TikTok Trials: Can Mikayla Nogueira’s beauty hack really stop make-up smothering your sunglasses?

It’s a little bit fiddly and time-consuming, but is it worth it?

Could this hack save your summer make-up? (The Independent )

Back again with yet another TikTok beauty hack, make-up artist Mikayla Nogueira really is the opposite of a gatekeeper when it comes to sharing the tricks of the trade. This time, it was the TikTok community who asked for her help, wondering just how you go about preventing your make-up from transferring onto your sunglasses.

It’s a very niche issue, we know, but, nevertheless, one that is rather annoying when you’re left with a make-up-less strip across your nose, thanks to your favourite pair of sunglasses, and it’s even worse when it starts removing make-up from your cheeks too.

While a remedy never before crossed our minds, resigning ourselves to the fact it was a permanent problem for anyone who chooses to wear make-up and sunglasses at the same time – and an even worse problem for those of us who sweat a lot – but leave it to Mikayla to have a solution.

So, rolling up our sleeves, ready to take part in another TikTok trial, we really wanted this one to work and were even more impressed to spot a couple of IndyBest favourite products used in the method too.

Mikayla’s hacks haven’t let us down so far, but did this one impress us as much as the Dior lipsticks, under-eye blush hack or fake tan sheet? Keep reading to find out.

How we tested

Although not necessarily challenging, this trial was certainly harder than just swiping on a lipstick. After watching the video about three times, we started to get the hang of it and lined up our products, ready to give it a go, doing as Mikayla said step-by-step. Afterwards, we tested out the final result by popping on our sunnies for a full day, to see just how long the effects of the hack would last.

We used the exact products Mikayla suggested, as two of them were already IndyBest favourites, but you can substitute them for any similar product and get a similar result. We opted for green Quay sunglasses in a similar style to Mikayla’s too.

The method and products used

Starting off with a setting spray, with the product of choice being our IndyBest best buy in the setting spray round-up, the Charlotte Tilbury airbrush flawless setting spray (£15, Cultbeauty.co.uk), we spritzed liberally over our make-up and allowed it to air dry. If you want to be a little more fancy, or if you’re tight for time, use a handheld fan, as Mikayla does, to speed up the process.

While this is a great first step to stop any make-up from slipping and sliding down your face, even on the hottest of days – you can leave it at this and expect to see less transfer – there are two extra steps to go, to really prevent any movement.

Taking the Milk Makeup hydro grip eye primer (£21, Feelunique.com) and swiping it across the noseband, is the next step in Mikayla’s tutorial. Which certainly feels weird, and we wished we’d washed our sunglasses before adding something we regularly swipe on our face on the plastic that lives in the bottom of beach bags, car doors and different restaurant tables – so be sure to give it a little wipe if that turns your stomach too. If you don’t have this exact primer, any non-pigmented alternative is sure to work just as well, but we would recommend this one as the face version was named best for dehydrated skin in our best primer round-up.

Finally, take a translucent powder, in this case the Beauty Bakerie flour setting powder (Was £22.50, now £16.88, Lookfantastic.com), gently tap it onto the primer and set it all with the setting spray.

(The Independent)

The result

Unsurprisingly, this worked like a dream, leaving our make-up intact all day, without any sign of our sunglasses marking our face once they came off. However, it isn’t a super speedy hack – taking about five minutes to complete, when accounting for all the drying time.

Although we already knew we weren’t quite as nimble as Mikayla when it came to amazing make-up looks, we did get the powder over the lenses, and the setting spray too, but it did come off with a quick wipe. Despite being translucent, we were left with a slightly beige residue, although that didn’t faze us.

For anyone with fuller cheeks that also touch the rims of sunglasses, it may be worth carrying on this layered technique across the bottom of the sunglasses, to stop any movement from the areas that touch skin.

The verdict: Mikayla Nogueira’s sunglasses hack

When we have time, we’ll definitely be doing this again, perhaps before a wedding, garden party or picnic. But, when we’re dashing out the door, late for work, we probably won’t be layering up the products on our sunglasses and waving them around to dry on the tube.

As a hack, it’s hard to fault. It takes a little concentration but is easy enough to follow, and if you already have the products at home – or very similar ones – it seems like a bit of a no-brainer to give it a go.

We will definitely be cleaning our sunglasses more regularly after doing this, as, if we’re going to share make-up we put on our face with the plastic frames, they need to be just as clean as our skin to prevent breakouts too. But, overall, it was quite the success, and we will continue to follow Mikayla’s tips wholeheartedly.