The pre-shower makeup is not a passing trend

They say Gen Z has a name for everything. Or maybe it's more accurate to say they turn every habit – the weirder, the better – into a TikTok trend. That’s exactly what happened with pre-shower make-up, apparently a much more common practice than most of us (read: us) ever imagined. The name says it all – it’s about doing your makeup before taking a shower. It might sound counterintuitive – and it kind of is – but it’s also a way to experiment and express creativity just for yourself, for the fun of it, without an audience and without judgment.

Pre-shower make-up: from glitter to contour

Graphic eyeliners, glittery eyeshadows, bold lips, faux freckles, heavy contouring: in the videos that have been blowing up on TikTok under the hashtag #preshowermakeup for quite a while now, you’ll find a little bit of everything – even people putting lipstick on their eyebrows. Some go as far as recreating an Avatar-inspired look – like beauty influencer Brooke Monk – while others play with liners and lipsticks or go for full face glam looks that are so good it feels like a shame they’ll be wiped off immediately. If you want to follow the trend to the letter, it should all be done to the tune of Sweetest Pie, the hit by Dua Lipa and Megan Thee Stallion, especially the line: “You’ve never been to Heaven, have you?” Because really, if you haven’t tried it yet – it’s a must.

Like when we were little

What’s so fun about putting on makeup knowing you’re going to wipe it off moments later without even leaving the house? If you think about it, we’ve always loved doing that – and let’s be honest, who didn’t? We used to play dress-up, do our makeup, and attempt the most elaborate (yet disastrous) hairstyles just for the joy of it. We dressed up: sneaking on our mom’s eyeshadow palettes, heels, maybe even her gloss. We knew we weren’t allowed to leave the house like that (thankfully, in hindsight), but that never stopped us. Pre-shower makeup brings back that childlike joy: it’s a grown-up way of playing. Some find it super relaxing (even therapeutic) while others love testing out new products before committing to them in “real” looks.

Learning to wing your eyeliner

It’s also the perfect moment to try out all those weird and wonderful techniques for applying concealer, blush, or contouring that keep popping up on TikTok. Or to take a chance and finally master the winged eyeliner – the ultimate challenge for any makeup newbie. According to Murphy’s Law, you’ll nail it when it matters the least. And once you’re done, it’s time to wash it all off: cleanser in hand, your masterpiece will vanish. You could call it a pure exercise in style. Some cry waste, others swear it’s totally liberating. So, have you ever been to heaven?