17. Clean up any mascara mistakes with the tip of a cotton swab without having to remove your eyeshadow along with it.
If you’ve already applied your eyeshadow but accidentally got mascara on your eyelid, wait for the spot to dry, and then place the tip of a cotton swab on top of the spot and spin it clockwise until the dot is gone. If you try to remove it while the mascara is still wet, you’ll smear the spot and make it difficult to remove. But this tip will allow you to remove the mascara and keep the rest of your hard work in place.
18. Apply eyelash glue to false lashes with the tip of a clean cotton swab.
To avoid a mess when applying eyelash glue to false eyelashes, squeeze some lash glue onto the tip of a cotton swab, and then evenly disperse it along the base of your falsies. Finally, wait a few seconds for the glue to get tacky, and apply as close to your lashline as possible to make them look natural.
19. Clean up and define the flick of your cat-eye with a precision-tip cotton swab dipped in eye makeup remover.
Because no one has a perfectly steady hand when creating a cat-eye, after you’ve applied your winged eyeliner, dip the pointy end of a Q-tip Precision cotton swab into eye makeup remover and straighten up any wiggly lines, making your cat-eye that much sharper.
20. Dip a Q-tip Precision Tip cotton swab in concealer and use it to cover eyeliner mistakes instead of using makeup remover.
If you’ve made a mistake while applying liquid or gel eyeliner, don’t use makeup remover to fix it or you’ll take off all of your concealer, eyeshadow, and foundation with it, leaving your skin splotchy-looking. Instead, use the tip of a cotton swab and a little bit of concealer to cover any stray marks.
21. Give yourself a smoky eye by lining your eye with a kohl liner first, and then smudging it with a cotton swab.
Line your upper and lower lash lines with your favorite eyeliner pencil, keeping it close to the lash line. Then, gently smudge out the lines using a cotton swab and side-to-side motions to create a smoky eye. Voila!
22. Tug the end of a cotton swab to give the tip a cotton candy-like texture, then use it to apply eyeshadow to create a quick smoky eye.
If you want a smudgy eyeshadow look, loosen the cotton at the end of the swab by gently tugging on it (This trick turns the Q-tip into a blending brush of sorts, leaving a softer look.), and then run it over your favorite eyeshadow shade. Next, apply the eyeshadow along the base of the lashes and up into the crease of your eye for an instant smoky eye.
23. Coat the ends of a few cotton swabs in your favorite eyeshadow shades, and then put them in a plastic sandwich bag when traveling to save packing space.
If you’re going on a quick weekend trip and don’t have a lot of space in your carry-on, roll the ends of some cotton swabs in a few different eyeshadow shades, covering them liberally with a product. Then, use the cotton swab as mini eyeshadow brushes with built-in color to apply your eye makeup on your travels.
24. Use a precision-tip cotton swab to fill in sparse brows.
If you need to fill in sparse brows, use the pointed end of a precision-tip cotton swab to create hair-like strokes within your arches. Then, lightly blend with the rounded tip of a cotton swab to give your brows a softer, more natural look than if you would have used an eyebrow pencil.
25. Use a cotton swab to find your cheekbones and create a guideline for easy contouring.
To determine where you should be dusting on bronzer powder, line up a cotton swab right below your cheekbone. Once you’ve found the correct placement, lightly trace the line of the Q-Tip with another cotton swab tip coated in bronzer. After you’ve created a guideline, blend the bronzer in with another clean cotton swab tip (tugged on for that cotton candy-like texture) to diffuse the color for a more natural look.
What are some ways you use Q-Tips that we might not know?
Credits: cosmopolitan.com