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A true incubator of trends, in the space of a few years, TikTok has become an essential search engine for Gen Z. But not only... Not content with sharing beauty tips, each more innovative than the next, users are also turning to would-be hacks as a way to publish content that's technically banned from the platform. And they certainly aren't holding back...
A true incubator of trends, in the space of a few years, TikTok has become an essential search engine for Gen Z. But not only... Not content with sharing beauty tips, each more innovative than the next, users are also turning to would-be hacks as a way to publish content that's technically banned from the platform. And they certainly aren't holding back...
Users of the Chinese social network might have noticed the 'mascara wand' hashtag, seemingly referring to a new beauty tip or trick. Is it about extending the life of your mascara with castor oil? Or maybe recycling your applicator to reduce bathroom waste? No way. This new trend actually has nothing to do with the cosmetics industry, far from it... It's actually the fruit of users' imaginations as a means to address certain topics that are forbidden on their favorite app.
A way to get around the rules?
For anyone who's not yet up to speed, TikTok's community guidelines make it pretty clear that, among other things, "sexually explicit content" is not allowed on the platform. It is therefore not possible to talk about your sex life, or that of your partner(s), on the social network. In theory anyway, since the 'mascara wand' trick has been devised to get around this strict rule. Because this term is being used on the platform as a metaphor when talking about romantic relationships, and especially sexual relationships. And that's not likely to please the social platform's moderators.
More precisely, and more explicitly, the 'mascara wand' hashtag is used to refer to men's private parts, most of the time, or sometimes sex toys. And, of course, the trend has gone viral to the point of being the subject of content as unexpected as it can be confusing, with currently no less than 2.5 million views for the #mascarawandtrend hashtag, and some 18 million for #mascarawand. If some posts, it should be noted, actually are about genuine beauty tips, most of them are videos about a relationship with an ex or a current partner.
"I was in love with my mascara for 3 years"
If the initial idea was to bypass the rules of the social network, there's no denying that some users are now having fun with the hashtag simply to talk about romantic relationships -- something that's by no means forbidden on TikTok. And that seems to be the case for a large number of users, like Sarita, who uses the metaphor to talk about cheating. "I was in love with my mascara for 3 years until this girl stole it from me. 2 years later I started using her mascara without knowing. Moral of the story, never steal someone's mascara because they might just take yours next." So far, so tame.
Others, however, go way further. "My mascara wand is so huge and I was scared because my tube was so small but it fits perfectly. I love my mascara," reads the post accompanying another user's video. Evidently, this is much more explicit, and probably not particularly welcome by moderators of the Chinese social network. So, as you can see, unless you want to tell cute stories, or talk about your relationships through this hashtag, it is not recommended to follow this trend, which can only end in embarrassment.
