I Put TikTok’s Tweezer Mascara Trick To The Test On My Short Lashes

I love a good TikTok beauty hack. But the thing is, they don't always love me back.

Quirky trends like putting blush under your eyes and 'ice-cream' contour look great on poreless teens and experienced makeup artists, but maybe not someone whose beauty education came from fast-forwarding YouTube videos.

While it's typically regular TikTokers spearheading these beauty hacks, I was pleasantly surprised to see Selena Gomez demo-ing a trend herself.

In her GRWM, she created a doll-like, '60s-inspired wide-eye look by clumping together her bottom eyelashes. Her trick? Using tweezers.

Her comments blew up — "The TWEASER TRICK HAD ME RUNNING TO MY DESK" scored over 33,000 likes. The beauty hack isn't anything new, but TikTok is the cause of its 2022 revival.

Also referred to as the "pointy lower lashes" look, it's one that was made famous by Twiggy. For this trend, you need mascara and a pair of tweezers; that's it.

I recommend applying a slick or two of mascara onto your bottom lashes first. Then, you'll gently press the insides of your tweezers on your mascara wand to coat it in product. Next, lightly pinch the tweezers on a few of your bottom lashes to create the illusion of fuller, more defined individual lashes that make your eyes pop. The tweezers help separate the lashes for a bolder look.

TikTokers made it look so easy, so I confidently strolled over to my beauty supplies, thinking I could easily nail this. I forgot some key details: I have short, sparse and fine lower lashes, whereas the tutorials I had been watching were by people gifted with lengthy, full lashes.

I chose to use my faithful Mecca Max Whip Lash Tubing Mascara, $25; I thought, if we're going for a tubing look, why not use a mascara that already does that?

Well, it didn't work great. It's a supremely natural-looking mascara (which we love) but it struggled to create the clumped look I was after. My poor tweezers were covered in black goop and after some time, I lost a couple eyelashes to the good fight. We're dealing with a sticky formula and a tool that is made for pulling and plucking here — so heed caution.

I then decided to try the ultra-volumising Benefit's BADgal Bang mascara, $44, which our editors recently road-tested. The formula was much more suited to the trend; it clung onto my lashes and was more malleable.

Eventually, I was happy with the fuller look the tweezer trend provided my lashes, but at what cost? A few lost eyelashes and a pair of tweezers in dire need of a wash.