Audacious, honest and hilarious, are three qualities not often seen in Youtube beauty gurus, a community of women dedicated to creating makeup tutorials, haul videos, product reviews and more, but 20-year-old, Millersville University student Rachel Whitehurst embodies all those characteristics and more.
Having gained most of her notoriety on Tumblr, this communications major transitioned to Youtube and increased her following by being the beauty guru who was different from the rest. Rachel doesn’t just develop tutorials for her followers. She covers her favorite songs, talks viewers through various baking mishaps with her boyfriend, uploads hilarious and heartfelt rants, and reviews products with an honest perspective.
During a time when a lot of gurus are pressured into giving only positive reviews for companies who send them free products, sponsor and promote their videos or pay them outright, it’s nice to finally see someone who not only doesn’t stand for it, but also speaks out about it.
Her Campus interviewed her to find out more about how being so well-known on the internet has changed her life, how social media plays a role in the development of her personal brand and what her goals are for the future. Check out the interview below.
Were you ever apprehensive about putting so much of your life on the internet? Was there ever a moment where you regretted your choice? “I was definitely more cautious in the beginning of my internet success. There are definitely many aspects of my life that I don’t talk about in videos or on my blog because they are personal and I’m also afraid of all the speculation and judgments. I can’t really pin-point a moment where I felt, “Oh crap. I probably shouldn’t have announced that,” because I am so careful. When filming videos, I always ask people if they feel comfortable being in them and things like that. Sometimes I’ll screenshot a text message or an IM conversation, but I always ask if I can before I post it. As far as my own personal regrets with sharing too much of my own thoughts or personal life, I feel like I’ve always been such an open person with not enough skeletons in my closet to worry about hiding. I feel like being so open has made me more relatable to people.”
Do you ever feel like your followers want to know too much about you? How do you find a balance between being honest with them but keeping facets of your life private? “Sometimes it’s a little difficult with my followers because I am so open, so when they cross the line of what I feel comfortable sharing, it really is my fault. A lot of people are constantly asking me how much money I make or things just about my financial status in general, and it makes me feel really uncomfortable, because you’d never ask someone that outside of the internet because it’s considered rude, you know? Whenever I get asked a question that I don’t feel comfortable [answering], I usually just tell them that. They are pretty understanding and don’t mind when I tell them that I don’t feel comfortable.”
Do you ever find it difficult to tell people about what you do on Youtube? Have you ever received an unfavorable response? “I feel like it’s a strange thing to explain to someone. I always joke that I’m so glad I met my boyfriend before this all happened, because how odd would it be to explain on a first [date], “Hey, so I’m kinda internet famous…and I talk to a camera in front of thousands of people..So what’s your hobby?”. When I mention it to new friends that I’ve made I just say that I’m a “professional blogger and youtuber” and then the look on their faces is always hysterical. I always get really good responses from the people I meet. A lot of people will just ask me a million questions about it because it’s not something a lot of people understand can be a career, you know? I know I have plenty of people that know me from high school who say a lot of negative things about it behind my back, and honestly that’s fine. I understand that people might find it unconventional or weird, but they still keep coming back and watching my videos regardless, so in a way I still win.”
You’ve created a really consistent personal brand across all types of social media, which can require a lot of work. Knowing how distracting those sites can be, how do you manage your time so that you get the most out of your day? “God, it is still really hard for me to not get sucked into the world of social media when I’m trying to get my work done. Talking to my followers, answering questions, answering emails, and even tweeting are essentially part of the job, so sometimes it’s really hard to pull myself away from updating my blog to do my homework. I must say, the best way for me to get all of my class work done and studying, along with all that comes with making videos and blog posts is really that I stay up very late. I know it’s awful, and I wish I had a better answer like “eat your veggies and go to bed by nine,” but in reality I’m up very late most of the time. I usually get all my work done in the afternoons when I’m most productive and I have three hour gaps between classes. I save all my social media updating for the nights when I am finally winding down to relax.”
What beauty trends or new releases are you looking forward to seeing in the coming year? “I am getting really pumped for all the spring lines coming out. I can already tell that pastels are going to be taking a jump from clothing and into makeup. I hope we see lots of pastel lips and eyes this spring! Also, I’m always excited to see what MAC has to offer in the warmer months. Hopefully some bright lips!”
What is your dream job and where do you see yourself in 10 years? “My absolute dream job would be to continue this entire internet fantasy and have a really successful makeup and lifestyle website. I’d love to keep making videos for as long as I can, but I’d really like to see myself writing for my own website and having it be really successful and something that I can be really proud of. That or just toss away everything and open up a cupcakery.”
“God, the “in ten years” questions gives me so much anxiety. I see myself writing for a website (much like the one I want to have some day) reviewing makeup or maybe even TV shows and movies. I’ll probably be living in a crappy apartment with my laptop, my boyfriend, and some cats!”
Check out Rachel’s channel here, her official website here and be sure to follow her on Twitter @87daysbefore and Tumblr for more updates.