The High Maintenance Hacks You Need to Do to Be a Low Maintenance Girly

There’s many a thing that I takeaway from TikTok these days – far more than I’d like to admit. While I’m smooth-brain scrolling on my daily commute or (ashamedly) getting my screen-time up before bed, I often stumble upon helpful tips, tricks and things I never knew existed, but should really be across. From female-owned Australian fashion brands to new cafes in Melbourne, social media is an endless pit of knowledge waiting to reveal itself (or be posted at the right moment). And one thing that’s popped up on my radar recently that may have just changed the trajectory of my entire life is the concept of being ‘high maintenance to be low maintenance.’

Contradictory? Yes. Fascinating? Completely. And, once you learn more, you yourself might feel an overwhelming urge to hop on the bandwagon.

This term started doing the rounds on TikTok, and has since blown up, with everyone sharing the high maintenance hacks they do to be low maintenance. Essentially, being ‘high maintenance to be low maintenance’ means undergoing beauty treatments or doing things that are considered high maintenance but will keep you feeling low maintenance (but still glam) in the long run. It’s the routine that is saving time-poor, traditionally ‘high maintenance’ people valuable hours that they’d usually be spending getting ready in the morning. However, it still allows people to maintain a self-care routine and pamper themselves when they have the means to do so.

Whether it’s visiting a salon or creating an elaborate nighttime routine that leaves you feeling and looking amazing in the morning, there are an abundance of clever shortcuts and time-saving products that you can try to cut down the time you’re spending getting ready (and inevitably rushing) in the morning. Who knows, maybe you won’t have to race to work anymore!

Lash Lifts and Tints

Imagine rolling out of bed, and your lashes are already done. There’s no need to risk ripping out your lashes with an eyelash curler, or frantically avert tears as a big glob of mascara lands on your just-perfected base. A lash lift is the equivalent of semi-permanent mascara – it lifts and curls your lashes from the root using a lifting solution and teeny tiny curling rod, so they stay in place for any time between four to six weeks. As for a lash tint, well, it’s a dream for anybody with blonde lashes that want to achieve that inky black mascara look…without the mascara. These two treatments can be combined to achieve natural lashes that are long, luscious and don’t budge.

Brow Laminations

Some of us (me) unfortunately weren’t blessed with brows that hold perfectly in place with the sweep of a brow gel wand. Continuous reapplications mean that you’re tearing through brow products like there’s no tomorrow, wishing for a solution. Thankfully, brow laminations exist. Brow laminations neatly set your eyebrows in place for four to six weeks, and those puppies won’t be moving anywhere. Neat brows are the secret for always looking put together, and this is quite possibly the easiest way to achieve just that.

For our favourite Melbourne brow studios, click here

For our favourite Sydney brow studios, click here

Heatless Overnight Curls

Ever spent hours perfecting your blowout or curls, just for it to fall out the next day and your hair return to its miserably flat state? A great way to maintain your hairstyle until wash day – and save your hair the excessive heat damage – is by using one of the many overnight curl techniques that have taken the beauty side of TikTok by storm. Whether you use a heatless curling rod, socks or the unicorn method, these peculiar ways will have you sleeping for longer (and still comfortably), since your hair will only take five seconds to do.

Fake Tan as Bronzer

As I like to say, the uglier you go to bed, the hotter you wake up. While you may give yourself a jump scare in the mirror after applying fake tan all over your face, trust me on this one. You can apply a fake tan mousse (my personal favourite is the Coco & Eve Sunny Honey Bali Bronzing Foam) on your face as though it’s bronzer, go to sleep, and once you’ve woken up and washed it off, look like you’ve walked straight off the tarmac from a tropical vacay. It provides your skin with a bronzy glow and can last up to a week, meaning half your makeup is done in the morning – just add concealer, any final touches and go!

You can also use fake tan for all other kinds of makeup creations: freckles, eyeliner, even as a lip liner (it looks amazing with clear lip gloss on top). Just remember that fake tan develops, and not to put on too much! Otherwise, you may end up with an unpleasant surprise in the morning and have to frantically scrub to get some of the tan off (this may or may not be based on personal experiences…).

Laser Hair Removal

Body hair is completely natural, and nothing to be ashamed of. But some people would rather live without – and that’s also totally okay! However, the begrudging task of shaving every couple of days, just for the hair to begin growing back immediately after, quickly becomes frustrating. Although some find the sound of laser hair removal intimidating, it really isn’t that painful depending on the area you get it. Plus, after a few minutes of pain, you get weeks of smooth, hair-free skin – which will eventually turn into months after a few sessions. Laser hair removal damages the hair follicle, which helps slow and reduce hair growth. When the hair does grow back, it’s thinner, lighter, and much easier to deal with.

Manicures

Investing in an SNS, acrylic or shellac manicure will save you so much time in the nail department, stopping the need for weekly nail painting sessions that seem to take hours due to the polish’s inability to dry…sound familiar? Whether you pay a visit to your favourite nail salon or choose to try your hand at DIY gel nails with an at-home kit (once you get the hang of it after a few tries, they can be really fun) to be cost-effective, getting your nails done is both a form of self-care and low-maintenance in the long run.

For our favourite nail salons in Melbourne, click here

For our favourite nail salons in Sydney, click here

Has your schedule freed up now that you’re saving more time, thanks to these high maintenance to be low maintenance hacks? Why not book a micro-work retreat, or take a short trip down south to stay in one of these beautiful Airbnbs?