The best hooks for makeup tutorial reels, from 2,110 that went viral
We read the opening line of every viral makeup tutorial reel in Aubrium's library: which hooks show up most, which travelled furthest, and 16 real ones to learn from.
The hook was a question in quote marks: "You promise not to make me look different?" Posted to 14,203 followers, the reel got 14.6 million views.
In this niche the face is the canvas. 93% of viral makeup tutorial reels show one, so the opening line has to say why this face and this look are worth staying for. We collected the first line of each of the 2,110 viral makeup tutorial reels in Aubrium's library, bridal looks, client chairs and get-ready-with-me videos alike, from 1,673 creators, and set the kinds side by side. This niche is one slice of our page of the best hooks for Instagram reels. Every niche we looked at is listed on one page.
Transformation teases open 23% of viral makeup tutorial reels, more than any other hook, and they tied with relatable lines for how far they travelled: 22 times the creator's followers for the middle one. Curiosity gaps are the next most common. 66% show the hook as text on screen, the middle hook is 8 words, and shorter ones travelled further.
Aubrium's library, 22 October 2026.
What kind of hook works best for makeup tutorial reels?
Transformation teases are the most common, and they tied with relatable lines for how far they went.
23% of these reels open on a change you're about to watch, like "Makeup with no filter" or "Let's blend it !". Relatable lines open 10% of them and matched the teases at 22 times, with negative hooks close behind at 20. POV barely shows up: 2% of reels, and the middle one reached 13 times, one of the lowest on the chart. Then there's the 31% with no real hook. The brush just starts moving, and the middle one of those reached 22 times, level with the best hook types.
16 makeup tutorial hooks that went viral
These 16 come from different corners of the niche: brides, clients, two-word teases and quotes from the chair. Each shows its views and its creator's followers, and the filter sorts them by type.
- Transformation teaseText on screen
Let's blend it !
- Transformation teaseText on screen
Makeup with no filter
- Transformation teaseText on screen
We should just allow this transformation speak for itself.
- QuestionText on screen
"You promise not to make me look different?"
- QuestionText on screen
Perfect makeup??
- CalloutText on screen
“Make me look as natural as possible”
- CalloutText on screen
"I want little to no foundation"
- Bold claimText and spoken
This looks like a filter.
- Bold claimText on screen
I don't do bridal trials...
- Curiosity gapText on screen
doing my makeup from the year i was born: 2006
- Curiosity gapText on screen
BLUETOOTH MAKEUP
- RelatableText and spoken
When a client tells me that she wants her makeup to look just like this
- RelatableText and spoken
Bride: I don't like how you did my lips 😭 Me: I got you 💄
- RelatableText on screen
clean girl makeup on skin that isn’t clear
- NegativeText on screen
Every makeup artist's worst nightmare
- Number listText and spoken
Five products to build an affordable makeup routine for beginners and teenagers.
How long should a makeup tutorial hook be?
Short wins here. The middle hook is 8 words, and the shortest travelled furthest.
26% of hooks are 4 words or fewer, like "BLUETOOTH MAKEUP" or "Perfect makeup??", and the middle one reached 21 times its creator's followers. Longer bands travelled less, down to 9 for hooks past 20 words. When the look itself does the talking, a short line is all it needs.
Should you say the hook or show it?
Show it. 54% put the hook on screen as text alone, and those went furthest.
The middle text-only hook reached 21 times followers. Spoken hooks reached 13, and the 12% that say and show the same line reached 10. A face is already on screen, so a quiet line of text can carry the hook while the brush works.
How do viral makeup tutorial hooks start?
"I" leads, on 39 of 754 English hooks, then "if" on 36 and "this" on 27. Close behind is a word that belongs to this niche: "grwm", short for get ready with me, on 24.
- I 39
- if 36
- this 27
- grwm 24
- the 24
- how 22
- you 21
- makeup 19
- my 19
- let's 15
- when 12
- POV 11
The first word of 754 English hooks on viral makeup tutorial reels, and how many start with it.
Three openings to borrow, each from a real makeup tutorial hook:
When… / If you…
“When a client tells me that she wants her makeup to look just like this”
A question
“Perfect makeup??”
I… / My…
“I don't do bridal trials...”
Keep reading
The hook is a few seconds of a longer reel. For the rest of it, read how makeup tutorials go viral. Next door: eye makeup hooks, the hooks on lipstick and blush reels and what makeup hauls open with.
Questions people ask
What's a good hook for a makeup tutorial?
Transformation teases open the most viral makeup tutorial reels, 23%, and the middle one reached 22 times its creator's followers. Relatable lines, on 10% of reels, travelled just as far.
How long should a makeup tutorial hook be?
Short. The middle hook is 8 words, and hooks of 4 words or fewer travelled furthest, 21 times followers against 9 past 20 words.
Do POV hooks work for makeup tutorials?
They're rare here. 2% of viral makeup tutorial reels open with a POV hook, and the middle one reached 13 times its creator's followers, one of the lowest of any type.
Should a makeup hook be written or spoken?
Written, mostly. 54% of viral makeup tutorial reels show the hook as text alone, and the middle one reached 21 times followers, against 13 for a spoken hook.
What does grwm mean in a makeup hook?
It's short for get ready with me. It opens 24 of the 754 English hooks on viral makeup tutorial reels in Aubrium's library.
How we did this
We looked at every makeup tutorial reel in Aubrium's library on 22 October 2026: 2,110 reels from 1,673 creators with 1,000 to 100,000 followers, each of which reached at least twice its creator's follower count and at least 10,000 views. We counted every reel filed in Aubrium's makeup tutorial niche; a reel can sit in more than one niche.
Hook types, delivery and on-screen text are labels Aubrium's reader puts on every post. Hook length and first words count the 754 reels with an English hook in words. Every number here describes reels that already went viral, so none of it is the odds for a new one.
Changelog
- First version.
Read next
Niches5 min readThe best hooks for fitness reels, from 16,974 that went viralWe read the opening line of every viral fitness reel in Aubrium's library: which hooks show up most, which travelled furthest, and 16 real ones to learn from.
Niches6 min readThe best hooks for sketch comedy reels, from 5,649 that went viralWe read the opening line of every viral sketch comedy reel in Aubrium's library: which hooks show up most, which travelled furthest, and 16 real ones to learn from.
Niches6 min readThe best hooks for real estate reels, from 5,145 that went viralWe read the opening line of every viral real estate reel in Aubrium's library: which hooks show up most, which travelled furthest, and 16 real ones to learn from.