If makeup artists and beauty trends occupy your TikTok FYP, then you’ve liked come across “the Sticky Method”. The makeup routine, shared by beauty influencer Mikayla Nogueira, is a technique aimed at covering acne or skin spots. And it’s gone wildly viral.
Nogueira shared the Sticky Method video in late August, garnering over 5.3 million views on the post. The 24-year-old, who has 13.5 million followers on TikTok, said she’s been able to make her own blemishes look like “they don’t exist” thanks to the use of sticky products.
So, how does the Sticky Method work?
The Sticky Method indeed involves a lot of products that have a fundamentally sticky texture. The makeup artist first primes her skin using a serum, followed by a sticky primer once the first layer of serum has dried. Then, Nogueira applies concealer to each blemish with a small brush, again waiting until the previous layer dries onto the skin. She doesn’t blend the concealer, but finally applies foundation throughout the face. For a full list of products, check out some of these guides.
“The amount of people that didn’t even realize I had acne because of this method,” she says.
Comments on the post ranged from “this is one of the best methods I’ve witnessed” to “this is a BRILLIANT technique”. Other TikTokkers, including @ericabmccleskey, @taylorefford, and @ananeganova, replicated the Sticky Method routine, dueting Nogueira’s tactic.
The virality of the trend is a testament to the growing overlap between TikTok and beauty. The app has become a massive force for the beauty industry and for all its accompanying trends. The hashtag #beauty has cultivated over 120 billion views. Meanwhile, as Mashable’s Jennimai Nguyen points out, “Today’s TikTok beauty videos are also often credited as responsible for discovering the most viral beauty products and practices.”
The Sticky Method is yet another of these beauty and skincare phenomenons in the TikTok roster. Like everything on the app, a few minutes of content can lead to widespread discourse and rippling effects.
Case in point: Nogueira’s fame has also resulted in a bit of controversy for the TikTok star, with some users calling her out on a video discussing the difficulties of being an influencer. The post in question was from over a year ago and has since been deleted, having only resurfaced with the surge of popularity given to the Sticky Method.
