11 beauty products that went viral on TikTok in 2022

It remains to be seen whether TikTok will hold the same power in the new year, but in 2022, a viral moment on the social media app was on every brand’s wishlist.

Below, a look back at some of the products that made the biggest splash.

E.l.f. Halo Glow Liquid Filter & Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter

Shortly after E.l.f. launched its $14 Halo Glow Liquid Filter in July, Mikayla Nogueira deemed it a dupe for Charlotte Tilbury’s Hollywood Flawless Filter. It was then off to the races for the product, which, according to recent Glossy reporting, quickly accumulated a 75,000-person waitlist. The hashtag #elfhaloglowliquidfilter now has 57.1 million views. Charlotte Tilbury’s product, even at a much higher price point, is also frequently out of stock, though it is an older product. The hashtag #hollywoodflawlessfilter has 16.5 million views. Both products are hard to label — they can serve as primers or highlighters, among other uses. But their ability to provide a fast route to a dewy glow made sense in 2023, as people emerged into the world after two years and had more opportunities to wear makeup.

Mac MACStack Mascara

On TikTok, an endorsement can spread like wildfire — which is what happened for MACStack, which first gained prominence on the app via a video made by Kelly Rose Sarno, which was stitched by Nogueira. The mascara also earned influencer fans including Meredith Duxbury, Patrick Starr and Rachel Rigler. In previous Glossy reporting, MAC executives said the company had developed the mascara over two years and had planned for it to be a big launch — though you can’t really plan virality. The brand calls the $28 formula “endlessly buildable” and “clump-resistant.”

Jones Road What The Foundation

This foundation started an all-out TikTok war — how many makeup products can say that? Jones Road launched its first foundation in April. Soon after, when Meredith Duxbury gave it a bad review after glopping a ton on her face (the original post has since been deleted), the brand’s iconic founder, Bobbi Brown, clapped back. “I always love learning new makeup techniques,” she said, while applying comically large amounts of the product, which is meant to serve as a light veil, rather than a full-coverage formula. Afterward, she laughed while stating, “It didn’t really work.” Then, of course, everyone wanted to try the formula and draw their own conclusions.

Tarte Maracuja Juicy Lip & Cheek Shift

Tarte launched this product with a proven strategy for the brand: a trip, paired the hashtag #TrippinWithTarte. The product launched the last week of October, but really kicked off when the brand took 21 influencers to the Florida Keys to celebrate it and other Tarte holiday launches. The product comes in six shades, each of which is said to work with the skin’s pH to provide a customized “pinky pop.” As such, the brand has described the product as the “mood ring” of makeup. The $24 product sold out in about a month and now has a 180,000-person waitlist.

Haus Labs Triclone Skin Tech Foundation

Lady Gaga’s re-launched Haus Labs is making noise on TikTok, especially with its foundation, which launched in September. The hashtag #HausLabsFoundation has 9 billion views. In tandem with the launch, the brand ran its first campaign, which was kicked off by its famous founder. The challenge garnered 748 entries. The TikTok Challenge contributed to 39% of the foundation shades, or 20 of the 51, selling out while the challenge ran. They’ve since been restocked. 

Phlur Missing Person

Another beneficiary of the Mikayla effect, “clean” fragrance brand Phlur was launched in February by mega-influencer Chriselle Lim. In March, Nogueira stitched a TikTok by influencer Rachel Rigler, which led to the brand selling through a year’s worth of inventory in just 10 minutes. In the video, Rigler likens the scent to the feeling of “being in love.” Its notes include skin musk, bergamot nectar and blonde wood.

Chanel Les Beiges Water Fresh Foundation

TikTok, of course, loves a visual moment, and it loves luxury. So it came as no surprise when TikTokers collectively fell in love with Chanel’s skin tint, which features its pigment suspended in a clear, gel base. TikToker @daniellemarcan (3.4 million followers) put it to the test in August, captioning her video, “Trying this weird Chanel foundation.” She ultimately gave it her stamp of approval. The post has 1.2 million likes. Beauty TikTokers stitched Marcan’s video sharing their own first impressions of the unique formula. The brand has a suspended pigments blush, too, which has also gained popularity on the platform.

Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Blurring Balm Powder

“Yeah, I had to order this expeditiously … cuz y’all know how the TikTok girlies be selling stuff out,” says creator Raven Elyse (@ravenelysetv, 1.5 million followers) in a post, regarding her TikTok reviews-inspired purchase of the product. Like other products on this list, it’s loved for its flexibility: Some use it as a primer, others use it as a do-it-all, light coverage foundation. Some of the craze was spurred by TikToker and Peloton instructor @katiewongspelledwang, who made a video demonstrating how it covered up her breakouts, which earned 500,000 likes.

Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Blush

Both Selena Gomez and her brand, Rare Beauty, are popular on TikTok. At press time, the hashtag #rarebeautyblush had 417 million views — this continues to rise by the day. And the brand’s more popular of its two blush formulas, the Soft Pinch Liquid Blush, has remained popular throughout 2022. Most shades are currently sold out on Sephora.com. If you scroll through the endless try-on videos, you’ll see creators advise on how to handle the blush’s now infamous pigment load — and you’ll quickly learn you don’t need more than one dot.

Fenty Beauty Poutsicle Hydrating Lip Stain

Over the summer, amid lower Covid rates and warm weather, a bright, bold lip color was back in style — and Rihanna’s sold-out-everywhere lip stains offered the coolest way to wear the look. Case in point: the hashtag #poutsiclelipstain has 1.9 million views. Scroll through the content, and you’ll see that creators had fun demonstrating its staying power, wearing it underneath a face mask and while eating.