Make-up gurus find fame on YouTube

A L’oréal bronzer, Sephora lipstick, Clinique eye shadow and Revlon blush are arrayed over the vanity table of Harmony Jones, along with 20 other makeup items. Drawers full of other glamour accessories loom nearby out of sight.

“It may not seem like, it but I use it all,” said the 21-year-old SWC cheerleader and Internet star. “I’ve been growing my collection for a little over two years. I probably have at least $5,000 worth of makeup and equipment. I think of it as an investment.”

Jones is among the growing number of people who post their own make-up tutorials on YouTube, a genre that has taken root as one the most popular in cyberspace. The mother of a 2-year-old daughter said she was an avid fan of makeup tutorials before she jumped to the other side of the camera.
“When I was pregnant I would watch YouTube videos all the time,” she said. “It was pretty much all I did because I couldn’t do anything else.”
Jones posted her first YouTube video in 2015 and now has since an audience of 3,000 subscribers. Her most popular video has nearly 90,000 views. Google’s video uploading website has become a mecca for DIY (do it yourself) videos, where people can be found instructing viewers on topics from how to open a wine bottle without a decorker to changing a tire.

YouTube celebrity can be short lived, however. Most enjoy 15 minutes of fame with a one-off viral video that was forgotten as fast as you can say “refresh the page.” A generation of telegenic twenty-somethings have seized upon the DIY movement in search of fame and a following by creating thematic YouTube channels that provide useful information and foster a sense of community. A search for “make-up tutorial” on YouTube retrieves more than 20 million results, which begs the question, how does one stand out?
Jones said you have to make a connection.
“It’s about being authentic and having personality,” she said. “Viewers can tell when you are faking it.”
Jones said that the goal for her and the majority of beauty channels is to eventually recap her investment in makeup. Popular YouTubers collaborate with brands and create products. They also receive new collections to test out and feature on their channel. Some profit from YouTube by promoting ads.
Some beauty gurus are now cyber celebrities. Beyoncé is no longer the face of Maybelline or L’Oréal because brands have incorporated popular YouTubers to represent their companies.

SWC student Jacqueline Flores, 18, who was inspired by Jones to start her own make-up channel, said she will be attending Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in downtown San Diego next semester to major in beauty industry and merchandising marketing.
Since middle school Flores has enjoyed watching YouTubers paint their faces and transform themselves using makeup, she said, but was hesitant to start her own channel.

“I didn’t want to start a channel because I was scared that people weren’t going to like my makeup or whatever look I was creating,” she said. “I thought that I wasn’t going to be able to handle the hate.”
After less than a year on YouTube, Flores has gained nearly 400 subscribers and recently filmed a video in the Ipsy Open Studio’s in Santa Monica. Michelle Phan, a young YouTuber with more than 3 million subscribers, created a video studio that is completely free to her cyber makeup brothers and sisters. It is designated for smaller YouTube channels which need a studio area and equipment to create quality videos. It includes high-definition cameras, a camera operator, state-of-the-art microphones, sophisticated lighting and backdrops.

Flores’ mother, Patricia, accompanied her to the Ipsy Open Studios.

“My husband and her sister went and they said they loved it,” she said. “The studio is very professional. It’s an opportunity that doesn’t come up very often, so you have to take it.”
YouTube is a new frontier for Flores, but Instagram is where she is master of her domain. After she wore Adidas in some of her popular Instagram posts, the shoe giant reached out to her. Adidas sent Flores new products so she could post photos in her new kicks for her followers to see.

Flores said she hopes to form a partnership with of a top makeup company like Tarte or Laura Mercier. Eventually, she said, she would like to create her own makeup brand. Getting noticed by a top brand requires developing and nurturing your channel, she said.
“YouTube takes a lot of time,” she said. “Last night I stayed up until three in the morning editing a video that I uploaded today. It’s dedication. If you really care about your channel, you will make sure you have at least one video a week.”
After knocking out at 3 a.m., Flores woke at 5 a.m. to study for an exam that morning. She said the sleepless nights are worth it.
“It’s honestly so I don’t leave my viewers without a video,” she said. “I feel like if I don’t upload every week, my subscribers are going to forget about me.”
Flores said her number one tip was to be consistent with the release of videos.
“I just have to make sure that it is my number one priority,” she said. “You can’t become successful unless you give it your all. There are so many people trying to do the same thing as me I have to separate myself somehow.”

And look good doing it.