GRWM

GRWM stands for “get ready with me,” a video where someone does their makeup, hair or outfit while talking to the camera.

What GRWM means

A GRWM video looks like a tutorial, but the getting ready is often just the backdrop. People chat about their day, tell a story, vent about a bad date or share news while they blend foundation or pick earrings. YouTube’s Earnest Pettie told the Associated Press the format had become a vehicle for storytelling.

The abbreviation works as a caption (“GRWM for my first day”), and Dictionary.com notes it’s also used as a noun: “just posted a new grwm.”

Examples

• “GRWM for a wedding where I know nobody.”
• “GRWM while I tell you about the worst job interview of my life.”
• “Her GRWMs are basically a podcast with eyeliner.”

Where it came from

GRWM videos began on YouTube, where beauty creators were filming them more than a decade before the AP covered their comeback in 2023. Dictionary.com’s earliest example of the abbreviation is a tweet from July 2012. TikTok’s short, vertical videos gave the format a second life, and spin-offs like “clean with me” and “study with me” followed.

The numbers are huge. Fortune reported that #grwm had more than 157 billion views on TikTok by November 2023, and YouTube said GRWM-titled videos had passed 6 billion views in 2023 by August alone.

A note on ads

Because GRWM videos show products up close, they’re a natural fit for brand deals. The AP pointed out that many are sponsored, so it’s worth checking for an #ad tag before buying everything in the video.

Related terms

• OOTD: outfit of the day.
• POV: point of view, a TikTok caption format.
• De-influencing: telling people what not to buy.
• Clean girl aesthetic: a polished, natural look.

See more terms like this in our TikTok slang guide.