Christen Dominique has a lot of friends – 2,052,875 to be exact.
Or at least that's how the beauty maven views her YouTube followers.
"It's more like a friendship, a trusting friendship," said Dominique, a Houston, Texas native and Los Angeles transplant. "It's like real girls talking about what they love."
Reflecting on her childhood, Dominique said getting her hands on her mother's makeup was something of a game changer. She developed a fascination with color and its ability to transform her animals, dolls, paper – and then her face.
"It really helped me embrace myself," said Dominique, underscoring the importance of having "tough skin when it comes to reading your comments" and not letting people's opinions bring you down.
Dominique joined fellow Ipsy stylists Cydnee Black, Karen Yeung, Gabriel Zamora, Desi Perkins, and others, at the sold-out Generation Beauty event in San Francisco last month.
Like Dominique, Black, who is originally from Denver, Colorado, was influenced by her mother — who was also a makeup artist and from whom she inherited her striking blue eyes. Her sisters weren't interested in beauty products, but Black was smitten by the "fun," "artistic" and "creative" loot.
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Black learned the art of makeup application by practicing a new look – everything from blue eye shadow to various hues of lipstick – before going to bed at night. Now, she is converting that expertise into tutorials that break down the process of makeup application "for the average person who has no idea what they're doing."
"Even though I think its common sense – it's not, it's really not," she said.
Having started uploading YouTube videos consistently only last December, Black has amassed 554,618 followers.
Meanwhile, Yeung – known by her moniker IAMKARENO – is yet another runaway hit on YouTube with 1,301,682 followers.
The petite Los Angeleno credits her personality for her success.
"I like the weirder things," Yeung said, and that affinity for quirk reflects itself in more "funky" videos, much to her fans' delight.
Yeung, who was born in Singapore but grew up in San Jose and studied at the University of California, Davis, pays close attention to fashion and makeup trends outside the United States. She hopes to expand into the burgeoning Chinese blogging industry next.
When asked what three words she might use to encourage someone who wants to follow a similar path as her beauty idols, Yeung replied: "Passion. Consistency. Endurance."
To that, Black added: "There's no rules ... So wear whatever makes you feel good."
We caught up with Dominique, Black and Yeung and asked for their take on social media, makeup, and more. After all, inquiring minds want to know!
How has social media changed the makeup industry?
KY: I think before, without social media, there was not a lot of personal interaction with makeup. With social media, we can have different faces and show audiences how [different makeup] will look on different faces. It built a culture around it – a makeup culture. … There is literally every single type of personality and makeup now because of the influencers bringing in that insight.
CD: You're able to reach so many more people on a real level [rather] than just a magazine cover. It's like real girls talking about what they love and wearing it. It's more of like a friendship, a trusting friendship, rather than just flipping through the pages of a magazine and being inspired that way.
CB: It's changed the makeup industry because it's given … the average person more of a voice. Because instead of listening to whatever's in a magazine or what's on TV, where there's these gatekeepers who say what's cool and what's not, even though that's not what the general public actually believes, now they have us. … So it's making the common girl or guy more accessible to this world and getting their voices out there.
What's your favorite social media platform?
KY: At the moment, I really like Snapchat because there is that immediacy in it, and it's very genuine, it's very honest. I also like the fact that you don't have to edit the video. It saves a lot of time.
CD: Other than YouTube, it would be Snapchat. I feel like Snapchat is like … it's so easy and raw. Most of the time, I probably don't even have makeup on … and I think people appreciate that – just that I'm a real person. I'm not always made up and they get to connect with you on a personal level rather than just makeup.
CB: YouTube just because I was a fan before I started doing it, and I'm still a fan. And I think that's important for being successful on YouTube. You have to actually appreciate the platform, and appreciate the content that other people are creating to be able to create great content yourself. So I still get lost in YouTube, I'll watch it for hours.
Why have beauty channels done so well compared to everything else posted on YouTube?
CB: I think the beauty community on YouTube is set apart from the rest of categories, like gaming … because it actually makes people feel good about themselves. Like I get a lot of messages from people saying like, "You inspire me so much, like I didn't know how to wear lipstick on dark skin and you made me feel beautiful wearing lipstick on dark skin." I think it really … uplifts people and makes people feel good about themselves.
How do you keep you fans hooked?
KY: I think, ultimately, it's your personality and being as honest as possible. … Because the space is doing so well, a lot of companies are also coming in and doing sponsored videos. Those are great videos, but I think people want to see the real side of us. So that's one thing – to have that actual human connection.
CD: I think just embracing yourself. If you're a little quirky, a little goofy, just be yourself. People love knowing that you're not perfect because nobody is perfect. … Imperfection is so much more beautiful.
CB: It's hard to differentiate in this industry because there's so many people doing it now but when you're yourself and you find people who actually connect with you then they want to come back to watch you. … They don't feel like they're just watching another beauty influencer. They feel like they're watching Cydnee because they know Cydnee, they trust Cydnee so they want to watch her more.
Girls and women with darker skin may enjoy makeup, but don't always turn to YouTube because they find that most makeup artists aren't catering to their needs. Your thoughts?
CB: Representation is the most important thing because I get so many people who come to me … and they're like, "I don't know how to use this because there's not anyone who looks like me using these products." I'm here to say, "You know, you can still use it. You can still do it." … I want to show girls with darker skin that you can still do these looks and still be beautiful.
One makeup product you won't leave home without?
KY: That's a hard one! Just one? Eyeliner.
CD: Tarte Shape Tape Contour Concealer. Even if I was stranded on an island, I'd bring concealer.
CB: Becca Ever Matte Poreless Priming Perfector
Editor's note: Answers given by Christen Dominique, Cydnee Black and Karen Yeung have been edited for clarity and brevity.
