You know what I've been watching a lot lately, in general? YouTube. It helps me unwind after a long day of work, it gives me background noise when I'm doing my makeup, and it helps me discover interests. No surprise here; this is what YouTube is here for and I don't think you need me explaining its usefulness. Love it, it's great.

Usually, I enjoy watching podcasts / discussions, astronomy videos (shout out to Kurzgesagt), and beauty videos; it helps me feel inspired. And anyone who's ever watched YouTube for any amount of time gets all the recommended videos pop up on the front page, and what I've been seeing a lot lately does not impress me. I had been watching a plethora of Anti-Haul (made famous by Kimberly Clark, an amazing Drag Queen) videos, particularly those made by Miss Clark, and the basis for these videos is to alleviate the need to keep spending and feel this pressure of consumerism. The more I watched that and went on to watch other beauty gurus, I noticed the latest trend... buying over $1000 of product just to 'see what you get.' For me personally, this is the straw that broke the camel's back.

If you look back at my title, I wrote 'beauty industry,' and I want to make it clear that I am including beauty gurus in this category as they are considered influencers; their reviews help in our decision in making a purchase of a particular brand. A lot of the problems I have stem from them, so without further ado, let's get on with this list.

1. When I watch a makeup tutorial, I don't want to feel sold to.

How often do you see a beauty guru use the same products in most of their videos? I grew up watching Michelle Phan do her makeup and she would mention maybe three brands at most in a video but I never felt like I needed those products to get the look. She encouraged doing your own interpretation, not being a replica. Nowadays, it's always about those Sigma and Morphe codes.

2. First impressions don't mean much.

You can hardly call a video a review of a product if it's your first time using it; I can't tell you how many times I've used a product and loved it at first but then grew to hate it and vice versa. You need to take the product for a spin like you would a car before you can get a feel for it.

3. Why do you skip over doing a step in a makeup tutorial?

Maybe I don't know how to do my brows, maybe I don't know how to put on lashes, maybe I don't know how to wing out my liner; if the purpose of a tutorial is to teach, you need to do the steps to teach. We can handle an extra few minutes in the video.

4. Don't try to say 'makeup has no rules' right before you do a 'Do's and Don'ts' video.

This has always confused me; if you're trying to say that you want to offer tips on how to do your makeup, just say here are some tips. But if you say there are no rules to makeup before a 'what you should and shouldn't do' video, I question your integrity. Just say you want to be trendy since it's a popular video or that this is how you believe makeup should look like.

5. Why does everyone try to be the same?

Ever beauty guru has the same sort of video collection: Get Ready With Me, (Brand) Hauls, Unboxing, Full Face Using ..., (loved one) does my makeup, (Month) Favorites, Trying Overhyped Makeup, How I Used To Do My Makeup, and maybe, just maybe a How To --- video. Oh, and the popular ones may show off their luxury cars. Mentioned earlier was the 'I bought $1000 in makeup' video - I'm still ticked off about it. On another note, it just seems like there's been a lack of creativity - in my eyes, I see a lot of the same looks made by so many of these gurus (warm smokey eye sound familiar?). These looks are beautiful and they look different on different people due to skin tones/textures, but there's a whole palette of colors that people are skipping. Where are the cool tones? The golds?

6. Stop trying to appeal to millennials; you are doing the opposite.

Now, I like Too Faced; I grew to appreciate their mascara and their Chocolate Bar palettes are unique, but the packaging is becoming a joke. Check out their Clover eyeshadow palette (what is this, Hamtaro?), Natural Eyes palette (lacey and delicate?), Funfetti palette (...there's confetti everywhere...), and their holiday palettes. Instead of focusing on overly cutesy 'appealing' products, maybe focus some time on improving the quality of the products. But just because I've said this about Too Faced doesn't mean other brands aren't guilty.

7. Limited edition... or is it?

Well, this is a new marketing ploy that people don't appreciate, and it seems like it occurs more often with collaborations - Ofra did it with NikkieTutorials, and Morphe did it with Jaclyn (in a sense with her palette; they are making 'improvements' a few months after the initial launch). If something is limited edition, it is limited edition, period; if it's permanent, it is permanent. This is lucrative for brands and detrimental on consumers because we get the pressure of running out to buy a product during a fixed time period as they rack up the dough.

8. Where do your loyalties lie?

One could say this to both the cosmetic brands and the makeup influencers; where are your loyalties? The brand and influencers are trying to make money. When it comes to the makeup gurus, especially nowadays, people question their integrity because they're making a coin or they were sent the product for free. Would you really talk crap about a product that you got for free or if you were paid to talk about it? A way to combat this would be to be completely transparent and actually follow FTC rules (someone like Stephanie Nicole), instead of saying a vague statement about how these opinions are yours and it is or isn't sponsored. Beauty gurus will try to be your best friend so long as you can line their pockets. Some mean well but in this day in age, it's getting harder and harder to tell. Brands at the end of the day just want to sell their product, and their reasonings for doing so have evolved, going from "want to feel beautiful? have our product," to "people don't know they're beautiful, have our product." Some focus on the packaging, others focus on the product, others want them both to be equal. It is important as a consumer to know what you're looking for.

9. Brands: Enough with the inconsistencies!

Do you know how annoying it is to get a product that for one person is their holy grail and for the next person it's their worst nightmare? Tarte ran into this issue with their Tartelette Toasted palette, and ABH had their issues with the Subculture palette. Some palettes are okay, others aren't, and while production is prone to an occasional error (which is normal and okay), there shouldn't be a situation where you have to pray you got one of the functional products. Do the work to make sure there's as little error as possible, otherwise you'll notice a decline in sales over time because people are sick of your crap.

10. Beauty Gurus: Stop being so surprised at drugstore makeup.

This is just annoying; just because something is cheap and you're used to these high end luxury brands doesn't mean that makeup bought from CVS or Target is SUPPOSED to be utter malarkey. You're not doing any of us a favor by trying to make this kind of makeup exotic; some high end makeup is terrible. Drugstore makeup is a great way to introduce yourself to makeup and it's great when you're on a budget; people have been using these brands for ages before you 'stumbled' upon it.

At the end of the day, I have a lot of grievances with this side of YouTube and the cosmetic industry; it's ultimately frustrating. I just want to be able to enjoy makeup and create looks and not feel this exuberant amount of pressure from the constant "this is so beautiful, go buy this product right now!" personality of beauty gurus (or that the only way to look trendy and chic is to do a warm smokey eye). Makeup is art that should be explored and played with; it is beautiful, for everyone, and serves multiple purposes. I understand brand loyalty as well as we all have our ride-or-dies, but don't be so loyal that you can't call them out on their crap. This goes for the beauty gurus of YouTube as well; I have had enough.