100 coats challenge takes the Internet by storm

If you have a penchant for watching make-up and beauty videos on YouTube, you'd know that everyone's been buzzing about the '100 coats challenge'.

Labelled as the 'wildest cosmetic challenge ever' by fashion and style website Refinery29, the 100 coats challenge is simply about applying 100 coats of a beauty product to a part of your body. 

And according to Cosmopolitan, people can't get enough of this bizarre trend. 

via GIPHY

It all started in June when YouTube beauty vlogger Christine Rotenbertg decided to apply 100 coats of nail polish, reported Daily Mail.

The whole process took 12 long hours and the end result of 116 layers of nail polish was what Rotenbertg called, "a polish mountain". 

Since then, other beauty bloggers have taken to the challenge and made it their own. 

The challenge itself has evolved into using things like foundation, mascara, lipgloss and even false eyelashes. 

And in a video released last Thursday (Jul 21), notable YouTube vlogger Jenna Marbles decided to jump on the 100 coats bandwagon and make a 100 coats compilation featuring 100 false eyelashes as well as 100 coats of nail polish, lipgloss and foundation. 

Her video has since brought home over 5 million views and 300,000 likes on YouTube - one of the highest ratings achieved by anyone for this challenge thus far. 

Plus, the beauty trend hasn't been limited to females as even men have also decided to try their hand at the challenge. 

English make-up artist and YouTube personality Wayne Goss uploaded his take on the 100 coats challenge using mascara. 

For Goss, the process of applying 100 coats of thick, mascara fluid to his short lashes had proved to be so difficult that he even cried at one point during the video, causing the mascara to smudge and drip - much to the amusement of his fans.

But as far as beauty trends go, Twitter users are suggesting that this is the most wasteful one yet.

However beauty vloggers like Cerise Kelsey - who was the first to take on the 100 coats of lipstick challenge - argued that not much was wasted from a single product as she alternated between lipstick shades and brands. 

With women slathering their faces with multiple layers of highlighter and slapping on unimaginable amounts of foundation just for the fun of it, there's really no telling what the next beauty trend will be.

mldas@sph.com.sg