Why Silent Reviews Are the New Chatty #GRWM
The trend, which started on BookTok, has taken over TikTok's beauty scene.
fixation of 2024.
Silent reviews — wherein users compile their beauty products and wordlessly convey their thoughts on each through exaggerated gestures and facial expressions — have taken the app by storm.
The trend first originated among TikTok's niche reader community — often referred to as BookTok — in mid-December, when popular creators like Kara Hansen (@karaahansen) and Haley Pham (@haleypham) uploaded videos silently reviewing their 2023 reads and popular authors' respective oeuvres.
Now the phenomenon has made its way to beauty, with creators silently reviewing groupings of viral products TikTok has influenced them to try, such as Glow Recipe's Watermelon Glow PHA + BHA PoreTight toner — often presented to the silent tune of vigorous nods — Saie's lip oils and Givenchy's Prisme Libre loose setting powder, which has seen a lift in online popularity thanks to the growing pink under-eyes trend, a seeming offshoot of last year's Patrick Ta-loved “underblushing” blush technique.
The #SilentReview hashtag has reached 80.8 million views on TikTok, with beauty-related uploads being the most prevalent among the group. At the forefront of the trend is creator Izzy Santulli (@izzysantulli), who counts just over 140,000 followers but has garnered millions of views across her category-specific silent reviews of offerings within the hair care, serum, toner and perfume segments, as well as a brand-specific review for Rhode's catalogue.
The trend is a far cry from the chatty “Get Ready With Me” videos which have propelled so many creators to household-name status in recent years, though it plays to social media users' growing affinity for ASMR videos, which brands like L'Oréal Paris and Bite Beauty have increasingly incorporated into their online marketing efforts.