I Tried Doechii’s Face Tape on a Night Out, and It Transformed My View of Girlhood: The Surprising Rise of This 2025 Beauty Essential
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Face tape has become the most surprising beauty accessory of 2025, championed by Grammy-winning rapper Doechii.
Once an exclusive Hollywood trick for a lifted appearance, this innovative tape has been embraced by stars like Doechii, shifting from a hidden secret to an essential accessory.
Since 2024, Doechii has made face tape a part of her performances and red carpet appearances. While others conceal the tape, she boldly places it on her temples with the connecting band visible over her hair.
Other stars have also started using face tape, although some prefer to keep it discreet. Bella Hadid, for example, generated buzz in early 2023 when fans spotted tape peeking from behind her ears in a “Vogue” Beauty Secrets video, sparking debates about the influence on her signature look.
I didn’t know what kind of reactions to expect, but what I received was more complex than I anticipated.
Drag queens have long utilized face tape to create striking cheekbones and uplift brows. Icons from RuPaul’s Drag Race, like Violet Chachki and Gottmik, have spoken about this technique openly. In 2024, Charli XCX gave the trend a new edge, showcasing exposed tape at the Fashion Awards and her electrifying PartyGirl DJ performance.
Doechii’s visible face tape has drawn both admiration and criticism, yet she remains unapologetic. In November 2024, she addressed the controversy directly on TikTok, declaring, “The face tapes are indeed visible because it’s fierce.”
According to her stylist, Sam Woolf, “[Doechii] enjoys showcasing what’s often concealed. She simply thinks differently.”
Intrigued by her bold stance (and my own curiosity), I decided to experiment with face tape during a night out in New York City. Here’s how it went.
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My Face-Tape Experiment
For $20 plus two-day shipping, I purchased the Face Lift Tape Invisible with String ($25) from Amazon. The application was straightforward: adhere small strips at my temples and pull the skin upward using the connecting band for an instant lift. Following my celebrity inspirations, I kept the tape and band visible. The outcome was effective — the tapes created the illusion of defined cheekbones and elevated eyes.
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With the accessory firmly attached to my slicked-back bun, I headed out with my supportively skeptical friends, bouncing between a dim SoHo lounge and a bustling bar in the Lower East Side. I had no idea what responses to anticipate, but the reactions I received were unexpectedly multifaceted.
Upon entering the bar, I immediately noticed the varied expressions from men: a blend of curiosity and discomfort. Their eyes darted between mine and my temples, attempting to decipher an optical puzzle. A few finance types leaned in for a closer look, asking, “What’s on your face?” My response was consistently the same: I’d pull out my phone, share a picture of Doechii, and head off to grab a drink — far too uninterested (and lazy) to clarify my social experiment in detail.
Their intrigue held a strange voyeuristic quality, as if they were glimpsing something they ought not to see. The reactions left me feeling oddly exposed, as though I was shattering an unspoken beauty barrier.
Contrastingly, women were incredibly encouraging. Compliments poured in immediately. “Oh my god, your face looks incredible,” one woman exclaimed. Another whipped out her phone to order a set for herself on Amazon. There was a delightful camaraderie in these interactions, akin to sharing a cherished inside joke.
It’s a statement against the notion that beauty must constantly be concealed.
By the end of the night, not only was I embracing the look but also the philosophy behind it. The tape lent me a confidence boost (as it indeed made me appear gorgeously contoured), but the true uplift came from how women engaged with it. Doechii, Charli XCX, and the rising wave of visible face tape advocates aren’t merely toying with appearances; they’re transforming beauty into a form of artistic expression, and women resonate with that.
For years, the beauty industry has revolved around the illusion of effortless perfection — contouring masquerading as genuine bone structure, hair extensions passing for natural bulk, Botox erasing lines — but social media has revolutionized this dynamic. We now witness celebrities prepping in real-time, follow influencers through their surgical recoveries and acne battles, and swap beauty tips with strangers on TikTok and Instagram.
That’s precisely why Doechii’s public endorsement of this previously concealed hack feels empowering. It’s a declaration against the belief that beauty must always be hidden.
So, would I consider wearing face tape again? Perhaps for a special event or girls’ night out, but the greater lesson wasn’t in the appeal: it was in how it ignited discussions. Women are lifting the veil — or in this case, the tape — and owning it.
Olivia Tauber is a freelance writer based in New York, dedicated to telling genuine stories through personal essays and profiles. She started her career in corporate publicity at Showtime and Paramount, later transitioning to production for “The Pivot,” an Emmy-nominated series.
