The beauty vlogging phenomenon shows no signs of slowing down. More and more of us are looking to YouTube stars for make-up tips, says Hanna Ibraheem
A recent survey has revealed that two fifths of British women are now watching beauty videos and ‘vlogs’ on platforms such as YouTube, in order to perfect their make-up skills. This contributes to the staggering 700 million hits these videos get every month worldwide.
Around 41 per cent of women in the UK have revealed that they watch online beauty videos. But what is it we’re looking for? The results showed that smokey eyes came out on top at 42 per cent, closely followed by contouring and highlighting. Other popular options were fancy dress make-up and eyebrow pencilling .
The study by vouchercloud.com questioned 1,992 UK women aged 18 and over. It revealed that 64 per cent of those that watch videos said it was to stay on top of the latest trends, showing the influence that beauty vloggers have on their audience. For many viewers, this isn’t a one-off event: 61 per cent of this group watch beauty channels regularly.
Vloggers have become celebrities in their own right and some have even started claiming a larger slice of the beauty industry by creating their own make-up lines.
Michelle Phan, an American beauty vlogger, is the number one beauty guru on YouTube, with just under six million subscribers. Last year, Michelle teamed up with the L'Oréal Luxe group to release her make-up line, em michelle phan.
She’s not the only one. British vlogger Tanya Burr has nearly two million subscribers on her YouTube channel and attracts ten million views per month. Her success has seen her front row at Fashion Week and she recently released her lipgloss and nail range, Tanya Burr Lips and Nails. When her products went on sale exclusively on feelunique.com, the site experienced its biggest waiting list ever.
"YouTube talent have a unique and growing relationship with their audience,” commented Dominic Smales, Managing Director at Gleam Digital Ltd, which has stars such as Tanya, Zoe Sugg and Pixiwoo on its books. “They are real people with real opinions and more and more women trust the opinions of 'social talent' over both advertising and media-owned journalism. I can only see this medium growing in the future."
In a recent interview with MailOnline, Tanya said “I think the girls who watch my videos can relate to me as I'm not a traditional celebrity that seems unattainable. I'm still just a normal girl, despite my large following.”