Tuesday, January 26, 2016

YouTube it!

My best friend Destini always says, “If you don’t know how to do something, YouTube it!”  She can’t be more right. Over the past decade, YouTube has become the go-to teacher for aspiring chefs, gamers, hairstylists, and most recently make-up artists. Make-up has always been of interest to women around the world. And by make-up, I mean a little foundation, mascara, eyeliner, and maybe some blush, but thanks to YouTube we’ve seen quite an innovative shift in the way make-up is applied and designed. There are thousands of make-up brands available these days, all promising to transform women into celebrity-like, flawless beings. I like to attribute this growth of product lines to YouTube. Before YouTube, everyone wanted to look like a celebrity, but no one really knew how. Now the world knows thanks to a few pretty artists and of course, YouTube.

Today, women globally are consulting YouTube first pertaining techniques such as “contouring” and “baking”. Yes I said, “baking”, a technique that requires about 15 minutes of letting certain make-up components sit in order to allow the body’s natural heat absorb the products into the skin for a more flawless look. Who would’ve ever thought! When you type “baking make-up” into the YouTube search bar over 400,000 results are returned! The same goes for contouring, eye shadow and eyeliner techniques, along with various product reviews.
 

Not only is YouTube changing the way people apply make-up, it’s changing the way they make money! Famous make-up YouTube users are generating up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue. How? Once users obtain a high enough number of views on a video or a significant number of subscribers, they are considered “influencers”. They are then sought out by companies that are interested in using the influencers to promote and bring awareness to their products. Did I mention these influencers are paid for this? One of my favorite YouTube make-up gurus, Desi Perkins, has over 1 million subscribers. She is constantly sent new products to promote and review and sent on all expenses paid vacations to try out new products. She's living the life, I would say. Most recently, she was flown out my Marc Jacobs to be one of the first to experience his new make-up collection. YouTube is creating careers!


In my 22 years of life, I have never seen anything quite like this. Young women everywhere are doing whatever it takes to keep up with the latest make-up trends. It’s fascinating to say the least. Thanks YouTube!