What’s the deal with the TikTok beauty sponge eyeshadow hack?

How to blend eye makeup without any brushes

BEAUTYcrew Beauty Editor / January 21 2022

TikTok is our safe space for exploring all things beauty. 

Home to beauty hacks that are good, bad, ugly and everything in between, there’s no better place to explore makeup, hair and skin care trends. 

Beauty sponges have become indispensable when it comes to makeup application as of late, with a stash taking up prime real estate in our freezers thanks to the TikTok frozen beauty blender hack.

But we suggest thawing them out pronto because according to TikTok, beauty sponges are a fast track to blended eyeshadow.

Beauty TikToker @glamwithsuzan kicked the trend off by showing a community of beauty-obsessed individuals how to seamlessly apply a smokey eye using an average egg-shaped beauty sponge:

Want to nail the sponge eyeshadow technique yourself?

Simply dip the side of your dry beauty sponge (we recommend sticking to a smaller-sized sponge for this hack) into two eyeshadow colours (mattes preferably), and press the sponge onto your lid to stamp the eyeshadow where you want it. 

Then dip the tip of your beauty sponge into a shimmer or glitter shade and apply it to the centre and inner corner of your eye. Et voilà ! A perfect smokey eye look in mere seconds. 

Granted it may not look perfect on your first try, so keep a blending brush on hand to smooth out any rough edges (or just use a dry finger, if you’re so inclined). 

Need some further inspiration? These TikTokers rose to the challenge and created (surprisingly) wearable soft smokey eyeshadow looks:

After a beauty sponge to help with the hack? We recommend:

Real Techniques Miracle Mini Eraser Sponges (was $16.99 now $14.44 at Oz Hair & Beauty); FENTY BEAUTY Lil Precision Makeup Sponge Duo ($28 at Sephora); and E.L.F. Complexion Sponge Trio ($19.43 at iHerb).

Real Techniques Miracle Mini Eraser Sponges

FENTY BEAUTY Lil Precision Makeup Sponge Duo

E.L.F. Complexion Sponge Trio

Love a TikTok eye makeup trick? The TikTok winged eyeliner hack is… interesting to say the least.

Main image credit: @dixiedamelio

Briar is the Beauty Editor at BEAUTYcrew. Her 'down for anything' attitude has resulted in more than a handful of hair transformations, and she doesn't mind being used as a guinea pig for the industry's most unusual products and treatments. Her work has also appeared on Refinery29, Girlfriend and beautyheaven.