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Memes

The ‘Me Explaining Makeup To Men’ TikTok trend helps you understand stuff you don’t care about

I need Bravo to pick this up as a short form series.

Photo of Anna Good

Anna Good

Man putting makeup on

Me Explaining Makeup To Men is a TikTok trend where creators compare photos of various beauty products to whatever ‘manly’ object or interest they believe it is equivalent to. The point is that they want to help the men in their lives understand its significance. 

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What is the ‘Me Explaining Makeup To Men’ TikTok trend about?

The Me Explaining Makeup To Men trend involves comparing photos of various beauty products the poster considers to be in the same quality bracket—whether that is split up by product type or brand—along with the car, movie, or whatever ‘man’ interest they believe it is equivalent to.

The vast majority of these posts use the example of vehicles, while others opt for comparing their makeup to popular culture such as the Star Wars or Lord of the Rings movie franchises.

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@cherrymazz batman edition as req x #explainingtomen #explainingmakeup #fyp #makeup #batman #dc #batmanedit #makeupedit #superman #thebatman #thedarkknight #marvel #spiderman #starwars #edit #edits #marveledit #dcedit #skincare #beauty #grwm #bfs #bf #bffs #gf #relationship #meme #foryoupage #anakinskywalker #brucewayne #music ♬ Coffin Nails – MF DOOM

This trend can be viewed as a practical way to share knowledge of makeup in a way that car-loving folks will understand, with the caveat that it does require previous knowledge of cars as well for the person trying to make the comparisons.

The use of popular media to translate themes and topics for folks not in the know is a useful method, allowing a genre or topic to become more accessible to viewers who would otherwise be left in the dark.

One TikToker, Spencer Meade aka @spennyislennie, recently explained Tim Walz‘s football references in a way that musical theatre and Drag Race fans would understand.

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Origins of the Me Explaining Makeup To Men TikTok trend

The “explaining makeup to men” meme trend appears to have originated on TikTok in mid-April 2024 after TikToker Chadia Salloum (@cha.salloum) posted a video about explaining hair care products to your boyfriend in terms of various qualities of car brands. After that video blew up on TikTok, a commenter requested that she do a version of the video with the theme of comparing makeup brands.

In Salloum’s viral videos, the TikToker compared brands of cosmetics and hair products to anything from what can be seen as junker cars to high-end sports vehicles, and everything in between. 

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“It’s not about the brand but about the PRODUCT!!!” Salloum wrote in the caption of her makeup comparison video.

The original hair care product TikTok video from Salloum has been viewed over 945.5K times, while the makeup video that she posted has been viewed on the social media platform over 27.1K times.

@cha.salloum Respondendo a @🕉️ ♬ i like the way you kiss me – Artemas
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Spread of the trend

Other folks on the social media app have since taken on this “me explaining makeup to men” trend and expanded it to other points of comparison, including movie franchises like Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

There are a significant number of folks who are reposting the same round of images, originating from what appears to be makeup influencer Noe (@life.bynoee)’s take on the trending meme.

Screenshots of makeup products and a car, comparing the two for the 'me explaining makeup to men' trend.
@life.bynoee/TikTok
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@m3li.bb yall think he understood?🤭 #carguy #cars #makeup #makeuptrends ♬ Get It Sexyy – Sexyy Red
Screenshot of a woman surrounded by makeup products with a photo of a car in the upper right. Text overlay reads, 'Explaining Makeup As CARS.'
@linayahaquino/TikTok
Screenshots of blush and applying decals to a car, comparing the two for the 'me explaining makeup to men' trend.
@linayahaquino/TikTok
@entice.cosmetics Explaining makeup to men with cars. Do you all get it now? 👀👀 #makeup #memestiktok #fypviralシ #trendingtiktok #foryou #beautytok ♬ original sound – Entice Cosmetics
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@my_opinion444 ✨EXPLAINING MAKEUP TO MEN✨#beautytok #teamwork #viral #carsoftiktok #car #trending #blowup #makeup ♬ She’s Back – Sexyy Red

While this trend may overall be viewed as a throwaway trend by many, it could have practical uses for explaining niche or difficult topics to those who simply don’t know anything about a particular topic.

More TikTok trends, explained:

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The Daily Dot