Reels is Instagram's answer to TikTok (and your new source of beauty inspo)

Ask any Gen Z'er to take a look at their usage stats on their (beloved) phone, and one thing will be clear: TikTok accounts for a lot of it.

It's almost like a time-travel app; you flick onto it to watch one video at 6pm, you look up (what seems like five minutes later) and suddenly it's midnight.

But while a chunk of time may have passed, you are usually up to date on all the latest dance challenges, viral beauty hacks, and wacky opinions (anyone else on conspiracy theory TikTok?) by the time you log off.

The hype is so real that the app has even created its own crew of TikTok celebrities. To diehards, creators such as Josh Richards and Addison Rae rival the heartthrob-and-life-inspiration of the likes of Shawn Mendes and Selena Gomez.

And so, with rumours still swirling about the app's early demise (it's reportedly on the verge of being banned, at least in the U.S.), there's a fair bit of panic going on in the TikTok universe; what on earth are we all supposed to do for 15-second spurts of entertainment now?!

Well, Instagram has an idea, and it comes in the form of its latest feature launch – yep, Instagram Reels has officially landed in Australia, and it's set to be our new favourite source of all things entertainment (AKA beauty inspo, hello).

How do Instagram Reels work?

The gist is the same; Reels allows you to create short-form edited videos set to audio sounds you've created yourself or music from the app's library. As for the editing abilities available, the timer, speed controls, fun filters, and the countdown feature are all along for the ride.

Where's the beauty content on Instagram Reels?

So your Insta 'Explore' page is now the equivalent of TikTok's 'For You' one; it highlights all the latest Reels from people the algorithm thinks you'll want to see (ours is basically all beauty content, and we're not mad about it) – you just swipe up to get to the next video, a motion you'll be well familiar with from your time on TikTok.

Not automatically seeing the beauty-related Reels you're after? It's as simple as searching by hashtag – Reels will show up in the top left corner of any one. As far as our favourites, #beautyhacks #hairtutorial, and TBH, #makeupasmr (don't judge, we're only human) always deliver, and the endlessly satisfying Reels are already rolling in...

Main image credit: @addisonraee

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