Overwhelmed by all the incredible but unachievable beauty tutorials on YouTube? Me too. Nine out of ten of them I could never even attempt, but there are some that I copied and managed to somehow resemble the finished look…
Everyone and their mother is a beauty expert lately, giving reviews and demos on the latest and greatest products available. There’s always something new to try, something new to talk about, and some new and novel way of using your products.
In a way, I love this — in particular, with YouTube tutorials. It means more diversity and new levels of creativity, plus it’s fun and fascinating to watch. But sometimes, ‘fascinating to watch’ doesn’t mean it’s an achievable tutorial — and surely, isn’t that’s the point of them? To encourage others to attempt the look?
In an effort to make myself feel better about my minimal make-up skills, I tried these five tutorials and was actually successful. Of course, I had no one there to critique my efforts so take that ‘success’ with a pinch of salt.
Lisa is so normal and down to earth for such a famous and lauded make-up artist, and I love that, in spite of her commercial links to Lancôme, she doesn’t overly push their products on you.
Related: Beauty Tutorial: How to do glossy eyelids
I’m borderline obsessed with Katie Jane’s Instagram Lives, but her YouTube content is as real, achievable and gorgeous as anything she puts on Insta. I particularly love her approach to brows — her own over-plucked ones are really sparse and yet she always makes them look bushy.
Karen’s YouTube channel is such a joy to behold. This summer make-up look is one of my faves but all of her videos are as sunny and happy as this one. The methods she uses are ones I am not terrified to attempt, and the results are wearable. I also love her down-to-earth approach to all things beauty.
I love Sinead Cady’s YouTube and sometimes I’ll put on a video while I’m doing my make-up just for some background beauty noise — it’s mad the amount of information you still take in that way. Most of her tutorials, however, I can barely tear my eyes away from. She’s so talented but also so natural, and her looks are never so dramatic that you’d stand no chance of achieving them.
I have been a massive fan of the Pixiwoo sisters (Sam and Nic Chapman) for many years now, and I still tune in regularly to their YouTube channel to watch their old (and new) tutorials. Their beauty style is classic and never goes too far into trend-led, which is great for those of us who love the beauty essentials and simpler skills.