Cheap Glam or Skin Risk? Inside the Sharpie Lip Trend

Lip Kits Are Out. Sharpies Are...In?

There’s a new lip look going viral—and it’s not coming from Sephora. It’s coming from your local office supply drawer. Yup, Sharpies. As in permanent markers. Gen Z creators on TikTok are lining their lips with actual markers, racking up millions of views and sparking equal parts fascination and freakout.

What started as a few cheeky tutorials has morphed into a full-on DIY beauty movement that’s less about looking flawless and more about being bold, raw, and unapologetically cheap. And like most chaotic trends, this one says way more about the culture than it does about cosmetics.

The Birth of the Sharpie Lip Trend

The first wave hit TikTok like a beauty bomb. One creator jokingly used a black Sharpie to outline her lips “because she couldn’t find her liner.” But instead of roasting her, the internet kind of...loved it.

The comments rolled in:
“Lowkey kinda slays.”
“Why does this look better than my $30 liner??”
“I did this in middle school and thought I was a genius.”

From there, the trend exploded. Suddenly, videos of teens using every color of Sharpie imaginable to contour, shade, and define were everywhere. Some leaned into goth grunge with heavy black outlines. Others used pinks and reds for a surprisingly glossy effect. A few even blended multiple shades to create full-on ombre Sharpie lips.

It’s giving: recession-core glam with a side of chaos.

What This Says About Gen Z Beauty

This isn’t just about being broke or bored. It’s a rebellion—wrapped in winged eyeliner and streaked with marker ink.

The “clean girl” aesthetic has dominated beauty for a while now: slick buns, barely-there makeup, glazed skin, minimalist everything. It’s polished, expensive, curated. But it’s also exhausting—and for a lot of Gen Z, it doesn’t feel real.

Enter DIY beauty. The Sharpie trend rejects perfection and price tags in favor of creativity and imperfection. It’s messy, experimental, and totally unfiltered.

Using a marker on your lips isn’t about looking cute. It’s about saying, I don’t need your overpriced liner to be iconic.

The Big Question: Is It Safe?

Short answer: Not really.

Sharpies are labeled “non-toxic,” but that doesn’t mean they’re meant for skin—especially sensitive areas like lips. Dermatologists and beauty pros have weighed in, warning that long-term use can cause irritation, allergic reactions, or worse.

“Just because it doesn’t burn right away doesn’t mean it’s safe,” said Dr. Marnie Nussbaum, a board-certified dermatologist, in an interview with InStyle. “Lips absorb more than other parts of the skin, so ingredients in permanent markers can go deeper than you think.”

TikTokers are aware of the risks—but most seem unbothered. Some apply a layer of balm first as a “shield.” Others simply shrug it off: “It’s not worse than whatever’s in my school lunch.”

It’s very much a “do it for the aesthetic, worry later” energy.

Cheap Glam Meets Anti-Establishment

At its core, the Sharpie lip trend taps into Gen Z’s ongoing love affair with chaos beauty. This is the generation that turned bleached brows and under-eye blush into fashion. That uses eyelash glue as brow gel. That cuts their bangs at 2AM on livestream.

It’s raw, it’s emotional, and it’s not trying to be perfect.

But it’s also political in its own weird way. There's something radical about refusing to spend $50 on a product that serves the same function as a $2 marker. Especially in an economy where rent's up, wages are down, and every beauty brand wants you to buy one more thing.

The Sharpie is not just a tool—it’s a protest.

Not Just Sharpies: Other DIY Hacks Going Viral

Sharpie lips are just the beginning. The DIY beauty wave is deep, and it’s getting weirder by the week:

• Highlighter as eyeshadow: Yes, the school supply kind.
• Food dye lip stains: Add a little Vaseline and suddenly you’ve got a 12-hour tint.
• Glue stick brows: First drag queens, now your cousin in AP Chem.
• Eyeshadow as blush: Multi-tasking queen behavior.

These hacks aren’t just about saving money—they’re about making beauty yours. No gatekeeping. No rules. Just vibes.

What's Next? Sharpie Lips Might Fade, But the Message Stays

Will this trend last? Probably not. TikTok moves fast. Today it’s Sharpies, tomorrow it’s lip tattoos made with beet juice and regret. But the larger movement behind it—the refusal to play by beauty’s traditional rules—is here to stay.

Gen Z isn’t asking permission. They’re not waiting for big brands to catch up. They’re crafting their own look, their own methods, and their own meaning.

So yeah, maybe drawing on your face with a permanent marker isn’t exactly dermatologist-approved. But it is a statement. One that says: I’ll define beauty for myself—Sharpie smudges and all.

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Stay stained, chaotic, and completely original with Woke Waves Magazine—your go-to for what Gen Z is actually doing with beauty right now.

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