Regardless of how often you choose to wear makeup, switch hairstyles, or dabble into skincare, there always seems to be more to learn about the beauty industry. Given the wealth of products on the market and the accompanying beauty tips that follow, it can be difficult for any single person to master all of this information. Luckily, there are people out there who are willing to help!
By sharing their tricks of the trade with the public, many bloggers have created names for themselves in the beauty industry. Whether they are covering recent trends, testing popular products to see if they are worth the hype, or posting makeup tutorials, beauty bloggers post about everything related to making people look and feel like the best version of themselves.
While it would seem easiest to turn to the beauty bloggers that have gained the most sizable followings, this is not always the most effective strategy. There are now so many personalities in the blogging world that it’s worth scrolling through many blogs before deciding which ones best fit your personal style. In an effort to best help with the search for your favorite beauty blogger(s), HC UChicago has provided a list of our favorites:
Cult of Pretty is run by Ann Colville Somma, who has worked in the beauty industry for over 10 years in product development and marketing. Her blog features reviews of all things beauty: from nails, to haircare, to makeup, and skincare. Somma reviews new products and old favorites daily, ensuring that her 500,000+ followers are getting the best descriptions of all products before purchasing them.
“I look hard to find things I really love (and due to my job, I’m always looking – sometimes in the strangest places – for great product), and I look past hype straight to ingredients and efficacy. Ok, maybe sometimes I just look at how kick ass the packaging is,” Somma writes in her blog description. “But at the end of the day, I buy and use some of the best stuff out there – and sometimes it costs much less than you’d think.”
Oftentimes, Somma will also recommend the best products for particular beauty trends or skin types, for example. She reaches a wide and varied audience with her articles, making her an excellent blogger to follow in the future.
Minnesota native Elizabeth Dehn founded her blog, Beauty Bets, on a slightly different approach than most others. She often chooses to review makeup that has an all-natural, chemical free set of ingredients.
The blog features sections related to beauty product tutorials, reviews, wellness, and a field guide to the beauty and fashion industries. Articles are archived under each of these sections, providing readers an easier method of finding the exact articles they’re looking for. Many of the articles, such as “How to Choose the Right Shade of Red Lipstick” or “Best Natural Sunscreens” also appeal to a wide reader audience, ensuring that everyone can find useful tips on this blog.
Dehn’s site also features some of the writing of her six contributors, who all specialize various departments of the beauty world. Some of their most popular collective pieces are their makeup “love lists” that are released monthly.
“For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a love / hate relationship with beauty,” Robin Black’s blog reads. “It’s a complicated, subjective thing. And so the irony is that even with my misgivings about it, I eventually became a make-up artist and photographer.”
Beauty is Boring is one of the more unique beauty blogs, because it is also a compilation of photographs that are meant to stand together as a photo essay. Robin Black is the blogger, photographer, and makeup artist on her website, which features reviews, tutorials, and simple photographs of models wearing the products that she is describing.
The blog features a diverse collection of models and a more high-fashion approach to the beauty industry that may be suitable for more advanced makeup users. However, the blog is still worth a glance for its unique approach to the industry as a whole.
The Raeview is a beauty blog based upon product reviews and tutorials. Its founder Rae, who is a former beauty pageant and special occasion freelance makeup artist, initially launched a YouTube How-To & Style channel in 2010 to supply the demand for luxury and designer cosmetic tutorials and reviews. Since then, she has gained a large following and added a blogging website in addition to her video tutorials.
One of the best parts of Rae’s blog is the fact that she reviews almost every product under the sun, from some of the most high-end, expensive makeup to drugstore brands. She ensures that her readers have good knowledge about a product before purchasing it, and her honest opinions as a makeup guru are incredibly useful to the less informed makeup purchasers. Her blog is definitely worth checking out, if even for the reviews alone.
The unique aspect of this blog is the blogger herself, who comes to the industry with an extensive modeling background. International model Ruth Crilly runs A Model Recommends, based on the products that she has often had to wear for her career.
The blog proves to be an excellent source for a lot of the insider tips and tricks within the industry, from backstage tips to photo-shoot product picks. Crilly provides an user perspective on all of the products she reviews and provides readers with a lot of information about how to best use or apply them. Overall, her blog is worth looking at, for both her beauty picks and her takes on fashion, travel, and photography as a model.
Former beauty assistant for Chanel, Annie Atkinson, is the founder and editor-in-chief of She’s in the Glow. She describes that “At its core, [the blog] explores the best of beauty, focusing on how to achieve a healthy balance between what’s natural and what’s scientific.”
She’s in the Glow is going into its second year online, and already has a strong follower base. This is partially due to its commitment to review natural products and support the removal of harmful chemicals from all beauty products for a healthier body and lifestyle. In addition, the site features a staff of four editors who all hail from distinct beauty backgrounds and help to combine their expertise into a great beauty database.
The site is definitely worth checking out for it’s comprehensive how-to guides for the newest trends and how to best wear them!
One of the most popular names in the industry, Michelle Phan created her beauty empire on YouTube, with her elaborate, yet easy-to-follow makeup tutorials. Over the years, her following expanded rapidly to 8 million subscribers, and led her to start her own makeup line, Em cosmetics, create a blog website, and publish her own book.
Phan’s blog is a great place to turn to for the latest beauty tips because of its versatility. Articles are grouped based on various categories, including fashion, wellness, art, and knowledge. However, the beauty section remains most prominent, and gives an excellent set of tips and tricks, many of which are specifically targeted towards beginners.
Although the blog is not always updated daily, as many other beauty blogs are, this is one that is definitely worth following, especially for its additional lifestyle articles.