After being stubbornly anti-TikTok for the longest time, I finally downloaded the wretched time waster onto my phone during the pandemic. I quickly became enamored with many accounts, but I’ll try and keep this list short (but I definitely plan on sharing more).
I think for this post, I’m going to be focusing on influencers that focus on fashion/style, makeup, and parenting.
Mary Skinner (@marycjskinner)
I’d seen her videos picking out outfits all over my For You Page before finally following her. It’s been amazing to watch her grow her platform and take steps forward in her career. She doesn’t shy away from sharing things about her mental health struggles, and this candidness is what helps her stand out from other influencers. She also recently got engaged, so if you do check her out, tell her congratulations!
Alexa Nicole (@alexa_nicole_x)
I only recently discovered her, but her feminine aesthetic and low-key hauls are a nice break from the doom-scrolling I partake in. I love seeing what she’s gotten from stores like Hot Topic and Bath&Body Works.
Tenley Joelle Patterson (@tenleyjoelle)
Her videos about body positivity and fashion always put a smile on my face. I saw someone who had my body type rocking fashionable outfits and confidence, which was something I’d never seen before I downloaded TikTok.
Emily Fahrender (@emilyfahrlander)
I’ve loved her videos – she’s shown me that there’s nothing wrong with stockpiling purses or Bath & Body Works products, and her cleaning/reset videos always motivate me to clean my space and get my life together.
Tori Phantom (@toriphantom)
Tori is everything I wish my parents had been to me. They’re always sharing advice about gentle parenting and dismantling trauma from their parents. Their solutions to problems arising with children are accompanied by daring makeup looks, and their advice is often very wholesome, and parents could take a page out of their book. They also do cooking videos that are unashamedly slapped together and perhaps not the most healthy or technically correct, but works for their family.
Emily Gale (@emi2d2)
Emily always posts skits that are very informative about what it’s actually like to be an autistic woman, and how she manages to deal with stressful situations that neurotypicals don’t even consider. She also shares stuff about parenting, her life, and products that have helped her manage things like overstimulation. Her content shows that she’s not the childlike stereotype, and that autistic people are perfectly capable of having stable relationships, children, and a career.
LauraLove (@lauralove5514)
Laura’s videos are often controversial. She practices Montessori with her two toddlers, which refers to developing a child’s natural interest over formal teaching methods. She does this by teaching her boys how to do things like cook in the kitchen (it’s quite eye-opening to see a 3-year-old manage their emotions and cook better than most adults can). She unashamedly practices gentle/authoritative parenting with her kids, but isn’t afraid to show the hard times. She offers tips on how to help kids through big emotions without further punishing them and giving them the wrong idea about making mistakes or getting frustrated. Her two boys are also adorable, and her older son has even picked up on her gentle parenting methods when it comes to his younger brother, which is so wholesome I sometimes watch her videos over and over again to help me decompress after a long, stressful day.
I hope that if you check any of them out, you also find them comforting. And obviously, this is by no means an exhaustive list.
I’m thinking about making this a series, and including accounts like small-businesses, humor, commentary, cooking, diet/fitness, music, media, etc. What do you all think?