This is the time of the internet and its own celebrities. None of them have influenced their audience, and changed the marketing strategies of huge brands as much YouTube's famed ‘beauty gurus'
First, there were the ones who tried to do extreme things and make a fool of themselves and then came the people who fell off of chairs in funny ways. Now, the YouTube stage belongs to the "beauty gurus."
Throughout the years, YouTube has had a variety of 15-minute celebrities. Once, a video begins to get more hits than usual, the theme of that video spreads throughout the platform like an epidemic and similar videos begin to appear. Many have come and gone in the world of YouTube. Some have enjoyed their short-lived fame while the others turned their fame into business ventures and moved on.
Yet, not every YouTube craze fades away as quickly as they appear. The beauty gurus on YouTube were always there, growing their number of loyal subscribers. These "gurus," or "influential," as they call themselves, focus on makeup and skincare which is in fact the global language of all women in the world. Beauty vloggers usually get in front of the camera and either review the latest products or their "favorites" or create a makeup look by showing every step to the viewer, helping them learn how to apply makeup in the comfort of their homes.
Toward the end of 2012, these beauty gurus began emerge as the big players of YouTube. As the number of so-called beauty gurus enlarged, the stars of the pioneers of this movement shone like never before. At first, these vloggers were reviewing and doing makeup with the products they purchased themselves, yet as their subscriber pool began to float, they started to collaborate with the renowned brands and were sent free stuff just to help the brands promote their new products. In a matter for few years, YouTube vloggers turned into the biggest marketing move of the brands as the vloggers review the product "honestly" and give a more positive impression to the viewer and the customer than actual ads.
Let's take a step back and see how this beauty craze first came to YouTube. Undoubtedly, YouTube videos are the best way to learn something. Do you want to learn how to make a baby's cradle? Well, you are definitely in the right place. The same applies to makeup. Almost all women have makeup products in their vanity but very few know how to apply it. At this time of need, professional makeup artists came to the rescue with their YouTube channels. One of them was British Lisa Eldridge who is a world renowned, award-winning makeup artist, specialized in red carpet makeup. Her channel, which she launched almost eight years ago, gained a huge reputation around the world.
The way she mixed high-end products with drug store makeup in her tutorials earned Eldridge a great deal of subscribers from all over the world. Moreover, since she recreates the beauty looks that people see on the covers of global fashion magazines, her influence on YouTube has grown day by day.
Fast-forward a few years and the YouTube beauty scene has turned into something entirely different. Instead of showing their viewers how to apply makeup or choose the right product, the beauty gurus now collaborate with the brands and broadcast sponsored videos. Chloe Morello from Australia was one of the first beauty gurus who achieved worldwide fame. All the way from Australia, she managed to reach out to millions in the comfort of her home. After she gained international success, she began to team up with makeup brands and came up with her own makeup line in collaboration with one of the leading British companies in the industry. Now, she is regarded as one of the top beauty influentials on YouTube.
There is no denial that YouTube beauty gurus unwillingly turned YouTube into a big marketing strategy for makeup brands. However, some YouTube beauty gurus have managed to stay out of this business web (as much as they can). With more than three million subscribers, American "guru" Tati Westbrook, posts five videos a week, reviewing new products on her channel. Since, her job is to give honest (as honest as it can get) reviews on products, she avoids collaborating with brands and posting sponsored videos.
In the YouTube world, everything is an illusion. The beauty gurus - although they claim to have honest reviews - create the biggest illusion for their viewers. As women desire to make themselves more beautiful in order to reach the beauty standards of the era they live in since the dawn of civilization, it seems like YouTube beauty gurus have lot to say for a very long time.