10 online beauty gurus with their own makeup collections
It’s amazing how the Internet has made it possible for virtually anyone to become a celebrity with millions of followers. Because of great bloggers and YouTubers who tirelessly make their content and build their brand from scratch, us fans get to learn easy techniques and know which products we should be buying (or shouldn’t). This year, content creators are getting more opportunities to reach out to their audiences, too; beyond sponsorships, some of them have worked on product collabs or even created their own makeup brands!
Our collab with Pink Sugar for the These Lips Don’t Lie lippies gave us a chance to peek into what it’s like to work on a makeup line, and the experience has given us a better appreciation for all the hard work that actually goes into creating one. We got a lot of help though, and we were inspired by these online beauty influencers to just go for it!
Michelle Phan x em (through L'Oreal)
Michelle is the OG of beauty collabs. L'Oreal inked a high-profile deal with the YouTube star and launched em in 2013, but eventually sold it to Ipsy (a company founded by Michelle) in 2015 since it never really took off. Em is still online, with star products like the Chiaroscuro Contour & Highlight Stick and the Waterliner Intense Color Eyeliner still available along with the full line. We hope to see more new things from the brand soon!
Image via leopardprinteverything.com
Jaclyn Hill x Becca Cosmetics Champagne Glow Collection ($28 to 38)
Becca Cosmetics x Jaclyn Hill = highlighter perfection! After their first collab sold out in just four hours, our favorite highlighter brand teamed up again with the famous YouTuber to produce a wider Champagne collection. Count us among Hill’s five million subscribers who squealed over the new shimmering skin perfector/mineral blush duos, blush shades and highlighter sticks that were released last June. Prosecco Pop is just about to reach that same cult status as Champagne Pop has, and we gotta hand it to Hill for dealing with the negative response to the eyeshadow palettes head-on.
Image via gemmanicolebeauty.com
NikkieTutorials x Too Faced The Power of Makeup ($56)
NikkieTutorials made waves on the online beauty community (and gained five million followers) when she posted the now famous Power Of Makeup video. Since then, she has gone on to collaborate with cult beauty brand Too Faced to produce a literal full face makeup book inspired by the viral video! The Power of Makeup kit is limited edition containing nine eyeshadows, two blushes, a contour and a highlight, plus mini versions of Better Than Sex mascara (in a purple tube!), Shadow Insurance Eye Primer, Glamour Dust Glitter pigment, and Sketch Marker Liquid eyeliner. The kit has been getting a lot of hype online for being a well-curated (and reasonably-priced) palette even though some shades are already part of Too Faced’s permanent line.
Image via beautybrainsplus.com
Grav3yard Girl x Tarte Swamp Queen Palette ($20 to $45)
Though not conventionally beautiful, Grav3yard Girl aka Bunny Meyer has amassed a huge following of seven million followers on YouTube, thanks to her quirky personality and incredibly entertaining videos. Her collaboration with Tarte for the Swamp Queen Eye & Cheek Palette came out earlier this year, and the creatively-named palette contains nine eyeshadows, a highlighter, a bronzer and a blush. The collection also has two matte lip paints but what people are mostly drooling over is a highlighter shade called Gator Wings!
Image via makeupbyastridlam.com
Jeffree Star x Jeffree Star Cosmetics (Liquid Lipsticks, $18)
Thought there’s a lot of controversy surrounding him right now, this list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Jeffree Star. The singer-songwriter slash model slash makeup artist currently has 2.7 million subscribers and like him or not, his Velour Liquid Lipsticks rocked the beauty world and the makeup line is his own rather than a collaboration. The brand has been expanding with the addition of new highlighters and an eyeshadow palette this year.
Image via yummmiiee.blogspot.com
Pony x Pony Effect (starts at 16,000KRW)
Even if you’re not into K-beauty, chances are you’ve at least seen Pony’s transformation makeup video into Taylor Swift which has received nearly 11 million views since it was posted in March this year. The makeup artist has published four makeup books, worked on numerous advertisements (she’s the Etude House Play 101 girl!) and collaborations, and even became 2NE1 member CL’s makeup artist! She’s currently the creative director of Pony Effect, which made a huge buzz when it launched in late 2015. Her contouring shades are one of the best you can get from the K-beauty market while the lip tints like the Favorite Fluid Lip and Stay Matte Lip has been garnering attention for their moisturizing glossy and matte finishes respectively.
Image via wonderplace.co.kr
Ssin x Unpretty Rapstar Cosmetics Ssin Stealer (~20,000 KRW)
With her androgynous features, Korean YouTuber Ssin has turned dressing up and creating makeup looks as both male and female Kpop idols into her ticket to stardom. Her candid style and mad contouring skills led to a collaboration with Unpretty Rapstar Cosmetics to produce her own makeup line called Ssin Stealer. It includes five brow mascaras, two eyeshadow palettes, contour powder and highlighter quads, color corrector sticks, three brushes and some falsies. The brow mascaras and contour powder are especially popular for their color formulation.
Image via abeautymoment.blogspot.com
KathleenLights x Colourpop (~$5)
With almost 2.6M subscribers and four previous collaborations under her belt, YouTuber KathleenLights is on a roll with yet another collaboration with trendy makeup brand ColourPop! There are eight eyeshadows, two Ultra Satin Lips, one Ultra Matte Lip, three Lippie Stix, three Lippie Pencils, and a Crème Gel Pot and Pencil. With reasonable prices and gorgeous shade picks, everyone is just going gaga, especially for the Lippie Stix in Aquarius!
Image via thebeautylookbook.com
Wayne Goss x Wayne Goss Brushes
Back in 2013, English makeup artist and YouTuber Wayne Goss collaborated with online store Beautylish to launch what was then a humble makeup brush collection. It sold out within a few minutes, and the line continues to be available even today! Handcrafted in Japan, cruelty-free, and made of natural bristles, prices start at $12 for single brushes and go up as high as $225 for sets. His brushes are commonly compared to Japanese brand Hakuhodo!
Image via imeltformakeup.com
MannyMUA x Ofra (P850)
Finally, a collection that’s locally available via Glamourbox! Get them while stocks are available because these liquid lippies are gorg! Earlier this March, Manny MUA released an eyeshadow palette in partnership with Makeup Geek, and it was soon followed by an announcement of the lippies he created with Ofra. The three lippie shades were selected for a universally-flattering nude appeal and with Ofra’s trademark long-lasting formula, we definitely want to add Aries, Charmed, and Hypno to our kits.
What do you think of beauty guru x cosmetics brand collaborations? Which ones are your favorites? Got any dream collabs you’d love to see?
Header image via kittykatdoesmakeup.com
