Beauty Gurus once dominated YouTube, with millions of views per video and a fan base worldwide. Their beauty and lifestyle content revolutionised the industry and paved the way for makeup trends. In 2016 alone, content creators were behind 86% of the top 200 cosmetic videos on YouTube, outperforming content produced by makeup brands, showcasing the impact they had. So what exactly happened to them?
What are Beauty Gurus?
Beauty gurus are a term that became quite popular during its peak YouTube era between the late 2000s to 2018, where there was a surge in beauty and makeup content. During this period, YouTube was one of the most highly used social media platforms before the rise of short-form videos such as TikTok. Beauty Gurus established a loyal following, ranking up in views each day. Some of their content consisted of ‘Get ready with me’, ‘Q&As’, full glam makeup tutorials, shopping hauls and product reviews. These content creators were seen as experts in the field, hence the term ‘Beauty Guru’, and had a large influence on the makeup industry. Many have even produced their own makeup lines, selling out within seconds.
Why were Beauty Gurus so Popular?
At the time, all of the beauty gurus of YouTube were seen with the ‘full glam look’, which emphasised dramatic eyeshadow and lashes, full coverage foundation, heavy contour and highlight, lots of setting powder and of course the matte lip. Their makeup tutorials set the standard for which products were in and which were out, building communities across the world. For many viewers, beauty gurus were someone they could look up to for guidance and advice, even beyond makeup-related matters.
The Fall of Beauty Gurus & The Transition to the Clean Girl Aesthetic
As with most things that were once popular, there comes a time were this is no longer the case. For the YouTube makeup community, this shift occurred from 2019 onwards, with TikTok increasing in popularity. As more people shifted to short-form content, the longer YouTube videos became less desirable and the beauty gurus with it. Slowly, the full beat makeup look experienced a downfall and the ‘clean girl aesthetic’ was on the rise. That, combined with the large number of scandals many leading beauty creators faced, they began to fade from the spotlight.
The Future of Beauty Trends
It’s quite common for trends to come back around — we’ve seen it with ’90s street style and the Y2K aesthetic. While the minimal makeup look is trending now, the full-glam makeup style may soon make a comeback — perhaps evolving into something even better than before.
Beauty trends are constantly changing, and the clean girl aesthetic may also experience a downfall, but it is evident that beauty gurus will always remain an iconic era of makeup within the community. Despite this, beauty will always be unique to you, and no trending aesthetic should change that.
XOXO, Idman