How to do your make-up for the gym – and why gym glam is even a thing, as seen on Kim K, Hailey Bieber and J.Lo

Jun 30, 2026

Gigi Hadid staying fresh-faced in a fitness-focused collaboration with Reebok. Photo: Handout

Once considered a cosmetics-free zone, the workout session is now turning the other cheek – and it’s tinted, with Rhode and Charlotte Tilbury offering gym-friendly options

There’s now an entire aesthetic built around looking good while working out. The hot-girl gym era, born somewhere in the overlapping circles of TikTok’s #ThatGirl or #CleanGirl wellness content and SoulCycle’s fluorescent lighting, has turned the pre-workout routine into a full beauty moment. Brows done, mascara on, potentially a tinted moisturiser, definitely a lip product.

The psychology checks out: getting ready signals to the brain that you’re about to do something worth showing up for, and that shift in confidence can translate directly into how hard you actually work, which makes the get-ready process, for a lot of people, part of the workout itself. Dr Supatra Tovar, clinical psychologist, explained as much to Bustle.

For celebrities, that logic tends to go all the way: Kim Kardashian has been photographed leaving the gym in full glam more times than anyone’s counted, and Jennifer Lopez once posted a video of herself doing a complete pre-workout make-up routine, foundation, brows, bronzer, mascara and all.

Then there’s Martha Stewart, who at 84 revealed she wakes up at 5.45am to shower, make a cappuccino and apply foundation with SPF, cheek colour and lip gloss before her 6.30am gym session. “I have to because there’s men in the gym,” she told host Paige DeSorbo on Amazon Live. At this point, the paparazzi-at-the-gym shot is practically its own content genre – and it’s setting a tone.

That tone, more often than not, is the no-make-up make-up look: skin that appears effortless but isn’t, a flush of colour that looks like you were born with it, brows that seem naturally groomed. It’s the aesthetic Hailey Bieber has made something of a signature, and one that her brand Rhode has quietly built an entire product language around. For the gym specifically, it’s a smart framework: significant enough to feel put-together, light enough that it still feels natural.

Milk Makeup Cooling Water Jelly Tint Blush & Lip Stain. Photo: Handout

But it’s a wide range of people taking that cue, not just the ones being photographed outside Equinox fitness club, from the person who comes straight from the office with no real gap between the afternoon meeting and the 6pm reformer class, to the one who just feels more like themselves with some make-up on, particularly in a room that’s essentially a wall of mirrors under fluorescent lighting, to the content creator, for whom the gym is as much a backdrop as it is a place to work out. The why is personal, but the skin consequences can be a little less so.

“When we exercise, our body’s core temperature rises, which triggers the nervous system to push sweat through the skin,” explains Dr Jody Levine, director of dermatology at Plastic Surgery & Dermatology of NYC. Think of it like your skin opening its windows to let heat escape. The problem is that foundation, concealer and powder sit on the surface like a closed shutter: sweat builds up underneath, gets trapped alongside your natural oils, and instead of evaporating the way it’s supposed to, it creates a warm, damp environment that bacteria find very hospitable. The result? Clogged pores, irritation and inflammation.

Charlotte Tilbury Legendary Brows. Photo: Handout