Hey Rebels! I hope your week has been stellar and amazing! This week I’m going to step away from actual makeup and skincare products and talk about how I really got into doing what I love doing. Makeup wasn’t always as fun as it is today for me. I’ve always been self taught and YouTube would eventually become an encyclopedia of never ending information and new tips and tricks. Too many nights have I fallen down a deep and dark hole for hours. So many personalities and different ways of applying makeup, not to mention the better access to new releases with influencers receiving PR (Public Relations for beauty products sent by a beauty company in hopes of a positive review and advertising to get the word out) products early. It’s been a very interesting community, to say the least, and I want to highlight a few of my absolute favorites that influenced me to take all of this a step further (I’ll list a few extras at the end with links). If you don’t see some more “popular” influencers on my list, it’s either I don’t know them or they’ve warn out their welcome in my life #sorrynotsorry. As always, welcome to the journey and leave your beauty standards at the door. Let’s goooooooooooo…
- Bailey Sarian: Murder, Mystery & Makeup Mondaaaay! This woman is a damn national treasure in my eyes! If you don’t like makeup, you can still go to listen to her stories on mystery cases of serial killers and some unsolved murders! My favorite part is she lists all of the makeup in the video description and spends her time telling stories while applying her makeup (which is flawless Every. Damn. Time. btw). She’s incredibly smart and absolutely hilarious. She’s also an actual MUA (Make Up Artist) that did gigs for quite some time (not sure if she still does it for work). These are YouTube videos worth watching even if you only like serial killers. She hit the nail on the coffin moving from just makeup tutorials to makeup WITH serial killers twist. She paved the way for the beauty community and she is no where near any of the drama that tends to circulate within the community (huge positive). She’s also started a new segment “Dark History” which is just her talking about the dark ages of history but without the makeup. Besides YT she’s done collaborations with companies – eyeshadow palettes, nail polish and she’s even has her own merch. She’s as beautiful outside as she is on the inside. She’s my #1 influencer and 100% worth watching!
- Robert & James Welsh (NO they are not the same person!): 100% truthful in every review and everything they do. They’re absolutely hilarious and very knowledgeable from Robert being a MUA and James having an amazing understanding about skincare. They stay up to date on trends (even if it’s the dreaded 5 Minute Crafts or the cringe worthy TikTok Trends) to either prove they’re actually worth trying or if it’s ridiculous and it needs to stop. BTW there’s some ridiculous trends out there (Lube as a primer before applying makeup. Please make it stop lol) and they’re willing to test them out together, and when they both collab together, it’s a RIOT right out the gate! All 3 channels give me life when I’m in a terrible mood and their combined knowledge helps you understand complicated tips and/or products. Robert also has another segment called “Ghost Stories & Makeup” while James does “Skincare Reactions Videos” & “Instagram Vs Reality.” On their own, they’re amazing and when they’re together, it’s a whole other world! Please go check them out!
- Kathleen Lights: She’s a beautiful Miami sunrise that started at the very bottom and made a name for herself. She has her own company now and a beautiful line of nail polishes! I gravitate towards people who have a hilarious sense of humor (can’t you tell?) and she doesn’t disappoint! I’ve watched her for years now and it’s really been something to watch and see her succeed in such a hard community to do it in. I’ve always appreciated when she’s been transparent about the work she gets done on her face. I don’t ever mind influencers getting work done, it’s when they don’t disclose it and make you think makeup can make wrinkles go away. It’s infuriating. Kathleen is truthful, fiery & incredibly talented! She has videos on BoxyCharm releases, skincare, new makeup & skincare releases & she even does segments on perfume. She has a thing with ‘smells’ and it cracks me the hell up! She’s also very into astrology. Please check her out, you’ll adore her as much as I do!
- Jen Luv: Jen has been in the beauty community for YEARS. She used to go by Jen Luvs Reviews but she has gone to more of a “what’s up in beauty news” and she also reviews a few products. I watch her every week for news on products, some gossip and things that are going on with beauty companies. She maintains poise and grace as she tries to stay as neutral as possible. However, she will not back down when she disagrees or doesn’t like a product. She feels like the only news station I need to keep up with. She’s both entertaining and knowledgeable in all fields surrounding “beauty.” If she doesn’t know something, she does research to figure it out. She also has a huge team of people helping her dig around for the good, the bad and even the ugly! I trust she has the most truthful and trustworthy info out there! If you’d like to understand the beauty community more, please check her out!
- RawBeautyKristi: She might be hands down, one of the oldest influencers I’ve watched. She has amazing talent with FX makeup (she hasn’t done it in awhile), well, with all makeup really. She was one of the influencers that was unapologetic for cursing and being real and I have always gravitated towards her. She’s been affiliated with box subscription clothing companies, Hello Fresh and she’s done a few collabs as well (she had her own collection with ColourPop cosmetics). Now, she was kind of an influencer that tried to tie her personal life into the makeup community and sometimes it doesn’t always work out but I think it did ok. I believe she has made at least one other channel to fit being a new mom, new home and how she’s very passionate about the environment (I believe her and her husband were looking at living off the grid but don’t quote me). I have not subscribed to that channel so that’s all I’ll say on that. She was always transparent about her mental health and how difficult it became when she went viral over lipsticks (it was a thing I promise) BUT she really delved into getting help and continuing her channel and finding what makes her happy. Honestly, I’ve not kept up with her since she was gone for awhile due to being a new mom. I’m including her on my list because she has real RAW talent in the community and she’s really taught me so much!
Ok! Those are my top influencers but I’ve left so many out because I know you don’t want to be here all night. Here’s a short list of others I HIGHLY respect and enjoy:
- Tati Westbrook
- PopLuxe
- ChrisMo Beauty
- MariaaGloriaa_
- Judy D – She goes to to the worst rated “salons” to get her makeup done!
- Jaime French – No longer does Beauty Reviews but she’s still out there being hilarious!
Well that all folks! I hope you always enjoy your time here and don’t forget to check out all of my social media HERE. Don’t forget Skincare Basics: Your Skin Type Cleansers @ 8pm Est tomorrow! As always, stay classy & make good decisions!
xoxo
Rebel Beauty Courtney 