What is TikTok’s viral Smudged Lipstick Trend?

Right now, the platform is in danger of being banned in the U.S., but not even that is enough to deter its s from continuing to explore new trends. The Smudged Lipstick trend is only one of the latest, with over 282.2K TikToks already created by s who wished to the party. It’s not hard to understand why — among all the trends on the app, this is definitely one of the most wholesome and easiest to participate in.

Set to the tune of a sped-up version of the song “K.” by Cigarettes After Sex, the trend consists in showcasing someone applying lipstick, accidentally smudging it a bit. Then, someone else attempts to clean up the smudged product, only for the camera to reveal that person’s face covered in lipstick stains. Putting it simply, this trend is meant to showcase s’ affection for others — usually, the favorite people in their lives — and is spreading a wave of positivity and love online.

The popular TikTok creator Giorgia Malerba (@giorgiamalerba0) also jumped on the trend, but in an innovative way. The influencer opted for displaying her love for her goat, showing its hoof attempt to clean up the smudged lipstick, instead of the human hand most people expected. Her TikTok has now over 12.7M views.

A lot of other s have also taken the opportunity to express love for their pets, which typically results in some rather confused-looking animals. At least we know these pets are getting all the affection they deserve.

Meanwhile, some folks have taken a less lovey-dovey route, choosing to joke about having no one special to do this with. Judging by the 4M likes this video by @ilovethecolorgreeen has gathered, lots of people can relate to the sentiment. It’s also a pretty funny approach, which is always a plus.

Korean actress Lee Si-Young (@leesiyoung38) also chose to jump on this bandwagon, using blue lipstick instead of the more common red. As viewers soon find out, there’s a very good yet curious reason for this change. Her video has gathered over 6.2M views.

As questionable or dangerous as some TikTok trends might be, there’s also a lot of harmless fun to be had with it. Thankfully, the Smudged Lipstick trend is definitely in the latter category.