The 6 Beauty Products We’re Glad Youtube Made Us Buy
YouTube beauty gurus can convince us to buy practically anything. From religiously watching everyone from Desi Perkins, to NikkieTutorials, and Katie Jane Hughes, we find ourselves constantly drawn in by their unmatched enthusiasm and live-action results, which make it difficult to resist impulse buying, anything and everything they demo.
The downside, as always with impulse shopping, is that we often buy things we’d categorise as completely and utterly disappointing. From self-tanners that turn a bright shade of orange to concealers - that well, didn’t do that much concealing. The beauty world is tricky to navigate, especially when you consider that all products react differently to everybody’s skin. But, that being said, there are some unicorn products that transcend them all, likely to work on all skin types and shades.
Over the course of dozens (hundreds?) of hours of YouTube beauty videos, we’ve managed to take note of a few tips and tricks. The hero rule is to try to take recommendations from people who have the same skin type and issues as you. The second is to try not to fall victim to impulse buying, by waiting until you’ve heard the beauty blogger mention the product in question at least twice. This one especially matters with skin care: Often the recommender might think a product was great, but then she’ll realise 3 months down the line that her skin improvements had to do with a diet change or improved hydration. The third rule is, it’s always smart to look at product reviews on Sephora, MakeupAlley and of course, Slapp.
This system has led us to our most beloved products: like Nars Soft Matte Concealer (recommended by NikkieTutorials) or Weleda’s Skin Food (recommended by Katie Jane Hughes). Below, you’ll find the products that YouTube beauty bloggers made us buy, and that we’ve loved (and repurchased).
Fenty Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Primer
As a RiRi fan, we’re attracted to anything and everything Fenty puts out. Though there was a lot of buzz around the brand’s highlighters and lip glosses it was Fenty’s Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Primer that piqued our interest. After hearing rave reviews from YouTubers like Scottish beauty vlogger Jamie Genevieve, who was quick to add it to her everyday makeup routine, we were quick to test it out for ourselves. Jamie and Rih didn’t disappoint. This primer does the best job of giving your skin that dewy-and-velvety look. Not super matte, but not shiny either, it acts as the perfect in-between and makes makeup stay put all night.
Considering its predecessor’s cult-like status, there was a lot of hype around the release of Nars’ Soft Matte Concealer. But, it lived up to all our expectations - and then some. Though this concealer is loved by every beauty guru, their mother and auntie, ultimately it was NikkieTutorials who made us take the plunge after stating it “saved her under eyes” - sold. Don’t be fooled by its name though, this concealer is in no way matte in the drying sense, still somewhat dewy and blendable, it never looks cakey and is extremely full coverage - a little goes a long way.
Desi Perkins constantly references M.A.C’s strobe cream as her highlighting staple for when she’s looking to achieve her famous glow, which she aptly describes as “glazed-doughnut realness.” There are multiple shades of this, but Desi’s (and now our) favourite is the Gold Light. The texture of this product is closer to a moisturiser, and it gives a very natural, glow-from-within effect. Perfect for minimal or no-makeup days, it will make skin look ultra awake and radiant.
Katie Jane Hughes - Weleda skin food
We adore Katie Jane Hughes and after noticing that she’d mentioned the Weleda Skin Food as her holy grail in more than one interview, we had to try it out for ourselves. First up, this moisturiser is super thick, almost like a mask, which means its perfect for dry, painful skin on your face or body. Packed with all-natural ingredients, it's the ultimate multiple purpose balm that can be used on just about anything. We love it under makeup or even after you’ve applied foundation, where when applied on the high points of the face, it acts as an extra natural highlight.
Though we’d heard a lot about the Boy Brow, we had mistakenly thought that all brow gels tend to work the same - right? Wrong. Thankfully we were introduced to a YouTube segment called “The Boy Beat,” spearheaded by Beyoncé’s makeup artist Sir John, who heralded Boy Brow as the best brow gel of them all. According to him (and now according to us,) Boy Brow does the best of the best job at creating a dramatic, but not over-the-top messy brow.
RMS Beauty Lip2Cheek (Diabolique)
We love this product because you can use it as both a lip and cheek tint. Don’t be put off by the deep red of this shade though, like all RMS products, this stain blends out beautifully, giving cheeks a natural, rosy flush and can be layered for a bolder look on the lips. Joanna Spicer, the queen of natural, “no-makeup makeup” got us on to this product after using it in a GRWM and we’ve not looked back since.