Monet McMichael is a recently turned 23-year-old TikTok influencer who focuses her videos on skincare, makeup, and fashion. Monet is a mixed woman of color who identifies as Black and Puerto Rican. Monet received her blue check from TikTok on January 24th, 2023, and shows an immense amount of love to her 2.3 million followers. Monet’s love for her followers is one of many reasons why I adore her, but here are three reasons why I think she deserves to be TikTok’s new “It Girl.”
- She is Very Open about body hair
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Unfortunately, female-presenting people with body hair is extremely taboo in American society. It is very common for men to have a preference for women who shave consistently. But even with that preference, they often seem to be a bit weirded out by women talking about or even showing their body hair. Monet doesn’t care and absolutely breaks that boundary. Monet has time and time again shown her followers her armpit hair as well as her journey with her waxing routine. This opens doors for girls to learn about body hair care but also creates a space to talk about it comfortably and judgment-free. Monet shows off what hair looks like on women of color and really brings the whole idea of shaving down to earth, normalizing the process of it. She makes it known that waxing isn’t a necessity for women while also creating a fun video that brings women together to talk about what society finds taboo.
- Her makeup reviews are always honest
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Monet is known very famously for her makeup reviews and routines. Her reviews are honest, and she’ll tell you what products, trends, and ideas work and don’t work for her skin type. One of the best things about her reviews is that they can be angled toward women of color, allowing them to see what makeup products, routines, and trends look like on their skin tone. Unfortunately, the Tiktok beauty world lacks diversity, making it hard for women of color to compare makeup products or trust reviews from certain creators. Monet’s platform allows these women of color to see a variety of shade ranges and be able to use Tiktok the way other women do.
- She is Empowering Women, Especially Women of Color
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Monet uses her platform to spread positivity, self-confidence, and love. Her identity as a woman of color with a platform allows other women of color to see themselves represented in spaces they haven’t seen themselves in before. One of the best and most recent examples of this is her recent Dubai trip with Tarte Cosmetics. This trip shows women of color that they can achieve brand deals while also beginning to see themselves represented in the makeup world. Monet is opening doors for women of color to be showcased. She has allowed for me and others to see people that look like us on our FYP, normalizing and accentuating the beauty of women of color.