BEAUTY
Beauty Influencers Are Threatening Individuality
By: Remy Bailard
I remember when I first started watching beauty influencers’ YouTube videos to learn how to do my own makeup such as Jaclyn Hill and Kathleen Lights. Jaclyn Hill demonstrated how to do more of a full glam look with heavy coverage and dramatic eye makeup whereas Kathleen Lights showed how to do a lighter coverage, more glowy makeup routine. The two different kinds of makeup routines demonstrated that there was no makeup routine like the other and that there were endless possibilities which I used to my advantage and picked and chose from.
In modern days, “no-makeup makeup” is becoming the standard, and having flawless-looking skin is idealized. Additionally, with the recent upbringing of beauty influencers on platforms such as TikTok, makeup is starting to become less of an art form, and rather a way to become more conventionally attractive as a result of the power influencers have now.
The first time I noticed this was when Madison Beer’s “Get Ready With Me” came out with Vogue in early 2021. The influencer heavily promoted Charlotte Tilbury's makeup products as multiple of them were essential in her routine. Although Charlotte Tilbury was already an established makeup brand, it never had been extremely popular or well-known in the beauty industry until Madison Beer’s influence as the brand’s revenue rose over 139 million British pounds from the year before the video came out to the year of. Most of those who watched the video ran to their nearest Sephora to purchase the products, including myself and the products sold out rapidly. To this day, the Charlotte Tilbury products mentioned in her video are hard to come by as several other influencers have included the brand in their videos as a result of Beer’s role of making the products well-known.
Another influencer contributing to the lack of individuality in the beauty industry is one of the newest and most influential beauty influencers on TikTok, Alix Earle. Her “Get Ready With Me’s” have influenced the makeup products, routine, and technique of most. She has paired with major brand deals with Tarte and Rare Beauty, estimating around $40,000 -$70,000 per partnership. Her partnerships have a large effect on her followers as they are extravagant. For example, the Tarte Dubai trip gained a lot of popularity and public attention as a result of her presence and its cost of $65,000 per person. What is unique about her compared to Madison Beer and other influencers is that her followers have conformed their entire makeup routines to exactly replicate hers, which wasn’t a common phenomenon prior. Sites produce articles on each product of her routine, even linking them for easy purchase. While her videos are beneficial in providing makeup beginners with useful tips, her power and influence are causing those who use her techniques and products to lose their sense of individuality as many girls' makeup routines are exactly the same now. Rather than using products and techniques that work best for individual facial structures and preferences, many are doing her exact methods to fit a societal mold.
There are still influencers that hold their own form of artistry in their makeup content. Makeup influencers like Nikkie de Jager, known as nikkietutorials, and Golloria showcase their own unique takes on makeup that stray from the beauty standards in the industry currently. Nikkie takes her own artistry and showcases it in an eccentric, creative eye shadow or full-face looks. For example, in one of her most recent TikToks, she crafted a deep, carefully blended eyeshadow look with a dark purple outer eye and an iridescent green glitter on the middle of the eye. While her style may not appeal to a large group of people because it is more bold and colorful, it is different from the other beauty videos that may be seen and her techniques can apply to everyone including her differentiating eye shadow shapes such as a sharper, cat-eye look or a rounder eye. Golloria is a more recent influencer, primarily on TikTok, that calls out brands that aren’t as shade inclusive as well as shows her own makeup routine as a Black woman. Her videos are inspiring and give a place for other Black women to learn about makeup techniques and products outside of the stereotypical white woman’s videos. For example, in one of her TikTok videos, she provides Black women with the makeup tip to use a black shade as their contour.
While many of these stereotypical influencers are frequently shown in social media feeds, it is important to recognize that makeup isn’t a way to fit a mold or make yourself conventionally attractive, but rather a way to showcase individuality and personal preferences. Many have lost sight of the fact that each person has a different facial structure or different features and that the makeup techniques and products one person uses may not be the best fit or work for another person. Just because a product or technique is becoming popular and is shown everywhere doesn’t mean that you have to participate in that trend to fit in. Finally, consumers and audiences of beauty influencers should uplift and support women who are trying to break the mold who tend to be overlooked and are not given the same opportunities, followers, and attention.