One of the biggest trends that has come about along with the rise of social media influencers has been selling makeup kits. Recently, social media stars Shane Dawson and Jeffree Star teamed up for a collaborative campaign in which they marketed and sold an extremely sought-after makeup kit titled the Conspiracy Palette. The Conspiracy Palette sold a million palettes in just half an hour. Senior Emma Carlson feels that online stars are in a good position to sell a lot of makeup.

“It’s easiest to learn how to do makeup online,” Carlson said. “That’s how I taught myself how to do makeup, just by watching videos and when there’s super talented people producing stuff like that, it’s easy to learn. Plus, everyone gets involved with all their drama and everything so they pay attention.”

This shows that in the internet age, many of the new celebrities that are responsible for a lot of the sales in the makeup industry are online influencers. In fact, social media has birthed its own microcosm of makeup celebrities in the form of makeup tutorial YouTubers, often called beauty vloggers, beauty gurus, or beauty influencers. YouTube estimates that there are over 50 thousand YouTube channels that specialize in fashion and beauty-related content. In a given month, approximately 50 million people watch a combined average of 30 million hours in beauty videos. Some of the top makeup influencers on the online platform are Yuya, Jeffree Star, and James Charles, boasting a combined 57 million subscribers for their YouTube channels. 

“My favorite palettes are the James Charles Palette, the Tati Palette, and the Jeffree Star Blood Palette,” Carlson said.

Makeup tutorials often get a lot of views because there are a variety of factors that attract people to do makeup.

“My favorite part about makeup is the creativity,” Carlson said. “You can experiment with different colors, express yourself in so many different ways, and use so many different looks.”