# What does GRWM mean? Canonical: https://postmesh.app/glossary/grwm By PostMesh team. Published 2026-10-31; updated 2026-10-31. GRWM stands for Get ready with me. GRWM stands for get ready with me. It's a social media video in which someone gets ready on camera, usually doing makeup, hair or an outfit, while talking to viewers as if they were in the room. GRWM is also used as a noun and a hashtag. ## What GRWM means GRWM means get ready with me. It's a type of video where the creator films themselves getting ready for something, a date, a workday, a wedding, a night out, step by step. Cambridge Dictionary defines a GRWM as a social media video of someone getting ready for an event or activity, often with links to the clothes and makeup they use. The appeal is the company more than the tutorial. The creator talks while they work, about the products, the plans for the day or something that happened last week, so watching feels like keeping a friend company in the bathroom. Dictionary.com quotes a Vogue writer who compared it to chatting with a friend over FaceTime. Grammatically it's flexible. It works as a hashtag (#grwm), as an adjective (a GRWM video) and as a noun (I just posted a GRWM). The plural is GRWMs. People rarely say it out loud, but when they do it's letter by letter, as Cambridge's pronunciation shows. ## Where GRWM comes from The phrase get ready with me says exactly what the video promises: you watch someone get ready, step by step. According to Dictionary.com, videos built on that idea have appeared on YouTube since at least the early 2010s, and the abbreviation GRWM has been in use since at least 2012. Dictionary.com adds that as the format spread to TikTok, Instagram and Twitch, people increasingly used GRWM as a noun for the video itself. Cambridge Dictionary now lists it as a regular countable noun, which is a good sign of how settled it has become. - Early 2010s: Get ready with me videos appear on YouTube, according to Dictionary.com - 2012: Earliest use of the abbreviation GRWM that Dictionary.com cites - Later: The format spreads to TikTok, Instagram and Twitch, and GRWM becomes a noun for the video - Today: Cambridge Dictionary lists GRWM as a countable noun *Sources: Dictionary.com and Cambridge Dictionary.* ## How people use GRWM on social media On TikTok and Instagram Reels, a GRWM is usually short and vertical: a few minutes at most, cut tight, with a voiceover or talking to the camera. On YouTube, it can run much longer, closer to a relaxed chat with a full routine. Twitch streamers sometimes go live while getting ready, which turns the format into a real-time hangout. The occasion goes in the title, and it does a lot of work. GRWM for a first date, GRWM for my 9 to 5, GRWM for a funeral, GRWM while I tell you about the worst trip of my life. The last kind, where the getting ready is almost background to a story, is often called a storytime GRWM. Off video, the abbreviation turns up in captions, comments and group chats. Someone might text "grwm" with a selfie mid-makeup, or a commenter might ask a creator to do a GRWM for an event they're attending. - "grwm for my sister's wedding, I've been up since 5" - "chaotic grwm because I overslept again" - "grwm while I tell you why I quit my job" - "please do a grwm for the concert, I need ideas" - "grwm: first day of school edition" - "your grwms are my morning podcast at this point" > These are made-up examples of typical phrasing, not quotes from real accounts. ## How to make a GRWM video A good GRWM is mostly about pacing and sound. Viewers forgive a messy bathroom, but they skip a video where they can't hear you or where nothing happens for twenty seconds. **Before you film a GRWM** - [ ] Know the occasion, and put it in the first line - [ ] Face a window or a soft light, not an overhead bulb - [ ] Mic close enough that voice beats running water - [ ] Products laid out in the order you'll use them - [ ] Something to say: a story, a plan or honest reviews - [ ] Finish on the full look so viewers see the result Cut the dead time. Long blending or drying steps can be sped up or skipped, with your voiceover carrying on over the cut. Name the products as you use them and list them in the [caption](/glossary/caption) afterward, which saves you answering the same question a hundred times. For vertical video specs, see our [Instagram Reel size guide](/blog/instagram-reel-size), and keep TikTok captions in check with the [TikTok caption character counter](/tools/tiktok-caption-character-counter). ### Talking to camera or voiceover? Talking live while you work feels more natural, but it's harder to get clean audio and you'll have pauses to cut. Recording the voiceover afterward lets you script the story, trim the rambling and keep the pace up, at the cost of feeling a little less spontaneous. You can also mix both: a few live lines at the start and end, voiceover in the middle. ### GRWM for businesses The format isn't only for personal accounts. A salon can film a stylist getting a client ready for a wedding, a clothing shop can show a staff member styling new stock for a night out, and a makeup brand can let a creator get ready with its products. The rule is the same as for anyone: name the occasion, show the process honestly and end on the result. If you film several GRWMs in one session, you can space them out instead of posting them all at once. Our guide to [scheduling TikTok videos](/blog/how-to-schedule-tiktok-videos) walks through the options. ## Products, links and disclosure Dictionary.com notes that GRWM videos often include reviews and displays of beauty products, and Cambridge's definition mentions links to what the creator uses. That makes the format a natural fit for brand deals, and it's why disclosure matters. If a brand paid you, sent you the products or gave you an affiliate link, treat the video as a [sponsored post](/glossary/sponsored-post) and use the disclosure tools the network provides. Viewers come to GRWMs for the feeling of honest advice from a friend. A hidden ad breaks that faster than any other format. Brands that hire creators for this kind of [UGC](/glossary/ugc) should spell out disclosure in the brief. ## How to reply to a GRWM Comments on GRWMs tend to fall into three kinds: product questions, reactions to the story and compliments on the finished look. Specific beats generic. If you want to know what foundation they used, check the caption first, then ask. If the video was a storytime, react to the story, since that's what the creator wanted to share. Requests are welcome too. Asking a creator for a GRWM for a specific event, or for a budget version of their routine, is a normal and often appreciated comment. If you're the creator, answering product questions in a pinned comment helps everyone who scrolls by later. ## When not to use GRWM In captions aimed at people who don't spend time on beauty or lifestyle content, write get ready with me in full at least once. GRWM is opaque to anyone outside the format, and screen readers will read it as four letters. Be thoughtful about the setting, too. Getting ready usually happens at home, and a GRWM can show more of your house, your schedule or where you're headed than you intend. Saying "GRWM for my shift at" and naming the place tells strangers where you'll be. Film first and post later if that worries you. ## GRWM vs OOTD and other formats **GRWM** - The process of getting ready - Video, often with talking - Ends on the finished look **OOTD** - Outfit of the day - Photo or short video - Shows only the result **Day in my life** - A whole day, start to finish - Getting ready is one scene - Vlog style The closest relative is [OOTD](/glossary/ootd), outfit of the day. Many GRWMs end where an OOTD begins: on the finished look. A get ready with me is also a common opener for a [photo dump](/glossary/photo-dump) of the night that follows, and it sits firmly in the world of [short-form video](/glossary/short-form-video) on TikTok and Reels. A routine video, such as a morning routine, overlaps too, but it usually covers more than getting dressed and makeup: breakfast, journaling, the commute. A GRWM stays focused on getting ready for one thing, and the occasion in the title tells viewers what that is. If you're unsure which label fits your video, ask what a viewer would search for. Someone looking for date makeup ideas types GRWM, not routine. ## Questions ### What does GRWM stand for? Get ready with me. It names a video where someone films themselves getting ready, usually talking to viewers as they go. ### What is a storytime GRWM? A GRWM where the creator tells a story while doing their makeup or getting dressed. The routine is the backdrop and the story is the point. ### Is GRWM only for makeup? No. Many focus on makeup, but skincare, hair, outfits and even packing for a trip all fit the format, as long as you're getting ready for something on camera. ### How long should a GRWM be? There's no rule. Short-form versions on TikTok and Reels are cut tight, while YouTube GRWMs often run longer and feel more relaxed. ### What is the difference between GRWM and OOTD? GRWM shows the process of getting ready. OOTD, outfit of the day, shows only the finished outfit, often as a single photo. ### When did GRWM start? Dictionary.com traces the abbreviation to at least 2012, with get ready with me videos on YouTube since the early 2010s. ## Related terms - [OOTD](https://postmesh.app/glossary/ootd) - [Photo dump](https://postmesh.app/glossary/photo-dump) - [Short-form video](https://postmesh.app/glossary/short-form-video) - [Sponsored post](https://postmesh.app/glossary/sponsored-post) - [UGC](https://postmesh.app/glossary/ugc) - [Reel](https://postmesh.app/glossary/reel) ## Sources - [Dictionary.com: grwm](https://www.dictionary.com/e/acronyms/grwm/) - [Cambridge Dictionary: GRWM](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/grwm)