New Beauty Etiquette: Why Last Week’s Must-Dos Are Suddenly Not Cool

Stars who commit a major beauty blunders (and how to avoid them)

Are on-the-cheap, salon-fresh manis the new fake Birkin? Is wasting water today's pig-headed version of littering? Before you indulge in either primping-related practice, it's important to know about the latest socio-political developments—because some of our most popular beauty rituals have come under fire. And depending on how you glam, your favorite beauty rituals from last week may have fallen drastically out of vogue.

Take the recent New York Times exposé on the abusive working conditions in the city's affordable nail salons: The story, which revealed ethnic bias, abuse and underpayment in the industry, has sent shockwaves through the always-polished fashion community. Now, as WWD reports, it may be best to break out your own DIY mani skills, or befall the wrong end of some major social side-eye.

Meanwhile, on the drought-stricken left coast, the California State Water Board recently approved a 25 percent cut in cities' water usage—which has people eyeballing each others' water consumption in particularly judge-y ways. Famous residents, like Kanye West, Jennifer Lopez and Hugh Hefner are being called out online for maintaining sprawling, lush lawns. Restaurants won't autofill H20. With such measures being taken (and shade being thrown), double-cleansing face washing methods (a Korean beauty export that has become all the rage stateside) is now less of a badge of honor in optimum skin care than a gross display of excess. And washing hair on the daily? In this social climate, with tresses too shiny, you're practically begging to be water-shamed.

So what are civic-minded beauty junkies (and those who fear judgment by them) doing instead? Getting creative. Not sure whether your nail salon is doing right by its workers? Bust out your own polish. (Might we suggest this easy negative-space nail art look to start?)

If looking to cut your water usage in ways both great and small, turn to no-rinse face washes, like Perricone MD Blue Plasma Cleansing Treatment, which exfoliates and hydrates skin as it cleanses. And finally, to conserve even more agua, try a quick body rinse without washing your hair—after all, it's what French women do (and you can't argue with their brand of effortless chic).

Conservation never looked so good.