Makeup is one of my favorite hobbies, and most of what I know about it, I’ve learned from YouTube tutorials. Starting in middle school, I would sit in front of my laptop in my dimly lit childhood room and watch tutorials for hours, trying my best to recreate looks with whatever drugstore makeup I had convinced my mom to buy. These days, it seems that most of the beauty community is shifting away from simple looks in exchange for looks that are too extravagant for most people watching to recreate. As fun as it is to watch the creation of these looks unfold, this can be overwhelming for makeup beginners who just want advice on where to start. Thankfully, there are some channels still making tutorial content that everyone, regardless of skill level, can learn from.
1. Jackie Aina
Although Jackie’s looks are usually on the more glam side, she also makes videos with very specific makeup tips- for example, how to keep your nose makeup from wearing off throughout the day or how to keep your concealer from creasing. Even when she does sit down to do more glamorous looks, she never misses the chance to teach her audience new tips, and includes many helpful tidbits of knowledge as she applies her makeup.
A lot of her videos also center around detailed, honest product reviews, which can be helpful for beginners. Seeing as the makeup market is so oversaturated, selecting products can often be overwhelming.
2. easyNeon
Eyeshadow is one of my favorite parts of makeup, and I have learned a lot of what I know about applying and blending from her. easyNeon, who also goes by Diana, is the queen of unique, colorful eye looks and aesthetically pleasing tutorials. She doesn’t talk in most of her tutorials, instead opting for a simpler style of video where she zooms in close to her eye area and clearly shows the colors and techniques that she uses in every step to achieve the overall look. Watching her videos helped me improve when I was first starting to experiment with eyeshadow, and made me realize the importance of slowly building up colors and being careful with blending.
3. PONY Syndrome
If you don’t mind reading subtitles while watching her videos, you can definitely learn a lot from Pony. Alternating between natural and glam looks and incorporating elements of both Korean and American styles of makeup, Pony’s looks are all incredibly well-executed and clean, but are still simple enough to be doable for a beginner. She goes extremely in depth about each step of her process, often taking the time to explain certain techniques that most other people simply gloss over. If you’re looking to learn makeup basics, one of her more natural looks would be a great place to start.
4. SACHEU
Sacheu, or Sarah Cheung, posts a mix of skincare, makeup, and lifestyle videos. While she does occasional glam looks, most of her aesthetic is on the more natural side, making her channel a great place to try simpler looks. She especially focuses on techniques for eyebrows and skin, which can be tricky areas when you’re first starting out with makeup. She also stresses the importance of having a consistent skincare routine, which is incredibly important as your makeup will always look better if your skin is at its best.
Makeup is a fun hobby, but there is definitely a learning curve when you first get into it. Thanks to help from YouTube, though, you can skip some of this awkward beginning phase as you learn what does and doesn’t work for your face. Just remember to go easy on yourself in the beginning if your looks don’t match up to a beauty guru’s – makeup is tricky at first, and you can always improve and learn more regardless of your skill level. Even if your look doesn’t come out the way you were hoping, sometimes experimentation is the most fun part.