I tried TikTok's popular foundation water hack — but is it worth the hype?

Could this be the key to transfer-proof makeup?

By Shazrina Shamsudin - 20 Jul 2022

Credit: TikTok/@hudabeauty, @stxph.h, @mangomoniica

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The water in foundation hack has been making its rounds on TikTok over the recent months. The trend, which has amassed over 21.2 million views, shows TikTokers pumping a few drops of foundation into cups of water before applying it directly to their skin. But what makes it any different from applying your foundation to your skin?

According to online beauty enthusiasts, mixing water into your foundation gives you a flawless base that looks glowy and is transfer-proof. However, it does appear that a few pumps of the foundation is required to achieve the desired effect, which may come across as a little more wasteful.

Some of the other things to note before trying this is that the foundation should also be water-based, since silicone or oil-based formulas won't mix with water, and it can actually make wear worse. On top of that, we would also caution against trying this if your foundation is slightly lighter than your skin tone. Reason being: adding water to your foundation can inadvertently make it lighter, which could cause your foundation to leave an ashy cast.

Nevertheless, many beauty TikTokers and personalities have praised the method for how dewy it leaves the skin. Take, for instance, popular TikToker, @stxph.h. In her video she mentioned, “I love how this foundation is sitting on my skin right now. It looked filtered, yet super skin-like and dewy.”

Other personalities who have tried the trend include Huda Kattan of Huda Beauty, who then admitted, “I do think this works. I just think that it’s a little complicated, a little gross, and also a little wasteful, but I will say that this is a hack that works.”

While it does sound too good to be true, I decided to take it upon myself to try the trend itself to find out if this viral beauty hack is a must or a bust. To find out more, keep on scrolling.

The process

Credit: Her World/ Shazrina Shamsudin

1/9

Pictured above (from left to right: After applying the foundation, after ten hours of applying the foundation)

Before you start applying the foundation, it's important that you have a cup of water in hand for you to pump your foundation in. In this case, I would recommend using a cup or a container that you won't be drinking from. Trust me, removing the leftovers from the cup can be quite a hassle, but more of that later.

After setting aside a cup of water, I added two pumps of foundation to the cup, but I realised that it wasn't enough, and added two more pumps. After doing so, I used the end of an eyeshadow brush and swirled the mixture, before leaving it to sit for two minutes.

Then, using the same brush, I applied the foundation directly to my skin. Doing so, I realised that the foundation does feel a bit slimy than it was before, but it does go on smoothly onto the skin. Next, I then blended the foundation out with a beauty blender.

However, since the foundation is a bit lighter than my skin tone, I noticed that the foundation does look a little pale after blending it out.

On top of that, I also didn't apply any setting powder because I wanted to test if it was really transfer-proof.

Throughout the day, I noticed that the foundation did not budge, however, it did start to become a little patchy in the evening when it got a lot hotter, and I was sweating a little more than I usually do. There were some areas that needed touchup, like the ones above my lips and around my forehead. But besides that, the foundation manage to stay on throughout the day and there was very little transfer on my mask after wearing it the whole day.

Pros

Credit: Her World/Shazrina Shamsudin

2/9

Pictured above (from left to right: After four hours of applying the foundation, my mask after a full day of wearing the foundation)

The pros about this foundation hack is that it does stay on your skin longer than it usually does without the water. Usually, with the same foundation, I would typically need to touch up after four hours. But with this hack, I noticed that I would need to touch up, after eight hours.

What's more, I particularly like how dewy my skin looks after application, and it looks really natural. Also, I like how it feels lightweight and it doesn't feel that cakey, so you don't have to worry about it weighing down on your skin. Oh and not to forget, it's mask-friendly as well — there was very little transfer on my mask (mostly the nose).

Cons

Credit: Her World/Shazrina Shamsudin

3/9

Pictured above: The mixture of foundation and water

As for this hack, I would say one of the first setbacks is that you have to make sure that you're using the right foundation. For me, I've tried it a couple of times with different formulations, and I did notice that the ones with oil-based formulas tend to get patchy a lot faster than water-based formulas. So essentially, this hack isn't made for all foundations.

On top of that, you would also need to use foundation to add them into the cup, so it's a little wasteful. Speaking of which, the whole process can be quite messy, especially when you're cleaning up the leftover foundation in the cup.

Overall verdict

Credit: Her World/Shazrina Shamsudin

4/9

Pictured above: Cleaning the cup after application

In my opinion, after trying this foundation in water hack a few times, it's safe to say that it is a success. However, I don't see myself doing it often. It took me quite a few pumps of foundation for me to mix with and more importantly, it was a total nightmare to clean after you're done. Not suggesting that this isn't something you should try, but I feel that this beauty hack is something that you should do if you have the time to, say for a big event or if you have a long night out.

So if you're looking to try this trend out, I recommend that you try this with a water-based foundation like the following: