What can Lindsay Lohan teach you about beauty science?

Hannah has to know…I just watched Mean Girls again (it seems like for the 53rd time) and I just noticed a scene that made me curious. Regina tells Cady that cranberry juice is making her break out to which Cady replies “Wait, I have this really good skin stuff I’ll bring you.” She and Janis then fill “Intense Moisturizing Foot Cream” into a face cream jar and give it to Regina. Obviously the girls are expecting something bad to happen to Regina but when Aaron sees her in the cafeteria he just says “Hey your face smells like peppermint” and starts to make out with her. My question is: what did they think was going do happen by pulling this product switch? Is peppermint foot lotion supposed to be bad for your face?

The Beauty Brains respond:

We get so many Lindsay Lohan related beauty science questions that it’s hard to keep them all straight. Fortunately, the clip in question is on YouTube so let’s watch it to refresh our memory. (I didn’t shoot the video so don’t complain to me about the crappy quality.)

As Hannah says, it’s clear that this particular trick didn’t work as Cady planned but what the heck was she up to? I can think of three reasons why Cady might have thought this would be a good revenge plan.

1. Peppermint oil is irritating
A tingly jolt of peppermint can be cooling and soothing on your feet but that same concentration of peppermint oil on your face can not only be olfactorally overwhelming but it can also irritate your skin.

2. Foot scrubs can scratch skin
The abrasive particles used in foot scrubs are great for scraping off the tough callouses on your heels but they can scratch the hell out of your face. (That’s assuming the product is a scrub.)

3. Intense moisturizers can clog pores
The product is clearly labeled as an “intensive” moisturizer so Cady might have thought it would clog her pores and give her even MORE breakouts.

I think the only way to conclusively prove the point of this prank is for one of the Beauty Brains community to actually try this out on a friend. Or an enemy. Or a frenemy. Of course I’m just joking because our lawyers would NEVER allow me to make that kind of suggestion for real. (But email me and let me know how it works.)