In recent years, social media has hit a record high in its relevancy and general level of importance in our everyday lives. Nowadays, it is hard to even run a business without a thorough knowledge of social media and its benefits. One of the biggest catalysts of this is the blogger; more specifically, the YouTuber. Everyday, millions of people flood online to see the familiar, friendly faces of their favorite YouTubers. Eagerly devouring every second of their videos, anxiously awaiting their next. While YouTubers can be categorized in a variety of subgenres and sections, one of the biggest and most compelling to me is the beauty guru- the person that has the latest to offer when it comes to all things beauty related- be it makeup, fashion, skin care, essentially whatever the heart desires. It is within this land of the internet that I stumbled across one particular YouTuber that I never seem to grow tired of. I started watching her videos on a whim, and now am dedicating an entire online article to her. It may seem unimportant and mundane to some, but as an artist, a makeup enthusiast, and a person of color that consistently tries to speak up about creators that aim for greater diversity in their products, as well as in celebration of her newest collaboration with Becca Cosmetics and Sephora, I feel the need to indulge.
High school was, at times, a bit of a minefield for me. I didn’t know myself very well, I barely knew how to dress myself thanks to sporting a uniform every day, and if I had yet to figure out how to even say hi to a boy, it was safe to say I still hadn’t really learned how to properly apply lipstick- I was a clear to nude lip-gloss kind of girl. So, when senior year rolled around and graduation quickly followed, I found myself at a loss when all I really knew how to do was sport my newly waxed eyebrows and do a somewhat impressive non-winged liner to my graduation. I honestly don’t remember if I’d truly reached mascara at that point. My mother, the strongest woman that I know, rarely ever sported makeup, save for the occasional swipe of mascara and dark lipstick. As well, her main advice to me when I began to wear it was to remember that makeup was meant to enhance what was there, not to completely hide and recreate something false and new. In my desperation, I turned to YouTube and found out that you apply makeup with brushes and that there were things called highlighters and different types of concealer. I began my freshman year of college with a full YouTube course load of makeup and very little education on what everything meant and how exactly to do it, let alone what the point was. Sure, the makeup looks were pretty but I didn’t know what they did or how they truly achieved them. Heck, I didn’t even know that you needed a blending brush for a smokey eye. And also, what exactly was a blending brush? It all just became too confusing and intimidating to be bothered with. “I’m an actress,” I would tell myself, “I should be focusing on costume makeup or something, not this stuff.” Then, I clicked on a video giving me a 20 minute part one of two explanation of makeup brushes. I learned more in that twenty minutes than I had in a year of trying to decipher a million videos from other gurus that simply did not speak to me. I was instantly transfixed by this very thorough, very genuine and real girl on my computer screen. Her name was Jaclyn Hill.
Today, if someone were to come up to me with a makeup-related question, which I can proudly state that people often do, I can go into at least an hour’s worth of detail: listing not only why you would do said act with makeup, but what are probably the best and worst products to use in those areas, and other helpful tips and options to give even more to their desired look. While I have in the past few years discovered much of this of my own curiosity and thanks to other bloggers that I stumbled upon and began to admire their teaching styles, I attribute it all to a very beautiful beginning of watching Jaclyn Hill videos. And let me clarify, I did not simply watch her videos, I took in-depth notes and gave myself practice homework to do every night before turning to her next video. She became my instructor and I her faithful student and (in my mind) protégé. You see, Jaclyn presented makeup for everyday wear in a way that I’d never seen, let alone heard of, before. She talked about the artistry of makeup, something that until that point, I’d only really associated with theatre. She showed how beautiful and technical it can be to do a winged eye-liner or blue smokey eye. She fascinated me with how freeing it is to take colors and make art on your eyelids or add more glow to your cheeks. Most importantly, she taught me what my mother wanted me to remember when I first began to wear makeup, she taught me how to love what was already there. I began to really look at my face and see what I liked, what I loved and what I wanted to accentuate. Makeup became about more than just hiding my blemishes, it became a little journey of self-discovery for me every time I put it on. When I began to feel anxious and overwhelmed by everything around me, I could find some comfort and time specified just for me as I sat and applied my makeup. And if I were to make a mistake, she was right there to remind me that it’s okay. “It’s just makeup and it wipes right off,” and just like whatever was currently bothering me, I could start again the next day. Fresh faced and ready to tackle whatever was in front of me.
As a woman of color, it is very hard to find makeup that caters to my and my darker-toned sisters’ (and brothers’) skin tones. I often felt left-out and unimportant to the many YouTubers that I once followed, for many of them would only talk about things pertaining to their specific skin-shade. In fact, outside of the YouTubers of color (Jackie Aina, Nitraab, Shirley B. Eniang and Patricia Bright) that I followed on a regular basis, it became harder and harder to find any YouTuber that seemed to really have a global and diverse mindset of their viewers, except for Jaclyn. She always explained what worked on her skin tone of course, but would then go on to explain what would work on both deeper and fairer skin tones. When she released her first product with Sephora and many women of color complained about her highlighter giving an ashier look to their skin the deeper their tone went, she listened. Rather than ignoring it or giving a half-assed solution, she developed a product within her next palette with a specifically black-girl friendly mindset, even going so far as to make it so that her original product could be paired with the new one to make it even more wearable for all of her followers.
So, when Jaclyn’s new palette was launched, I didn’t even flinch at the decision to purchase it. I immediately knew that I (a struggling college student/artist/American) would have to save or at least plan for it, and I knew that many of her other struggling followers would do the same. However, I can’t help but to support my favorite makeup artist. Every day that I watch a Jaclyn Hill video or do my makeup, I reminded of how far I’ve come with my makeup and with myself. I’m reminded that I found Jaclyn at a time when I was at my lowest and she reminded me of how beautiful the journey to your highest can be. To see someone that has struggled and worked and prayed and starved to get to where she is become so successful and bask in such joy, yet still remain so humble and true is one of the most inspiring things a person can witness. I have never met Jaclyn Hill, and in all honesty, she probably has absolutely no idea who I am. However, just like my favorite actors continue to inspire and encourage me, I will always support this wonderful artist. She has been a helpful roadmap on my journey, and- let’s be honest- she taught me how to look fabulous while I’m on it. And if I can graduate college with a mix of Jaclyn’s makeup skills, Amy Poehler’s (and Mindy Kaling’s and Tina Fey’s) wit, as well as Viola Davis’ fire, I think I’ll be okay. Or at least the best person to have at a party.
