your teeth — no bueno. I rinsed both products off and noticed that the brightness was even more pronounced.
The next day I repeated my OJ toner, taking special care to rinse before applying any other products. I can happily report that this seriously works. Your skin will be more luminous, pores will be minimized, and you will also have the added bonus of smelling delish for the rest of the day. The down side? Not using fresh squeezed juice may have contributed to slightly clogged pores. Overall, I will stick with my go-to toner that doesn’t do double duty as a mimosa mixer. But if I am ever in a pinch, I will give an orange a squeeze.
Banana Peel as Acne Treatment
Who tried it: Kimberly Wang (Style News Editor)
What happened: I started this experiment when the cystic acne on my chin (which comes and goes with my cycle) started flaring up again. Luckily, there were plenty of ripe bananas in the company kitchen, so I swiped one on Monday.
Kattan suggests removing the peel from the banana and storing it in a Ziploc baggie, then just snipping off a one inch section and rubbing the inside of the peel on the zit for about a minute. She stressed it was important to do this on makeup-free skin, so I made this my routine every night for about five days. According to Kattan, after day one, the offending zit should tighten and shrink a tad, then a little more the next day, and the day after that, ’til it vanishes.
Well, I can say one thing: The banana peel certainly didn’t irritate my skin, and it didn’t make my acne worse (I was pretty worried rubbing sticky sweet banana peel juice on my skin would make my skin even more inflamed). In fact, I did see a reduction in size from the angry pimple after day one. And I think this hack works about as well as any over-the-counter benzoyl peroxide treatment I’ve ever tried.
But in terms of zit-zapping abilities? It’s day five and I still have a bump on my chin. It’s a smaller, curbed bump, but one nonetheless. Maybe this trick takes longer on cystic pimples? I think that anytime I have a banana handy and none of my prescription meds hanging around, I will definitely use this hack. But actually, as far as over-the-(fruit)-counter treatments go, this is a 10/10 for me.
Vagisil As Makeup Primer
Who tried it: Kelli Korducki (Senior News Editor)
What happened: I’m not going to lie: The thought of using Vagisil as a makeup primer made me a little nervous. Yet of all the potential Huda Kattan-approved beauty hacks, this was the one I decided to try. Go figure.
I don’t really wear a ton of makeup on my face, so primer isn’t usually a part of my routine. What I do rely on, though, is under-eye concealer to keep me from looking like a zombie corpse. I’ve been told that primer is the secret to avoiding dreaded makeup creasing on that area, but I’ve never really had luck with finding one that works. So, enter Vagisil. After cleansing and moisturizing, I dabbed a little bit of the anti-fungal ointment under my eyes before applying my concealer. It was sticky, and it burned. But it also worked. Would I do it again? Maybe… but probably not. It just doesn’t seem like a great idea in the long run. Sorry, Huda.
ToothPaste as Blackhead Remover
Who tried it: Irina Gonzalez (Food Editor)
What happened: Just as the directions indicated, I mixed toothpaste, baking soda, and some water. It created a paste, and then I used it to scrub my nose area to get rid of blackheads. When scrubbing, and possibly because I had a minty toothpaste, I had a lot of irritation on my nose (it got red) and surrounding my eyes.
The combo of the toothpaste and baking soda made my eyes water, and it was overall NOT an enjoyable experience. I didn’t really see any results the first time I did it, so I tried it a couple more times and… nothing. I think my blackheads got a *little* better, but the results were pretty minimal. I couldn’t really tell the difference and, between using the toothbrush, which felt weird, and the way that the mixture irritated my eyes when I did this, I don’t feel it was a worthwhile experiment.
Do you have a beauty hack you have tried and loved? Tweet us @BritandCo!
(Photos via Getty, Vagisil, David M. Benett/Getty Images for Burberry)
