TikTok: 6 Viral Beauty Trends (I)

The beauty industry spent billion dollars on advertising every year, with digital advertising accounting for 34.1% of total advertising spending. As the industry continues to evolve, TikTok is proving to be a powerful tool for brands looking to connect with customers in a more authentic and engaging way.

Skin flooding

The latest TikTok trend, Skin Flooding, has taken the beauty industry by storm, with millions of views and countless people trying the technique.

Skin Flooding is a way to achieve a hydrated, plump, dewy complexion by applying multiple layers of hydrating products.

The technique involves layering serums, essences and moisturizers on the skin until it appears flooded with moisture.

Many TikTok users have documented their Skin Flooding journey, with some even going so far as to apply over 30 layers of products to their face. With over 13 million views and counting, it's clear that Skin Flooding is a viral trend that's here to stay.

Short contact therapy

This trend involves applying a product, such as a chemical or retinoid exfoliant, to the skin for a brief period, usually 1 to 5 minutes, before rinsing it off.

The idea behind this trend is to minimize the potential for irritation or side effects while still enjoying the benefits of the active ingredients.

Beauty enthusiasts are drawn to this trend as a gentler alternative to traditional leave-in treatments that can be harsh on the skin.

The shag haircut

A woman in a hair salon receiving a shag haircut

The shag haircut has taken TikTok by storm, with users raving about this retro-inspired hairstyle.

This trend features long choppy layers and lots of texture to create a casual, effortless look. The shag is about embracing your natural hair texture, with the layers adding volume and movement to the hair.

TikTok users are offering their take on this classic haircut, with videos featuring before and after transformations and tutorials on achieving the shag look at home.

(to be continued)

The Dangerous TokTok: Trends that still continue to seduce (II)

Spray Anti-Perspirant On Your Face
Tip of the day: it is better to avoid reproducing them.

Having oily skin is not easy to live with. No matter how hard you try, this skin type continues to shine and it can be somewhat... Annoying. If there is one period dreaded by all those with oily skin, it is, without a shadow of a doubt, summer. With the heat we tend to sweat on our faces and shine like a real disco ball.

To combat this phenomenon, beauty addicts have found a solution: apply an antiperspirant to your face. A rather unusual idea, isn't it? Many people seem to have adopted this method, which is bad for the skin. An antiperspirant to be applied to the armpits is not suitable for facial skin. By doing this you risk blocking your pores and preventing your epidermis from regulating its temperature by sweating, which, remember, is a completely natural phenomenon.

Booktok, the big TikTok trend that pushes teenagers to read
Tip of the day: it is better to avoid reproducing them.

What is Booktok on TikTok?

The code name for this trend? BookTok, and the principle is very simple: it's a kind of digital reading club where TikTokers share their opinions on their latest favorite reads or their favorite authors. This trend, born from the craze of book devourers, is gaining more and more followers.

Why is this problematic?

Even beyond the fact that certain scenes are not designed to be read by teenagers, it is sometimes necessary to have a certain perspective on sexuality so as not to be offended by certain passages. Some books play on rape culture, on imposed violence, on Stockholm syndrome... In the genre, we find the series "A touch of Darkness" which is a revisited version of the myth of Hades and Persephone. If the first pages allow us to review the notable characters of Greek mythology, the rest of the book is only a series of particularly explicit sensual scenes which are obviously not suitable for all audiences.

While it is obviously wonderful to see teenagers devouring books by the dozen, there is obviously another side to the coin. Some slightly spicy books (on Wattpad we call them Lemon, on TikTok we call them Dark Romance), are not recommended for all ages or all profiles. If reading is a wonderful way to escape, it is obvious that a parent would never put a book by the Marquis de Sade in the hands of their teenager in the midst of an existential crisis. However, some books recommended on BookTok include scenes just as daring as The Hundred and Twenty Days of Sodom and parents don't even suspect it.

TikTok: 6 Viral Beauty Trends (II)

Applying sunscreen

Sunscreen has become a hot topic on TikTok, with users sharing their favorite products, tips and tricks for application, and even debunking common sun protection myths.

The hashtags #sunscreen and #spf have amassed millions of views, with beauty influencers and dermatologists sharing their knowledge and promoting the importance of protecting your skin from the sun's harmful rays.

This TikTok trend has given birth to a new generation of Sun Protection enthusiasts, proving that beauty trends can be fun and educational.

Grunge makeup

Grunge makeup, a trend inspired by the 90s grunge music scene, has recently taken over TikTok.

The look is all dark, moody colors, highlighting dramatic black eyeliner, smudged eyeshadow and bold lips. Grunge makeup is perfect for those who want to add a twist to their everyday look.

The trend has been viewed over a billion times on the platform, with countless tutorials and how-to videos showing users how to recreate the grunge aesthetic. The trend has resonated with a younger audience who appreciate the subversive nature of grunge culture and want to express their individuality through their makeup.

Skin cycling

Skin cycling is a viral TikTok trend that involves changing your skincare routine and products every few weeks to prevent your skin from getting too used to it.

This is done to help your skin reap the full benefits of your skin care products and to prevent your skin from stabilizing.

The trend is to create a schedule to rotate your skincare products and even create separate day and night routines to maximize the benefits of each product. It's clear that skin cycling has become a popular and effective way to care for your skin.

The Dangerous TokTok: Trends that still continue to seduce (I)

Here are 4 trends unearthed on TikTok that continue to seduce even though they are bad for you 

Tiktok is by far the place of inspiration for all beauty addicts. Every week, new trends emerge on the social network so coveted by the most trendy girls. To name just a few: the 'glazed skin' - launched by Hailey Bieber -, the 'broccoli freckles' trend or even the 'botticelli brunette' - a gourmet coloring. If the latter are unanimous among beauty fans, 'tips' are also popular on TikTok. It's impossible that you haven't come across 'unicorn heatless curls' - a tip for creating curls without heat - or the '2.4.2' method - which allows you to obtain a perfect complexion.

Many trends go viral as quickly as they are paraded, however, not all of them are to be reproduced. Some even turn out to be dangerous for our health. Focus on 3 beauty trends that it is best to avoid replicating.

Drinking Water With Clorophyll: A Worrying Trend To Say Least
Tip of the day: it is better to avoid reproducing them.

Beauty addicts whose holy grail is to obtain beautiful skin, whatever the method, have fallen under the spell of a strange trend. Many personalities are aficionados of chlorophyll water. Some even, who position themselves on the social network as being professionals, would have contributed to the craze surrounding this drink. His promise? Free our skin from imperfections, especially acne.

The hashtag #chlorophyllwater has over 270 million views on TikTok. If beauty sphere seems to have set its sights on this drink, scientists explain that there is no proof that this method is effective. What are the risks ? A disruption of the digestive system and the occurrence of stomach aches. You might as well avoid taking such a risk, especially when you can apply a cream enriched with niacinamide, salicylic acid or even azelaic acid - whose effectiveness on acne is proven -, right?

Do You Know The Trend That Promisses Facets?
Tip of the day: it is better to avoid reproducing them.

Perhaps you've already noticed it, but in recent months, one trend in particular seems to have beauty fans hooked: it's the 'dimple makers'. We will all agree that dimples are a very charming element of beauty. Not everyone is lucky enough to have it naturally and many girls would like to have it. To remedy this, there is only one solution: use a device in the form of pliers to be inserted inside the mouth in order to mark the skin to reveal dimples.

The hashtag #dimplemakers has more than 100 million views on TikTok. Guess what ? This (non-medical) device represents a health hazard. First, it has never been studied by scientists, so it has never been the result of studies. No data exists to show the effectiveness of this product. Also, applying this device to pinch your cheek can lead to a real risk of skin necrosis and scarring.

Using this tool daily, which compresses the skin, could even lead, in the long term, to recurring pain by damaging the tissues and mucous membrane. As you will have understood, its use clearly does not seem like a very good idea.

(to be continued)

‘Eddington’ - Emma Stone’s Next Movie

 Emma Stone, Pedro Pascal, Joaquin Phoenix and Austin Butler will play in the upcoming film by the American director Ari Aster, entitled "Eddington", that A24 will finance and produce, reports EFE on Wednesday. The production company A24 ("Everything, Everywhere, All at Once") made the announcement on on his Instagram account, where he shared a photo of a movie clapperboard sitting on some desert rocks with the word "Eddington" written on it.

The rest of the cast is completed by Micheal Ward, Clifton Collins Jr. and Deirdre O'Connell. So far, all that is known about the plot of the film is that it tells the story of a sheriff in a small town in New Mexico with "higher" aspirations.

The American specialist press believes that this film could be another horror film, taking into account the fact that Aster has directed productions such as "Midsommar" and "Hereditary" in his career.

The production of the film, whose script is also signed by Aster, will begin this week, and the director of photography will be Darius Khondji, nominated twice for the Oscar for "Evita", by Alan Parker, and "Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths", by Alejandro González Iñárritu.

Phoenix also collaborated with the American director on "Beau is Afraid" (2023), a role that brought her a nomination at the most recent Golden Globes. Stone was crowned the best actress at the last edition of the Oscars for the role of Bella Baxter in Yorgos Lanthimos' "Poor Things," while Pedro Pascal won Best Actor in a Drama Series at the Screen Actors Guild SAG Awards for "The Last of Us."

Austin Butler is among the protagonists in the movie "Dune: Part Two", by Denis Villeneuve, but also in "The Bikeriders", by Jeff Nichols, whose release is scheduled for June.

TikTok loses Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo songs in licensing battle

 Over the past five years, TikTok has become the music industry's most influential marketing tool, launching the careers of up-and-coming artists, turning viral songs into smash hits, and propelling older catalog tracks to the top Billboard charts. TikTok has been the launching pad for many singles, including Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road" and Megan Thee Stallion's "Savage," among others. This is undeniably a useful means for promotion, but UMG (Universal Music Group) seems to be betting that the current revocation of the license will force TikTok back to the negotiating table.

Universal Music Group has not renewed its licensing deal with TikTok, amid a battle over artist pay, security and the use of AI.

UMG had threatened to stop licensing its music to TikTok following a breakdown in negotiations. It's now a done deal: songs by UMG artists began to disappear from the platform at the end of the day on Wednesday.

The deletions began gradually on Wednesday evening. Official versions of UMG-owned recordings, such as Taylor Swift's "Cruel Summer," Olivia Rodrigo's "Get Him Back," and Lana Del Rey's "Let the Light In," no longer appeared in search results . Additionally, videos featuring UMG songs (such as a Kylie Jenner post to Del Rey's "Cherry" and a Dwayne Johnson video to Rick Ross' "Hustlin'") have had their audio muted. Videos now have a message at the bottom indicating that audio has been removed due to copyright restrictions.

Just after midnight, some of Swift's videos received the same treatment. Several Justin Bieber videos on his page, including a performance of him singing "Yummy," are now silent.

American Fiction: review of a delightful American nightmare on Amazon

 AMERICAN SATIRE

In American Fiction, a black writer, nicknamed Monk, decides to revive his failing career to write a novel which represents African-American culture in completely caricatured ways, taking on the false identity of a gangster on the run. Problem is, the satirical work, written as a provocative joke, met with devastating success among the public, particularly the white intelligentsia.

No doubt, this feature film presents itself as an acidic and committed satire, which often veers towards the grotesque (and this is undoubtedly also why it had such an impact in the United States). He cheerfully plays on clichés taken to the extreme, particularly in the representation of white elites, which also gives his funniest dialogues.

That said, by enlarging the line so much (this lunar reading of Issa Rae's character in the introduction, the discussion with the editors on the change of title of the book), American Fiction immediately becomes much more relevant when it gives itself a little seriousness. The result is some well-felt outbursts, such as during the discussion between Monk and author Sintara Golden.

GANGSTA'S PARADISE

In the treatment of its social subject, the feature film nevertheless favors a scathing humor, with a direction which sometimes visually assumes the surrealism of the scenario. The whole thing is relatively sober, but Cord Jefferson, whose first film as a director, allows himself some amusing deviations, for example by having his clichéd gangster characters appear in Monk's house.

The strong point of the film remains its strong writing, in which we find the primary talent of Jefferson, a renowned screenwriter who notably won an Emmy for the brilliant HBO series Watchmen. There is therefore something quite enjoyable in seeing Monk, a character who bears the label of "stuck", sink into a completely absurd nightmare, at odds with his daily life.

This surrealist dimension, however, remains at the sketch stage, far from the delirium of a Sorry To Bother You for example, in favor of what is undoubtedly the strength and weakness of the feature film: a strong and sincere drama, but which anchors it in a paradoxical classicism.

There's No Ken Without Barbie: Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwing "Snobees" at the Oscars

  If Barbie was nominated eight times for the 2024 Oscars, Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig were “forgotten” in the best actress and best director categories.

Eight nominations but omissions that do not go away. The contenders for the 2024 Oscars were revealed on Tuesday January 23, with Christopher Nolan's biopic of the father of the atomic bomb, Oppenheimer, coming in first with 13 nominations. The other phenomenon of 2023, Barbie, has been nominated several times, notably for best film.

Ryan Gosling is also in the running for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor and America Ferrera for Best Supporting Actress. Let's add nominations for best adapted screenplay, best song, sets, etc.

But two names, although celebrated during previous ceremonies such as the Golden Globes, are missing: Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig. If they compete as producer - Margot Robbie is co-producer of Barbie, competing in the best film category - and co-writer - the film is nominated in the best adapted screenplay category, Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig have been "forgotten" by the best actress and best director categories. Which did not fail to make the Barbie cast react.

“Their work should be recognized”

Shortly after the announcement of his nomination, Ryan Gosling said he was very "honored" in a statement but also expressed his disappointment.

“There is no Ken without Barbie and there is no Barbie movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, the two people behind this historic and celebrated film around the world,” he said on Tuesday. .

Oscars 2024: Ryan Gosling will sing "I'm Just Ken", the title track from the film "Barbie", during the ceremony

 In the race for the Oscars which will be held on March 10, Ryan Gosling is nominated in the "best supporting actor" category for his role as Ken in Greta Gerwig's film.

The actor star of the film Barbie, Ryan Gosling, in the running for the statuette of best supporting actor and that of best original song, will make the audience of the Oscars sing on March 10, 2024 with his hit I'm Just Ken, have made find out the organizers of the ceremony Wednesday February 28. In his performance that shook the box office, we see the Canadian actor as a "Ken" wrapped in a fur coat, bandana over his bleached blonde hair, who leads a horde of other "Kens" in a high-energy song and dance number.

The song, written by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, reached heights last summer, even entering the Billboard Hot 100, a benchmark music ranking in the United States.

American Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas will also take the stage on Oscar night to sing another Barbie song, the introspective What Was I Made For?, also in the running for best original song.

Actor Scott George and Osage Native American singers will perform Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People) from the film Killers of the Flower Moon. They will share the Oscar stage with non-nominees, like jazz jack-of-all-trades Jon Batiste and singer Becky G.

OSCARS 2024: THE NOMINATIONS ARE IN

 The Academy of Oscars launches its 96th ceremony this March 10, 2024 in Los Angeles. “Oppenheimer”, “Barbie”, “Killers of the Flower Moon” and the French “Anatomie d’une Chute” are among them!

Which feature film will be crowned film of the year? Who will win the best director trophy? Who will be named best actress? So many questions whose answers will be revealed on March 10, 2024 during the 96th Academy Awards, scheduled for Los Angeles.

So, who are the nominees for this new edition? Leading the nominations is Oppenheimer, by Christopher Nolan, with 13 nominations. Anatomy of a Fall, the film by Justine Triet, is present in 5 categories.

The ceremony will be presented for the fourth time by the experienced Jimmy Kimmel, already present in 2023. Capture and broadcast in the United States are ensured by the ABC channel. Raj Kapoor will serve as show runner and executive producer, while Molly McNearney and Katy Mullan will serve as executive producers.

Saint Laurent fall-winter 2024–2025 show: eternal chic

Tuesday February 27, Saint Laurent closed the Parisian day of fashion shows with a fall-winter 2024-2025 collection that Anthony Vaccarello presents as a true fashion manifesto.

Saint Laurent, in complete transparency

From the first pass, composed of a transparent skirt and a top as well, revealing the seams on the skin like diverted tights, the Saint Laurent line takes shape. A delicate refrain follows a variation of opaline dresses and skirts, some with a subtle drape, where the iconic Yves Saint Laurent lavallière joins the aesthetic inspired by Anthony Vaccarello's lingerie. In the fifteenth passage, suspender details remind us that fluid materials and plays of transparencies are in no way the equivalent of any fragility. On the contrary, at Saint Laurent, a lively, empowering feeling emanates from the silhouettes.

• The transparent set composed of a draped flesh-colored top and an icy brown skirt that blends in with the tights combined with a piece of fur. The sense of chic.
• The turban-inspired nylon headwear to add a 50s touch, very popular this season, to your nighttime looks.
• Maxi earrings with oak wood inlay.