How to go viral in the makeup tutorial niche on Instagram
What 2,110 viral makeup tutorial reels have in common: what they show, how they start, what they sound like, and who posts them. Real numbers from Aubrium's library.
A slideshow of full-face makeup steps for beginners, with no face in it, got 60.3 million views. Its caption asked people to save the guide for later. Its creator had 93,438 followers.
It's an outlier twice over: slideshows are 3% of viral makeup tutorial reels, and only 7% leave the face out. Of the 2,110 viral makeup tutorial reels in Aubrium's library, 570 crossed a million views. We read every one, from 1,673 creators, for what most of them do and where the rare ones beat the rule. This is one of the niche pages under our guide to what kind of reels go viral. Every niche we looked at is listed on what goes viral in each niche.
Most viral makeup tutorial reels are straight how-tos (63%), with transformations second (17%). 93% show a face, though the few without one travelled further. 74% use text on screen, mostly a line or two, and 56% pick a song, where the library as a whole sits at 37%. A third, 33%, are from accounts below 10,000 followers.
Aubrium's library, 22 October 2026.
What kind of makeup tutorial reels go viral?
Straight how-tos, at 63%, with transformations second at 17%.
Slideshows are the outlier. There are only 55 of them, yet the middle one reached 116 times its creator's followers, against 17 for a how-to. Stories reached 43, before-and-afters 26 and transformations 25. A step-by-step slideshow is quick to make, and it's the format here we'd test first.
Do you need to show your face?
No, but nearly everyone does: 93% of viral makeup tutorial reels show a face. It's a niche built on faces, which makes the exceptions stand out. The middle reel without a face reached 78 times its creator's followers; with one, 18. 6% show nobody at all.
Should makeup tutorial reels have text on screen?
Most do, lightly. 74% use text, and 69% stop at a line or two. The 4% heavy with words went furthest, at 78 times followers. The 26% with none reached 23, and the ones with a little text 17.
Trending song or your own sound?
A song, for more than half of them: 56%, where the library as a whole sits at 37%. Reels on their own sound, 37%, came last at 17 times. Borrowing another creator's sound was rare, 6%, and went furthest, at 27.
What hooks work for makeup tutorial reels?
Transformation teases open 23% of these reels, and 31% skip the hook and start blending. Hooks here run about 8 words, and the short ones did better. One word, "grwm" for get ready with me, starts 24 hooks on its own. Six real ones:
- Curiosity gapText and spoken
Makeup Tutorial. Wait for her reaction 🥺
- RelatableText on screen
"contouring is so hard 😭" me with this palette:
- NegativeText on screen
was accused of using a filter on my video
- QuestionSpoken
If I was the moon, would you still look for the stars?
- RelatableText and spoken
I love my space. I love my work and I love my routine.
- Transformation teaseText on screen
We should just allow this transformation speak for itself.
Polished, or filmed on your phone?
A finished face is usually filmed well: 91% of these reels look polished. The 9% that look shot on a phone travelled further, 25 times followers against 19. Pace splits almost evenly between fast, 47%, and medium, 49%. Fast ones reached 21 times and medium ones 17. The 79 slow reels went furthest of all, at 81, a small group worth a look.
Can a small makeup tutorial account go viral?
Yes. The smallest accounts here, under 2,000 followers, saw their middle tutorial reach 117 times their audience. Bigger bands travelled less each step, ending at 11 times between 50,000 and 100,000 followers. A third of the niche's viral reels, 33%, are from accounts below 10,000 followers.
Your next makeup tutorial reel, by the numbers
63% are tutorials
Slideshows are rarer and travelled furthest.
93% show a face
The rare faceless ones travelled further.
74% put text on screen
One or two lines, mostly.
56% use a song
The library as a whole: 37%.
8 words, the middle hook
Four words or fewer went furthest.
72% ask for nothing
The finished look is the whole pitch.
Keep reading
Want the opening lines on their own? The best hooks for makeup tutorial reels lists real ones by type. Nearby: eye makeup hooks, how lipstick and blush reels go viral and what viral makeup hauls share.
Questions people ask
What makeup tutorial content goes viral on Instagram?
Straight how-tos: 63% of viral makeup tutorial reels in Aubrium's library. The 55 slideshows reached 116 times their creator's followers for the middle one, further than any other format.
Do I need to show my face in makeup tutorials?
Most do: 93% of viral makeup tutorial reels show a face. The 7% that leave it out went further, 78 times followers to 18.
Should makeup tutorials use trending audio?
56% of viral makeup tutorial reels pick a song, where the library sits at 37%. Borrowed sounds were rare, 6%, and went furthest, at 27 times followers.
Can a small makeup account go viral?
Yes. A third of viral makeup tutorial reels, 33%, are from accounts below 10,000 followers. Under 2,000 followers, the middle one reached 117 times its account's size.
How many viral makeup tutorials pass a million views?
570 of the 2,110 viral makeup tutorial reels in Aubrium's library passed a million views. The middle one got 347,846.
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.
Format, faces, text, sound and hooks are labels Aubrium's reader puts on every post. Every number here describes reels that already went viral, so none of it is the odds for a new one.
Changelog
- First version.
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