Very demure, very mindful, the TikTok slap against...

Very demure, very mindful, the TikTok slap against loud appearances

Zim Now Reporter

The British say duh·myuor. Zimbabweans are likely to go with the American duh·myur.

However you pronounce it, if you walk social media streets, especially TikTok, you are likely to have come across the word “demure” in countless videos over the past couple of weeks.

What it is all about?

The trend is coming from Jools Lebron’s makeup video in which the creator goes against the current makeup trends of loud and brash colour.

"You see how I do my makeup for work? Very demure, very mindful," Jools Lebron, @joolieannie on TikTok says in the

video posted, on August 5 which has over 35 million views.

Ironically while slay queens are among those loving the video, Jools hits at women who go into professional spaces wearing over painted faces.

"I don't look like a clown when I go to work. I don't do too much. I'm very mindful while I'm at work," Jools says, describing the word demure as the way one should carry themselves to work. The way I came to the interview is the way I came to the job," Jools says.

She goes on with her attack:

"A lot of you girls go to the interview looking like Marge Simpson and go to the job like Patty and Selma. Not demure," Jools says, referring to characters from "The Simpsons" cartoon show.

Jools gives advice on how one should dress and behave when they go to work, describing demure as the standard of how one should carry themselves.

Since the viral video, Lebron’s videos have gotten the attention of Google, e.l.f. Cosmetics, United Airlines, and celebrities like Khloe Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez.

"Be mindful of why they hired you," Jools says, apparently implying that when one is not hired to be a decoration in the workplace, they should pay more attention to the job rather than their face paint.

Lebron has decided to ride on the “demure” brand, creating countless follow-up parody videos like how to be demure at a drag show or how to get off a plane demurely.

Other creators have also jumped in, create their own “demure” skits with some of them ironic.

The hashtag #demure has been used about a million times with interest in the hashtag soaring since Aug. 5, according to TikTok analytics.

Some viewers have been attracted to Jools’ video because of a debate on who really started the trend.

TokTok user Selyna, @trapselena on TikTok claimed to have made the original video back in 2021 and accused Jools of stealing the "demure" trend.

Most users have come to Jools' defense saying that the video went viral because of how it was done and that demure is an English word that cannot be IP protected.

"Demure is an English word…Jools jokes with it," one user commented.

Others have linked the word to an underground LGBTQ+ subculture with origins in drag performances.

Jools is a trans woman who does makeup tutorial on her handle, makes wigs and has an extensive doll collection.