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I don’t know about you, but I get a lot of my information from YouTube. Seriously, I’ve learned how to cook Korean food, speak horrible Japanese, cut my boyfriend’s hair (that one I wouldn’t really recommend) and how to care for orchids — all from YouTube videos. I like to think of YouTube as Wikipedia for lazy people with the added bonus of getting to read horribly offensive remarks and Ron Paul spam written by half-literate teenagers in the comments section. Apparently, I am not the only person who turns to video sharing websites looking for tips. Lauren Luke, a 27-year-old single mother from England, started posting make-up tutorials on YouTube 18 months ago and now has her own make-up line, By Lauren Luke, coming out this week, all thanks to young women looking for make-up tutorials on YouTube.
How did the self-taught make-up artist turn a couple of videos into a business? Well, her tutorials are easy to follow and she is talented at what she does. Luke is also very much an “everywoman;” she came from humble beginnings and only started the make-up tutorials to help her sell make-up on eBay to support her child. Her “just like us” appeal and natural cheerfulness makes her easy to like, especially to those who watch her videos in order to theoretically look prettier.
Many of Luke’s videos are inspired by celebrity make-up looks, often ranging from outlandish makeup designs pulled from music videos to much simpler looks, like the Katy Perry inspired video below:
Of course, Luke isn’t the only YouTube make-up guru out there, there is actually an entire subculture of regular women who post make-up and hairstyling tutorials on YouTube (a search for “make-up how to” on YouTube draws up millions of results). Why are so many young women drawn to posting videos in this form? Maybe, if someone isn’t comfortable posting a vlog about themselves (a form that young women are also prolific in) they might feel the need to post a video with original content. That’s where cosmetics come in. Through women’s magazines, television makeover shows and trips to Sephora, young women spend a lot of time (and money) on make-up, so who is to say that they might not know a thing or two about putting on eye shadow?
It is disappointing that young women are often taught that the best way to express themselves is through altering their looks (be it fashion, make-up or hairstyling), and the beauty industrial complex hasn’t done a whole lot to boost female self-esteem, but could these videos be a way out of being a passive consumer and instead moving into the business side of the cosmetics industry? Lauren Luke is doing it, and if her line is a success there is no telling how many other self-taught YouTube make-up stars might be getting their own make-up line or turning their videos into some sort of career. It is nice to know that some women are turning an interest in cosmetics into legitimate businesses with the help of technology.
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Youtube is really fantastic. I recently got my hair cut quite short and learnt how to style it in a really cool way, and also learnt how to apply make-up and make my eyes bigger :)
Is it just me or is that make up absolutely awful? The best kind of make up is when you can’t tell that the person is wearing make up. I dunno it just looks over done and unnatural, she looked better at the beginning. I mean props to her for starting a business and stuff, but at the same time I hate that she’s encouraging people to look like this
Aunt Becky was so smart on Full House when she taught the girls that the trick to make up was to look like you aren’t wearing anything
;) yay full house!
I love this site and the make-application that she did! keep it up girlfriend.