TikTok Made Me Do It: The App’s Best Products and Tips

All of my learnings — in one place.

I joined TikTok during the 2020 shelter in place wave at the recommendation of my Mom, of all people. She stressed how funny it was, and I really needed a laugh. Like everyone else, I didn’t have much else to do, anyway.

TikTok ending up being a huge salve. It made me feel connected to the outside world during a time I was completely isolated in my Atlanta condo with just my dog.

Once the algorithm figured me out, I realized what I was getting out of TikTok wasn’t really comedy but education. Did I realize my side part and skinny jeans were dating me? Sure. But there was a lot more to it than that.

With the future of the app uncertain, I thought I’d embark on the massive undertaking of cataloguing all my favorite TikTok learnings. From my saved folder (all 1592 videos) to your screen, let’s walk back through all the good stuff that aged well (sorry, Matt Rife), from 2020 up to today.

I’ll link the original creators’ videos, but in case the ban sticks a few months from now, make sure you save the videos you like to your phone or better yet, find these creators on other platforms like Instagram or Substack and follow them there.

Personal Style

• These four steps for looking taller in photos are from a guy who calls himself Photo Business Coach. I feel like flipping the camera upside down is pretty mainstream now, but at the time it blew my mind. I also like his tutorial on how to use long exposure on an iPhone. Creator Jessica Wang has similar, more expanded tips on mirror selfies.

• Boob taping 101, important!

• Here’s how to style your oversized scarf to double as a snood/balaclava.

• Tailoring is so key! If you’re in New York, this girl is doing God’s work running down what tailor to use for which occasion, when to spend and when to save.

• Allison Bornstein
  debunking the “capsule wardrobe” and showing what that should actually mean to you. Go girl.

Makeup, Skincare and Hair

• I saved this video by Amy Chang in 2020 and I still think her tips are great: one, when using retinol, apply it on top of or mixed in with moisturizer, which will buffer the irritation during the first couple of months while your skin adjusts. Two, if you’re not sure what will flatter you, match your blush color to the color of the inside of your mouth. This works! Three, use mascara and an angled brush in lieu of eyeliner in a pinch, it’s more pigmented and lasts longer. I also put rosewater on my scalp during the winter because of her.

• After seeing this video, I forever changed my blush placement to higher on my cheekbone after years of dragging my face down by placing it on the apples of my cheeks.

• Where were you when

  Charlotte Palermino
  taught you about slugging? Internet history! To the uninitiated, slugging just means applying Vaseline as the last or only step in your routine to lock moisture in.

• Ah yes, the blow dry brush! Mattloveshair’s tutorial is the gold standard. TWIST YOUR BRUSH! I’ve since upgraded mine to a Dyson attachment from the Revlon one that we all had after I literally smelled my hair burning. But the technique remains! And here are his extended tips on getting volume with the same tool. Finally, a solid tutorial on using hot rollers for face-framing curls.

• What would we do without the classic slick back bun? It’s just so easy. This video takes it a step further with bun placement. Find the spot on your lower lash line that snatches your face and pull from there. Over the years, there have been a lot of viral finishing products to help get your bun smooth, but my favorite ever is Jillian Dempsey’s pomade stick.

• This girl is operating on a higher level than me, because she hacked her way into a hair tuck that doesn’t leave you with a rat’s nest at the end of the day: she braids her hair first. She calls it the “Olsen tuck” but babes, Phoebe Philo did that first.

• Hannah Chody’s “bronzy hot girl glam” is a pretty universal tutorial for those times when you need a full beat but don’t want to look like you caked and baked. Here’s another from Dara Levitan for a more summery look. And here’s both a a killer concealer and a fantastic contouring tutorial from the great Katie Jane Hughes. Finally, here’s how to fix makeup separation on your skin (hint: don’t mix your silicones).

• This girl had me WEEPING with her “slut hair” tutorial. I can’t even summarize it, just watch it.

Health + Wellness

• Sah D’Simone’s tip to move through the world silently blessing others around you — I wish you to be happy, I wish you to be well, I wish you to be healed — even when there is resistance, is lovely. It helps shift your perspective into a more positive place, and as you move through the world wishing others well, you’re helping yourself be happier too.

• I love this quick yoga routine from Hiro Landazuri for rotating your hips and lower back. As a side sleeper I find it especially helpful to revisit.

• This girl’s “gentle parenting” videos for dealing with obnoxious men and annoying relatives make me snort laugh.

• This video explaining to men how to correctly order flowers for the women in their lives should be a prerequisite for joining a dating app. NO FILLER!

• Here’s how to do the Heimlich Maneuver on your puppy dog if they’re choking, which I hope you never have to use!

• I consider Kyle Prue’s videos on “things you can say to piss off men” wellness content.

Home and Kitchen

• This TikTok from Seasoned by Silvie was my first saved video. I’m a farmer’s market frequent flier. Her tips for storing fresh produce augmented some of my existing practices, especially for greens — thanks to her, I always store fresh herbs upright in the fridge with a little water at the bottom of the jar and put a paper towel into the container of pre-washed lettuces.

• A lovely, thorough video for navigating the Paris fleas.

• I still make cauliflower this way sometimes. Almond flour, avocado oil, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, salt and paper. Mix it up, make it at 425 for 20 minutes. Delicious. And of course, how could we forget the famous viral lemon chicken soup? Or Molly Baz’s Ce Sal? (I will not be linking the feta pasta, it was gross, but a moment.)

• Here’s the correct way to cut an onion. And an avocado. And a bell pepper. Here’s how to make that caked-on pan shine like new. Here’s how to make grocery store roses look like a pro arrangement. And here are all the ways you’ve been misusing your dishwasher.

• For my New York renters, here’s a great little video to easily repair small nail holes. The product she uses is this High Strength Small Hole Repair from Amazon, which even has a little sanding top on it. I keep one in our household tool box.

• Here’s how to fold your towels like a spa, via Vanessa Amaro, TikTok’s “Queen of Cleaning”. And here’s one on how to fold your undies KonMari style. And of course, “the” duvet cover hack if nobody taught you that one as a kid.

• I normally don’t love the artsy crafty DIY stuff, and this borderlines on gimmick, but I do think these frozen orange ice cubes are pretty cute for brunch.