Underpainting: The Mary Phillips Technique and More TikTok Beauty Hacks

From the Hailey Bieber-approved contour trick to breaking down how to whiten sensitive teeth without pain.

Another month, another dose of TikTok beauty hacks here to shake up your GRWM game! And if there’s one thing we know about #beautytok, it’s that you never know what bizarre beauty hacks you’ll find yourself putting to the test. Case in point: glueing down your bangs and turning a deodorant bottle into a facial roller, as seen in last month’s beauty hacks column. This month we’re getting into celebrity-approved tips and tricks, plus one hack that’ll make completing a classic hairstyle easier than ever.

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From breaking down Hailey Bieber’s makeup artist beloved “underpainting” contour technique to unpacking the surprising shade of blush worn by Victoria’s Secret Angels for their signature sun-kissed beauty look, here are the beauty hacks I’ve learned on TikTok this month.

Sculpt your face with the viral Mary Phillips underpainting technique

If you don’t frequent #beautytok or haven’t seen an episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race then you may not have heard of underpainting— but you’ve certainly seen it on your favourite celebs. It’s the secret behind Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber’s chiselled glam look, after all. Recently popularized by their very own MUA Mary Phillips, this technique involves contouring and concealing beneath your foundation — as opposed to the standard practice of completing these steps on top of your complexion base.

In her first TikTok post earlier this year, Phillips can be seen carving out her cheekbones, jawline, and forehead with bronzer followed by a bright layer of concealer and highlighter — all before she goes in with a foundation. “It’s like laying down the bones under the skin. So the contour and the highlight being the bones, and the skin being the foundation,” she says in her post. Wondering when blush comes into play? The MUA revealed in another post that she layers this step over her foundation so that the pigmentation can really come through.

Have sensitive teeth? You can still whiten them with this pain-free solution

Let’s face it — we all want a pearly white smile. But is it worth suffering through the aches and pains that can develop during the whitening process if you have sensitive teeth? We think not. When TikTok mogul Alix Earle shared that her Crest Whitestrips were too painful to wear for their recommended length of time, TikTok user @gilliandelzotto came to the rescue with a quick (and cost-effective!) hack to achieving a whiter, brighter smile without the pain. Using the same whitening strips seen in Earle’s video, Del Zotto explains that cutting the strips in half is the key to alleviating the ache. “Typically our most sensitive teeth is here [at the bottom of our teeth] from just wear and tear, grinding down, eating,” she says. “So if you lay them right on top of your teeth and not curl them under, you’ll have no pain.” In the end, she says, you’ll be left with double the whitening strips and much less pain.

Get the Victoria’s Secret Angel sun-kissed look for the summer with… red blush?

For decades, we marvelled at the bombshell beauty looks that came down the runway at Victoria’s Secret fashion shows — but who would’ve thought that a red blush was behind their natural flush? RMS Beauty founder and makeup artist Rose-Marie Swift took to her brand’s TikTok account to reveal that while working backstage with the Victoria’s Secret Angels, red was her go-to shade of blush. “What the red does is give that little bit of depth to it and it looks more natural,” says Swift in the video. “Almost like the sun kind of gave it a little hint of burn.” And as we’ve entered the month of June, swapping our pink blushes out for red is the beauty trick we didn’t know we needed to try this summer. To achieve the look, grab any cream blush shade with a red tint to liven up your cheeks.

Hack the perfect braid every time

The art of hairstyling is complex as it is, but attempting your own perfectly centred braid that hangs down your back in a proportionate manner is an entirely different beast. As seen in a viral video posted by @audreyvictoria_that racked up 37 million views, our next hack is the answer to all your plait prayers. Begin by sectioning your hair into three parts, and tie the middle section into a ponytail at the centre back of your head. Next, cross the remaining sections of hair overtop your ponytail to hide the hair tie and proceed to braid as usual with all three sections. Lock it in with another hair tie and there you have it — a picture-perfect plait hack that works every single time.

Blend your concealer flawlessly with this unlikely brush

Using an eyeshadow brush for concealer? Actually groundbreaking! This month, celebrity makeup artist Courtney Hart went viral on TikTok as she detailed her experience assisting other MUAs in the early stages of her career — during which time she witnessed these artists swapping out traditional concealer brushes for eyeshadow brushes to help blend out the under eye area. As demonstrated in her video, this technique begins by dabbing concealer onto the back of your hand before pressing the product into your eyeshadow brush. Next, you’ll use a buffing motion to blend it all out. “This just gives a very different finish than if you were swiping with a concealer brush,” she explains. “It very much gives an airbrush finish to the makeup.” Complete the look by softening the edges with a beauty sponge to give you that seamless final touch.