Beauty Tok of the week: Pink cheeks without blush

BEAUTY tips trending on TikTok can turn out to be amazing - or crazy. The latest? Get rosy cheeks in the perfect shade... without spending a cent. Is anything impossible on TikTok?

While some regions of the world have enjoyed their normal sunny weather, allowing holidaymakers to display a glowing complexion, many others have been unusually gloomy for this time of year. As a result, blush is currently big in the minds of beauty addicts, but not all TikTokers want to spend their cash. The idea is to achieve a natural flush without any product. And it works... kind of.

An ephemeral blush

"One must suffer to be beautiful": a phrase we thought was forever banished. And yet. In order to have pink cheeks, you have to be experience pain - even if only a little. Because yes, the natural blush all the rage on social networks requires pinching the nose and then the cheeks. Isn't that nice? We must admit, it works: the cheeks and the nose do take on a pinkish tint. It remains to be seen if men and women want to resort to such gestures to avoid having to buy a product... which would offer the same result without the pain.

In a video viewed nearly 18 million times, TikTokeuse Mawriee (@blesspretta) proves that the trick offers an instant healthy glow, but that's not the case for everyone.

While the approach is undeniably generating interest on the social network, with no less than 119 million views for the hashtag #naturalblush, many are pointing out that it only works on fair skin and that the result is merely ephemeral. This was demonstrated by user Zagwe (@zagwex) in just a few seconds. That video has accumulated more than 8 million views to date.

It's no real surprise that the skin regains its natural color after a few minutes - no point in working harder on your nose and cheeks, it won't last any longer. A mixed reception, in short, which suggests that blushes sold in stores still have a long life ahead of them.