The screenshot of a beauty and fashion influencer using excess amounts of liquid foundation sparked a spirited discussion in Reddit's r/Anticonsumption community, with some highlighting the waste associated with social media trends.
"I hate these 'challenges' of using an excessive amount of product," a Redditor wrote, sharing a screenshot of an influencer and model identified by a commenter as Meredith Duxbury, who shares her content with millions of followers on Instagram and TikTok.
In the screenshot, Duxbury is seen dotting her entire face with giant globs of liquid foundation.
While some commenters suggested that Duxbury's foundation application was a personal preference that had nothing to do with a social media trend, one person explained that they saw the original video from the influencer, and it was indeed part of a challenge.
"It was a challenge (something about doing 500 dots of foundation), and she included the original content creator in her TikTok," they shared. Duxbury's TikTok also has footage of the model participating in a 1,000 dot foundation challenge.
In a bubble, challenges like these may seem like harmless fun, but when they take off, they can contribute to large volumes of waste. According to TerraCycle, the beauty and personal care industry manufactures around 120 billion plastic packaging units every year, and 91% of those containers are never recycled.
While brands like Sephora and Ulta have partnered with Pact Collective to make it easier for consumers to recycle their empty units, there's still the matter of the product waste itself — even if those who participate in the challenge are mindful to keep the packaging out of landfills, where they'd release planet-warming gases like methane as they slowly break down.
Duxbury is far from the only influencer — or internet user, for that matter — to participate in trends like these, with one commenter sharing on the original post, "I'll admit I fell victim to the rush of viral TikTok stuff."
"[TikTok] encourages horrible attention-seeking techniques that often make people disregard safety, common sense, and decency towards other human beings," another Redditor suggested, adding that learning their "tolerance range" for social media (unique to each person) has empowered them to engage responsibly with the vast amounts of material available online.
🗣️ Do you think kids spend too much time in front of screens?
🔘 Yes — it's rotting their brains 🧠
🔘 No — screens are the future 💻
🔘 There should be a good balance ⚖️
🔘 No idea — I don't have kids 🤷
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
"I don't need the mindless pit of distraction. It's soul-sucking," another user shared.
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