Are Beauty Gurus ruining beauty?
The world of beauty has seen a veritable explosion on the internet in the last years, thanks mainly to social media. These days if you have or are thinking about buying a product the first thing you probably do is head to YouTube or Instagram to see what the so-called 'gurus' think. Such is the popularity of these gurus (think literally MILLIONS of subscribers) that many of them have branched out and are doing collaborations with major established beauty brands and some have even started their own brands. This now means that not only can you have the opinion of some of your favourite bloggers/vloggers but, for a price, you can get your hands on products that they have actually made/had a hand in making.
Some of the most famous are probably Huda Kattan, Jeffree Star and Jaclyn Hill. While the latter has not (yet) started her own brand she has just released an eyeshadow palette with Morphe Brushes, and I wouldnt be in the least surprised to hear that she has plans for a future brand.
Let's start with the least problematic - Huda Kattan. Huda is one of the biggest beauty personalities in the world with over 20 million subscribers on IG and almost 2 million on YouTube. She is a trained make-up artist who has become famous for, amongst other things, her skincare hacks. (While I love Huda I'm wary of the term 'skincare hack' as I don't believe it's realistic to suggest that there are shortcuts on the road to having great skin - its a long, expensive journey in my books). A couple of years ago she released a line of lashes (which I love but are VERY dramatic so buyer beware!) and followed up with liquid lipsticks, lip liners, an eyeshadow palette (which I own and love) and a highlighting palette (also own and love). She has also done a collab box with Cult Beauty, which I purchased and really enjoyed - I even ended up repurchasing the Sunday Riley cleanser and Tata Harper mask that she included. Overall I'm a fan of Huda, skincare hacks aside. She seems like a genuinely nice person and the quality of her products speaks to the hard work she puts into them and the love she has for her subscribers. She is never bitchy, never calls people out on social (even when the Queen of Skincare Caroline Hirons called her out on IG for advising people to use baking soda to get rid of blackheads - I have to agree with Caroline here, don't do that) and is never involved in the near constant drama that we now see pouring down the IG and Twitter feeds of most major beauty gurus. This and my genuine love of her products means that I am happy to shell out for her beauty line.
Let's turn to the ever problematic Jeffree Star (4.8 M subscribers on IG, 4.5 on YouTube.)
I was aware of this guy years ago when he was on MySpace but I was never, and am still not, a fan. (I have absolutely no hate for him but when he popped up beside one of my favourites Tati Westbrook in a recent video on her channel a small piece of me died). Jeffree has released his own line of products in recent years - liquid lipsticks, highlighters, two eyeshadow palettes etc. but my feelings toward him are worlds away from my feelings towards Huda.
Drama, drama, drama. Everything with this guy is DRAMA and I for one am not here for that. Wars with other YouTubers - last year he threatened to beat up YouTuber Shayla and called her a c*nt over a remark that she allegedly made to someone at an event - the highly publicized feud with long-time former friend Kat Von D, allegations of racism, sexism and drug abuse, spats with paying customers on Twitter - the list goes on. Added to this the obnoxious videos of him on private jets and draped over expensive cars and its just a no from me. Sometime before Christmas I unfollowed him on all my social accounts as, to be quite honest, he's just a bit of a gowl as we say at home. For this reason I don't ever seeing myself buying his products (although I once bought a liquid lipstick for a friend).
The same goes for Kat Von D - while I was so excited when her range launched in Sephora France, once I began paying closer attention to her social media content I put my credit card back in my purse. I get that her shtick is vegan and animal-cruelty free, but the way she shames her meat-eating, L'Oreal using customers and fans online and allows her comments sections to devolve into battlefields is just offensive to me. (Also, no way in hell do I believe that her latest palette was 7 years in the making. Sorry, no.)
Lastly, I have to mention Jerrod Bladino, the flamboyant former owner of Too Faced Cosmetics ( I believe they are now owned by Estee Lauder although he is still the Creative Director). This guy recently took a cat swipe at Tarte Cosmetics (#ThereArentUnicornsInTheAmazon, anyone?) and none other than Jeffree Star felt that it was his place to wade in and start an all-out virtual brawl with Bladino and his trash-talking sister that dominated the beauty pages for weeks. Now I've never been a huge fan of Too-Faced Cosmetics but I did have my eye on the Peach palette for ages, and I'm a lover of the Better Than Sex mascara - but put it this way, after seeing all that on social I've decided that I can get peach shades from other brands and am on the hunt for a new mascara - I just can't justify pouring my hard-earned money into the pockets of the likes of Starr and Bladino.
Beauty is supposed to be a safe space, beauty is supposed to make us feel good about ourselves. Beauty is not supposed to be this 'I have more than you can afford', 'look at all the free swag I get', 'Watch me get ready in my private jet' BS. We get it - you're rich, famous and have the beauty world at your feet - that doesn't give you the right to behave like a rude, superior, bitchy, petulant A-hole.
Sometimes I miss the days when my products didn't speak. Anyone with me?
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(If you want more info on all the drama in the beauty world, I highly recommend checking out Here For The Tea on YouTube).
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A x
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