The corner of the internet known as beauty TikTok (or BeautyTok, for short) is usually filled with eye candy. Each day, my feed surfaces jewel-tone fragrances that glisten beneath their sculptural caps; celebrity-approved body creams that perch in pristine bathrooms worthy of an Architectural Digest photoshoot; or lip oils and body mists that shimmer in front of a resort backdrop. But lately, dermatologists, editors, and everyday content creators are appearing on my For You page with products more commonly seen under the harsh florescents of a CVS than a carefully positioned ring light. Each one refers to their armfuls of tested-and-approved creams, lotions, ointments, and tools with an eyebrow-raiser of a name: "unsexy beauty products."
For audiences numbering in the hundreds of thousands (and in a few cases, millions), TikTok recommendation videos are currently singing the praises of humble, drugstore-oriented skincare and beauty with the same fervor usually reserved for the latest luxury launch. The tongue-in-cheek "unsexy" moniker comes from two directions: the packaging—which favors straightforward product descriptions over flashy, photogenic designs—and the purpose. From video to video, participants in the trend share recommendations for items to treat common conditions like dandruff, dry skin, eczema, or rosacea.
