The Staying Power of The GRWM

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The GRWM that we all know and love originated from beauty YouTube — the birthplace of a lot of internet culture lore, tbh.

In its infancy, beauty YouTube was far more educational than it is today. Instead of dynamic transitions and personality-driven content, creators were publishing step-by-step tutorials on beauty basics. For example, OG beauty guru Michelle Phan’s first video was a simple “Natural Looking Makeup Tutorial.”

Since then, internet culture and the online beauty space have become virtually unrecognisable, even as this era of creators laid the groundwork for some of today's most prolific content formats. When it comes to the GRWM, specifically, we cannot ignore New Zealand YouTuber, Shaaanxo — whose real name is Shannon.

According to Know Your Meme, the earliest apparent YouTube GRWM video was uploaded by Shannon. She created a YouTube channel in 2009, with the earliest available video being a New Year’s Eve haul from 2010. Over the years, she has continued to create beauty content and even launched her own brand, xoBeauty, in 2013.

Her first GRWM video was titled “Get Ready With Me :).” Uploaded on January 14, 2011, the five-and-a-half-minute video was pretty simple. Shannon filmed herself doing her makeup, sped up the footage, and put what almost sounded like a video game track over the top. The video was well-received by her followers, with many viewers leaving positive comments.

Shannon would go on to experiment with the GRWM format, posting several more in March of the same year. One video, titled “Get Ready With Me... Clubbing ♡,” has accumulated almost 500k views. It had a similar look and feel to her first GRWM video, but Shannon also shared her outfit with the viewers — something that has become a staple since then.

Most of Shannon’s GRWM videos during this period adhered to the original format, but occasionally, she mixed things up with “Chit Chat” style versions. She even developed a “FOTD” (Face of the Day) series — a GRWM where she would talk directly to the camera while getting ready. Many beauty gurus would go on to incorporate this style of video in their content strategy, but longtime beauty community enthusiasts consider the GRWM to be Shannon’s “signature.”

Over the next decade, beauty YouTube went through many iterations. With creators like Jeffree Star, James Charles and NikkieTutorials at the helm, beauty videos became increasingly high-production. Then, around the late 2010s, content creation experienced a vibe shift.

Polished and professional videos were no longer a guaranteed way to rack up views. Instead, audiences gravitated toward content that felt more authentic and personality-led — a shift largely credited to creators like Emma Chamberlain, with her editing style, and Tana Mongeau, with her storytimes.

GRWMs became the perfect in-between for beauty creators. They maintained the structure of traditional beauty tutorials, while allowing creators to showcase more of their personal life. It was a way to still share routines and tips but in a more casual, conversational tone that matched the new direction of internet culture.

We even started to see mainstream celebrities and creators outside the beauty niche jump on the GRWM bandwagon.

One of the most notable examples was Kylie Jenner’s series of Drunk GRWM videos with Khloe and Kendall in 2019. That’s not even to mention the popularity of Vogue’s Beauty Secrets series featuring celebrities from Serena Williams to Tate McRae sharing a key part of their getting-ready process, whether that be skincare, haircare or makeup.

How TikTok transformed the GRWM

TikTok’s dominance through COVID-19 changed online culture even more (as we are all well-and-truly familiar with six years on).

Before the platform's rise, GRWM videos had drifted toward long-form, "chatty" content. But the short-form version wasn't new. In some ways, TikTok's take on the format was a return to its roots, given that GRWMs originated as sped-up clips of the getting-ready process itself. Of course, the TikTok GRWMs aren’t exactly the same; But, they are extremely condensed versions of makeup and hair looks or skincare routines.

The GRWM was already well-established in the beauty world, so it made perfect sense for beauty TikTokers to adopt the format. This type of content also felt suited to the app. By this point, many beauty creators were already making transition videos, so a short-form chatty GRWM allowed followers to see the full look come together while building a parasocial bond. We saw Mikayla Nogueira post GRWMs as early as 2020 (preparing for a date, for example), continuing the trend with more casual, chatty versions onwards. Meredith Duxbury also embraced this kind of content, whether she was preparing for a dinner or heading out clubbing.

However, there is one TikTok creator who has become synonymous with the GRWM on TikTok, and that is, of course, Alix Earle.

Alix has quite literally built her career around GRWM videos and, in the process, popularised this kind of content to a new scale. Much of the reason people loved Alix’s content was that she was extremely candid with her audience — introducing her friends to them and unabashedly living her life in college, often sharing stories about chaotic nights out and partying.

While this is what we’ve come to expect from GRWMs today, that wasn’t always the case. The original chit-chat GRWMs mostly focused on the makeup routine, and was delivered in a more relaxed tone compared to traditional tutorials. The conversation still largely centred around beauty.

Alix moved away from this format, using GRWMs to talk about her plans for the day or night or personal life.

The Dark Side of GRWM content

There has been a lot of talk over the past few years about how social media is influencing tweens and teens. Many commentators and journalists have gone so far as to make claims referring to the death of tweendom.

While this may seem dramatic, they aren’t entirely wrong. We have seen just about anything tween-focused suffer in recent years. Instead of embracing youth culture, tween girls over the past few years have looked to emulate the likes of Hailey Bieber and Sofia Richie — the ultimate Clean Girls. Slicked-back buns, glowy makeup, and “donut glaze” skincare have defined beauty standards since the pandemic. While this may be shifting with the return of grunge and the party girl aesthetic, Clean Girl and wellness culture have left many young girls hyper-fixated on ageing.

Ironically, this demographic is caught between a fear of getting old while simultaneously wanting to dress and behave like adults.

Several factors on social media are driving this trend, and unfortunately, the GRWM video is among them. With young girls seeing their favourite influencers — who are often adults — share their skincare routines in their GRWM, it is only natural that they may want to mimic their routines and product preferences.

Nowadays, instead of seeing tweens talking about their favourite Lip Smacker lip gloss, girls are flooding the FYP sharing their favourite anti-wrinkle products and skincare smoothies while they get ready for school.

As Australian women’s organisation, Tomorrow Woman explains in a blog post: “Another issue is the way these GRWM videos weave urgency and perfectionism into daily routines. We all get ready for the day – it’s a natural part of being a human. But when getting ready is blasted on social media and ‘perfected’ to a tee, it can create a tsunami of pressure for young people to perform.”

Existing academic scholarship has also pointed out a connection between GRWMs and “Heteronormative Femininity” — an ideology that positions heterosexuality as a given and the societal norm. Femininity in this context adheres to traditional gender roles and notions of womanhood.

GRWM videos often include various self-care routines and are simultaneously appearance-focused. Even though these videos are usually informal and personal, they can still be seen as practices that reinforce and preserve conventional ideas and appearances of femininity.

With social media algorithms tending to favour white, conventionally attractive, and often straight creators (a trend that’s only worsened in the current conservative turn online), the GRWM format can end up reinforcing narrow, traditional notions of femininity and womanhood.

One scholar spoke to this dynamic in a book chapter about YouTube GRWMs, specifically. As author and artist Amy Lynne Hill writes, “YouTube presents viewers with a totalizing aesthetic: from amateur beauty vloggers to professional beauty influencers, these videos [GRWMs] present a homogenous and flattened world in which knowing how to stylize oneself within intelligible gender binaries is key for participation within the system.”

The appeal of the GRWM

That isn’t to say that only creators who adhere to heteronormativity, whiteness or traditional gender norms find success posting GRWMs. The democratisation of virality and online fame has also allowed for a broader range of creators, including those who actively challenge these norms, to gain traction online. Success is possible for those outside the Alix Earle mould, the barrier to entry is simply higher.

In Hill’s piece, for instance, she references creators who have disrupted the gender binary and Eurocentric beauty standards, including Patrick Starr and Jackie Aina, respectively.

This discussion of diversity and inclusion leads us to a key reason why the GRWM format has gained renewed popularity on TikTok: the rise of “cores” and the growing obsession with aesthetics.

As Gen Z has become the cultural engine of the internet, it’s clear that this generation has a strong tendency to categorise identity through visual signifiers. From “cottagecore” to “eclectic grandpa” to “coquette,” these aesthetics have become both personal identifiers and communities in their own right.

If we think of these “cores” as subculture, this isn’t exactly new. What is new, though, is the way TikTok has made even the most niche aesthetics feel accessible and visible, thanks to the algorithm’s ability to push out content to specific audiences. GRWM videos, in this context, act as a tool for self-expression. They allow users to present their identities through aesthetic performance.

The “Scene Queen” resurgence on TikTok is a perfect case study.

For those unfamiliar, the term “Scene Queen” referred to a group of (mostly) girls who skyrocketed to Myspace fame thanks to their “scene” aesthetic. It made a comeback in 2019, with the hashtag #twentyninescene making the rounds on TikTok. Since then, it has persisted, with TikTok users creating GRWMs to embrace the look for a new era.

Another reason the GRWM has become so popular is because of oversharing culture.

As we have already established, TikTok GRWMs are hardly about the makeup or skincare routine but rather about what the creator is actually saying. This type of content has essentially become the new storytime video, with creators almost treating it as a confessional.

As a viewer, it makes sense that we would be locked in. It is a rare chance where we get to hear crazy or personal stories from public figures or regular people (which is honestly sometimes more interesting). From the perspective of a creator or someone simply seeking to go viral, oversharing is a quick and easy way to gain traction on the app. Furthermore, having an engaging hook is incredibly important in short-form content, as you only have a short amount of time to capture the viewer’s attention. And oversharing is definitely one way to do that.

But why does it feel so natural to watch users bare their souls while putting on mascara or straightening their hair? Laura Molloy posed this question in a 2023 piece for Dazed. Speaking with a media and communications lecturer, Dr Melanie Kennedy, she attributes it to an extension of “girls’ bedroom culture” and a lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Girls have always used the space of the bedroom to reveal very personal things to their friends...The pandemic exacerbated all of this because people turned to social media when they were stuck in their homes as an outlet for how they were feeling, and to stay connected with people,“ Dr Kennedy tells the journalist. “What’s changed is that it’s now hyper-visible...The very boundaries between what we traditionally understood as public and private have become blurred”

The GRWM’s appeal lies in its chameleonic character — and that is exactly what has kept it around for all these years. Whether it’s a thirst trap, a confessional, a tutorial, or just a life update, this format can be whatever the creator (or, to be honest, the algorithm) wants it to be.

So long as there are stories to tell and creators are willing to lore-drop, “Get Ready With Me To…” is likely to echo through the FYP for years to come.

This segment of the newsletter is sponsored by ING.

Last week, the Centennial World team attended a speed dating event hosted by ING and Urban List (We documented our evening on TikTok, check it out here).

New research commissioned by ING indicates that financial compatibility is becoming increasingly important when dating. 87% of Aussie singles say a similar approach to money matters in a relationship — with saving and spending habits, along with shared financial goals, among the most important traits in a partner. That’s especially true for younger Australians: Gen Z and Millennials are more likely than any other generation to prioritise financial habits in a future partner.

Turns out the biggest dating green flag in 2026 might just be having a savings plan.

Want to learn more about the research? Follow @ing_aust on TikTok and Instagram.

Breaking down internet culture updates, tech news and conversations unfolding online. Here’s what is happening.

• The infamous OpenAI brand trip. OpenAI has taken a slew of creators on their first brand trip, which has been described as OpenAI’s “summer camp.”

  • Creator-led marketing and events seem increasingly popular among AI companies. Anthropic, for instance, went viral earlier this year after hosting an influencer dinner. These creator events do not land well, yet these AI companies continue to pursue this strategy. Tapping into the influencer economy may be an attempt to court young women, or it may be a way to present AI as aspirational. Either way, it is out of touch.

  • We covered this story in our weekly tech podcast, ‘mini tech scroll.’ Tune in via YouTube, Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

• Alexa+ launches in Australia. First unveiled in New York back in February 2025, Alexa+ is officially rolling out to Australian homes. Amazon's pitching it as a "smarter, more conversational, more capable" version of the assistant we know. The evolution is powered by developments in generative AI, where Alexa+ pulls from as many as 70 different models. Alexa+ is also localised with the ability to understand Aussie slang and recognise more nuanced cultural cues. Early Access rollout starts from August 6.

• In more tech news, Disney+ and TikTok announce a content-sharing deal. The agreement will begin piloting in the United States, bringing "Disney-centric fan-created" content posted on TikTok into Disney+'s Verts feed. According to the Disney+ blog post, the content-sharing deal will benefit audiences and creators — for the former, it will cultivate a deeper sense of community, and for the latter, it will boost visibility. The deal comes at an interesting time — especially as other streaming platforms, such as Netflix, tap into the creator economy through podcasting.

• Why are all celebrities eating chicken? In a recent TikTok, @whatzaraloves6 explores how shows like Hot Ones and Chicken Shop Dates contribute to music journalism. She argues that the format “strips celebrities of their glamour” through the “everyday activity” of eating fast food. This, in turn, allows guests to come across as increasingly authentic.

• The Self-Indulgent Tone. Madison Huizinga of Cafe Hysteria explored similar themes in a recent piece for her Substack. Using Therapuss by Jake Shane as an example, Huizinga explores what it means when celebrity interviews rely on manufactured intimacy.

  “Somehow, in my eyes, the performed klutziness and heightened chumminess put on by hosts like Jake Shane often make the celebrities seem even more distant from laypeople,” she writes." “This is because hosts like Jake act out a faux sense of closeness and self-degradation that is common among those who spend a lot of time online, but is detached from how people actually speak and want to be spoken to in real life, widening the chasm between fan and celebrity.”

• The Hank Green AI Situation. Hank Green admitted to using AI in his content, and the internet is not happy about it. In a video on Complexly’s YouTube channel, Hank said “I appreciate the pushback” while speaking directly to the camera. Viewers immediately clocked this phrase as AI-speak, questioning whether he accidentally left in an AI prompt. Hank has denied this claim, but confirmed he uses AI for preliminary research. This has left many social media users disappointed and upset — while also reigniting his feud with the online knitting community.

  • Content creator Adelaide Ordell has posted a YouTube video detailing the feud. It has accumulated 360K views in three days.

Feel free to share your thoughts about today’s newsletter, or let us know any topics you want us to cover in the future.