Makeup Tutorials

Submission 12,902

About

Makeup Tutorials are YouTube videos in which the vlogger offers various tricks and tips on how to apply makeup in a particular style.

Origin

One of the earliest makeup tutorial YouTube videos was posted by YouTuber Sandy Gold^[1] on November 22nd, 2006. The video titled “Sandy’s 10 min. Flawless Face” features Gold demonstrating how to apply a quick and basic makeup look. As of April 2014, the video has over 260,000 views.

Spread

On November 28th, 2006, Gold uploaded her second tutorial video on how to create the "Smokey Eye" look, which gained over 4.8 million views as of April 2014. In 2007, several influential makeup tutorial vloggers joined YouTube, including Michelle Phan^[2] who uploaded her first video on May 20th.

By 2010, makeup tutorial channels had become so common on YouTube that niche makeup sites such as MakeupFiles^[3] began publishing round-ups of the most popular channels. On June 16th, 2011, The Daily Dot^[5] reported on the phenomena in a post titled “I feel pretty: How to get a YouTube makeover.” In 2012, more popular sites published round ups. On February 12th, 2012, Mashable^[4] posted “Top 10 YouTube Beauty Channels to Follow” and on April 19th, 2012, the IBTimes^[6] posted “Top 10 Makeup And Hair YouTube Gurus To Help Beautify Your Life.”

Notable Examples

ASMR Makeup Tutorials

Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response makeup tutorials are instructional videos in which the vlogger approaches the camera with makeup applicators as if applying the makeup directly on the viewer's face. Some of the most popular examples include a video titled “~Relaxing Make Up Artist Role Play ~ ASMR,” (below, left) which was uploaded by YouTuber GentleWhispering^[18] on December 7th, 2011, and “Relaxing MakeoverASMR Soft Speaking and Whispering,” (below,right) uploaded by YouTuber VeniVidiVulpes^[19] on May 29th, 2012. As of April 2014, GentleWhispering’s video has gained over 1.4 million views and VeniVidiVulpes’ video has gained over 1 million views.

My Boyfriend Does My Makeup

My Boyfriend Does My Makeup is a series of YouTube videos in which female uploaders invite male friends, usually their significant others, to apply their makeup on camera. These videos are commonly shared online for the sake of humor that arises from the male partner’s inexperience in makeup application and the often unsatisfactory end result.