Makeup Tutorials

10 Makeup Myths Social Media Is Spreading

10 Makeup Myths / Lies Social Media Is Spreading

Even as a makeup artist, I would from time to time believe the social media hype and the makeup lies which the social media would spread online. Before I became a makeup artist and until I gained certain knowledge and experience I would believe everything I read online. Ignorance really is bliss until you find out the truth. I love to read online posts from beauty bloggers and to see what works for some while it doesn’t work for others. It doesn’t matter which media it is coming from, Instagram, Youtube or a blogger. Sometimes, I run into articles which are contraversal and packed with lies and misinformation. Sadly, Instagram is the strongest media which is currently spreading a lot of lies. Here are the top 10 makeup lies social media has been spreading and you might have believed them lies or hype. The point of this post is not to criticize another artists’ work, but rather to make you my readers aware of the opinions which I strongly disagree.

1. Primer for smooth skin

I have a video about primers and I do recommend to use them before applying foundation, especially if you have oily or dry skin. Primers will not make your skin smoother, they will help to smooth out the surface but they will not do the same thing as proper skin care. If you have oily skin, proper skin care before you apply a primer is a must. It will help remove any oily residue and balance the skin in addition to a primer which will help slow down the oil build up on your skin. If you have dry skin and you do not have a proper skin care regime, you skin will be thirsty. Applying a primer will help give a more velvet texture, but since your skin is thirst, it will absorb the liquid from your foundation and it will leave your foundation patchy and flaky. Primers are great for helping boost the texture to your skin, but skincare is what truly does the heavy lifting.

A photo posted by Miebe (@miebepaul) on

2. Natural cosmetics good for your skin?

What does it mean when a brand claims it’s natural. It just means that the product uses plants and minerals rather than synthetic chemicals. This however doesn’t guarantee that the product doesn’t contain harmful ingredient such as parabens. Another thing to consider is that if you have allergies to plant-based ingredient. I personally love natural brands and I use them a lot since I have very sensitive skin, but make sure to always read the label behind the bottle (ingredient) to see if anything could cause your an allergic reaction.

3. Illuminators, strobing or highlighters everyday!

Who doesn’t love to get that JLO glow, I don’t know anyone. To be honest, having that JLO glow everyday honestly is not a natural look. Or skin naturally leans more towards being semi-matte than full matte or JLO glow. This again applies to dry and oily skin. If you have oily skin using foundation with a glow or even using the strobe method incorrectly or applying to much highlighter will make you look very oily. If you have oily skin, just apply highlighter on the top of your cheekbones and that is about all the product you need for everyday wear. On the other hand if you have dry skin, applying the same products on the wrong place will emphasise your dry line (aka fine line). You want to skin to a foundation that gives a light dew finish and like oily skin keep the glow on the cheek bones, away from any wrinkle zones.

4.  The best foundation ever!

WRONG! This is the biggest lie you will ever hear! I strongly disagree with this. Of course drugstore foundation are never comparable to high end brands, nor do high end brands compare to PRO makeup, but this doesn’t mean that only one foundation or brand or price of foundation applies to everyone. There is no one foundation that looks amazing on everyone. Some foundation are intended for teens, some for mature skin, some for oily, … etc. Research the foundation you seem to like or have heard a recommendation about and then if possible get a tester. Never buy it because someone online is claiming it’s a holy grail, not even if I am claiming that.

A video posted by Catchy Beauties (@cbvideo) on

5.  Eyeliner is mandatory for every look

I personally hate wing eyeliner and eyeliners in general. One some an eyeliner looks heavy but on others it looks amazing. Keeping this in mind, not every look requires or should have an eyeliner, even though everyone on Instagram and Youtube applies an eyeliner on almost every look. This is another lie, I rarely wear eyeliner because if I am wearing fake lashes or doing a more relaxed smokey look, I will rarely apply eyeliner. You just don’t need it for every look.

6. You must bake your face

Again, NO! Yo do not need to bake your face, ever.  The only time I really bake my makeup is when I apply a highlighter around my eyes. The rest of the time I do not focus on baking. When it comes to everyday makeup, I do not bake my makeup at all. I go for a light and very natural looking makeup look which does not require baking. In general you do not even need to bake your makeup to make it last long. Also, baking dries out dry skin.

A photo posted by N A B E L A (@nabelanoor) on

7. You need an X number of tools

Nope, wrong again, you do need a basic number of brushes, commonly for everyday people it’s around 5 – 10 brushes. Youtubers and Instagrammers have many brushes because they are affiliated with them or got them as gifts and probably never used but keep them around just for show. Make it work with what you got and you do not need a lot to make it work. You also can live without a beauty blender, oval brushes and other new products.

8. You have to contour and highlight everyday

Again, God no. Contouring and highlighting is great for evening makeup or photoshoots, but that is it. I think this is more of a personal preference but in my books, less makeup is more makeup. I think you want to look like you after you take off your makeup. It’s great to have some fun once in awhile, but doing this everyday would require 2 hours of your life, way too much for me. I would rather do something else.

9. Dupes are never as good as the original

Listen, originals are originals. Dupes are dupes. I personally believe that if you want a product but it is outside of your budget you can do two things. 1. Save up money and buy the original or 2. buy a cheaper (safe) alternative. It’s that simple in my books. I do think that from time to time, dupes are very similar and even better than the original and cheaper. For my own personal collection, I mainly buy dupes and make it work.

10. Using these products and brand will give your this result

False. Even if you bought the most expensive foundation and makeup you will not get the same results as an experienced makeup artist. All you get is expensive makeup. You have to get certain makeup skill to get certain looks. No makeup or brand will help you get any look. The real magic is how able you are to do your own makeup. Practice makes perfect. Also, keep in mind that the Youtuber or Instagrammer you are watching has similar facial bone structure as you. This will guarantee that your end result will be very similar. If the artist has a totally different bone structure and eyes than you, your makeup will look totally different.

Now if you want to continue doing some of these things, great! But at least now, you are informed more than before and have a better understanding of makeup.

  • Have you believed any of these beauty myths you’ve seen on social media?
  • What are other ones you can think of?

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