With the influence of Instagram and YouTube beauty gurus growing by the day, it’s safe to say that we are pretty much living in a new age of glamor. If you follow these social media darlings, you know they are always testing different makeup applications in ways that we could have never thought up ourselves!

Because delivering all of the best tips and tricks to you is kind of our M.O., we’ve gathered the 11 absolute best buzzworthy makeup hacks that we could find. Some of these may SOUND a bit weird, but we promise that each and every one will save you time and, in many cases, a whole lot of dough! For full tutorials, be sure to follow the links below.

1. Earn your wings

   Just because winged liner is the bee’s knees doesn’t mean it’s easy to apply—unless you have this office supply on your side! Simply tape off the shape you’d like to create and fill in the blank space with your favorite liquid eyeliner. Super simple retro glam!

2. Get squeaky clean brushes without an extra cleanser

   Who needs a pricey makeup brush cleanser when you can get your beauty tools squeaky clean with an ordinary bar of soap? Just wet, swish, and rinse until the water is clear!

3. Use a spoon for a perfect “everything”

   When we were first told to include a spoon in our makeup kit, we balked at the idea. Why would we need a utensil in there? Well, as it turns out, a common teaspoon works as the perfect contouring tool, lash curler, and cat eye stencil. Who knew?!

4. Exfoliate your pout with a mascara brush

   Get a silky smooth set of lips by dipping a clean mascara brush into either a DIY or store-bought lip scrub. A clean palette makes for super simple lipstick application!

5. Don’t settle for smudge-y mascara

   There’s nothing more powerful than long lashes, but they sure can be hard to achieve without the help of cotton swabs and makeup remover! To fix this problem, slip a thin tissue between your lower lash line and under eye area before swiping on the mascara. Simple, yet effective!

6. Extend the life of your liner with a simple flick

   Is your ride-or-die felt eyeliner on its last legs? Before you go out and buy a new one, pull out the tip of the liner with either your fingers or tweezers and give it a 180 flip before reinserting. This simple hack will give you dozens of more uses!

7. Ditch those brushes altogether

   Believe it or not, you don’t need a fistful of brushes to create a solid makeup look! Instead, apply your shadow, foundation, and even your blush with your fingertips. Some say that this bare-bones application actually makes the products last longer. That’ll save you some cash!

8. Revive your crumbling powders

   If your makeup bag has taken a spill onto the bathroom floor, chances are you have been left with crumbling compacts and a whole lot of heartache. Instead of throwing your prized products away, give them a fighting chance with the help of some rubbing alcohol and a spoon. Works like magic!

9. Make your own BB cream

   Those of you who are looking to cover up trouble areas AND improve skin tone should really consider making the switch from foundation to BB cream. Because this nutrient-rich makeup tends to be a bit pricey, we are in love with this DIY BB cream recipe. Spoiler alert: you’ll only need items in your current makeup kit to make your own.

10. Rev up your eyelash curler

    This is one of our favorite best-kept beauty industry secrets! For super-full, curly lashes, simply hold your metal lash curler under a blow dryer for 10-15 seconds, or just before it gets too hot to touch. Give it a second to cool off, then style as usual. It’s like a hot curling iron for your lashes!

11. Re-think your shadow application

    We don’t think we are wrong to assume that most makeup users swipe on their shadow with their eyes closed. Now, this method may seem like the obvious thing to do, but it’s not the most effective. The next time you opt for a bit of color on your lids, keep your eyes open, with your gaze focused down. Once you try it, you’ll see what we mean…

How awesome are these makeup hacks?! We’d love to hear your take on them. Have you tried any of these beauty tricks before? If so, were you happy with the results? Do you have any of your own that you would like to share?