Well, I've got a new video to share with you beautiful readers. But it's a bit (or a lot) different than the kind I've posted previously. It's not a beauty video, per say. 
Rather, it's a bit more like a documentary. But not in the traditional sense. 

This video documents the making of The Beauty Beat Blog. As most of you know, it began as a capstone project for my digital communication, information and media studies minor. But now, three months later, it's become an obsession. I am so happy with the way my blog, and my YouTube channel, has grown and developed. I truly believe it is the most perfect showcase of my skills, talents, interests and passions. And I'm so happy that I get to share it with readers and viewers like you! 
This video is basically a compilation of all of the progress I've made since starting up my blog and YouTube channel. It shows video clips, posts, snap shots of interactions with beauty gurus and ... oh, just watch it yourself! I won't spoil it.
This blog has required a lot of research, effort and time, but I have had such a blast. It may be a school project, but it is certainly not one that will be forgotten once I've received my grade. No, no. 

The Beauty Beat Blog is here to stay ♡

If you haven't seen my other videos, head over to my channel to check them out!! Just click the link below :)

I can't believe tomorrow is Easter!! ♡ 
Before we know it, April will be coming to a close and May will be right around the corner. I can't say I'm going to miss April, however. That whole "April showers bring May flowers" thing seems to be in full effect where I live - it has been raining constantly!! So I'm like "rain rain, go away" and show me the pretty flowers. 

Anyway, in keeping with this springy-eastery time of year, I thought I would share with you some of my favorite holiday videos. Surprisingly, I didn't find a whole bunch popping up on my subscription feed lately. It seems most gurus are focusing on prom-related tutorials rather than Easter ones rn (that stands for "right now" in case you live under a rock and didn't know).  

The few I did find, though, are pretty awesome and I'm sure you'll enjoy them. When I think Easter makeup, I think really light, natural makeup with some pastel colors thrown in there for fun. So that's likely what I'll be rocking tomorrow. 
Let me know what you beauties will be doing!
And check out the videos below for some inspiration if you're not quite sure yet ♡ 

Obviously, Bethany Mota takes the cake for best Easter video, in my opinion. She's just so cute! And creative! I love the little snack idea she shows at the end of the video. I won't spoil what it is, but it's adorable and I'm definitely going to be trying it out.

Any avid viewer of Beth knows she's a bit more into fashion than she is makeup, which is totally cool with me. The makeup she does show in this video, however, is just perfect for Easter and certainly what I would be likely to wear. She goes with a simple, shimmery, light pink eye, non-dramatic winged liner and a light, natural lip gloss to finish it off. Perfection.

The outfits are what really make this video. Seriously. She is so style-ish... which clearly explains why she has her own clothing line at Aeropostale now! I'm not going to comment too much on the fashion, since that's not really my thing, but I love taking outfit inspiration from Beth's videos. Check out this one if you're having a tough time deciding what to wear tomorrow! 

This video is just a simple "Get Ready With Me" - no voice over though. Meh. I kind of love GRWMs that are talk overs - not talk throughs - because I think it helps explain the techniques and products being shown a bit better. Don't you agree??
The content is still awesome, though. Sam Schuerman is gorgeous. And I pretty much love every makeup video she puts out. 

First of all, everyone keeps featuring the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette in their tutorials!! Sam uses it in this one, too, which is doing nothing but further convincing me that I need these shadows in my life. So there's that.

What I love the most about this look, though, is the smudged top eyeliner. I LOVE how smoky, yet soft, it makes the eye makeup come out. I always use a brush when attempting to do that but Sam just uses her fingers. Perhaps that's the trick? It must be considering mine never looks as good as hers.  Lastly, the pale, pastel yellow on the lids really brightens up the look and makes it super fresh and fun. I just luuuuuuv it. 

So, obvi, Carli Bybel is like, beyond stunning and super talented. She's just incredible, as is this look. Remember how I said, to me, Easter makeup is fun, pastel colors?! Well, here it is. Though this look isn't as natural as I would probably go for the holiday, I am obsessed with this eye look. 

I've been eyeing this Galaxy Chic palette from BH Cosmetics for quite some time now, but I never actually purchase it for some reason. I think that's about to change, however. The colors in that palette are literally me. And I need them. Now. 
I love love love the idea of lining the lower lash line with not just one bright color, but two! I think it really gives the look a lot of dimension and takes it up a whole bunch of notches.

The only thing I will say is that I can't stand the way Carli does her eyeliner. I know it's kind of her signature look, but I don't think over-extending the liner into her inner corner does anything for the eyes. Otherwise, I think this tutorial is wonderful. Plus, I'm all about big lashes and so is Carli. However, she CURLS HER LASHES for like, the first time ever in this video. It's a rare occurrence, so I had to make note of it.  Go witness it for yourself since you may never have the chance to again.

I hope you beauties find some Easter inspiration in these videos - I know I did! Let me know any thoughts in the comments or connect with me on social media! All of my links are to the right and in the "About" section above.

Oh, and have a wonderful and happy Easter! ♡ 

So, that was a bit of a ramble. What I’m trying to say here is: I’m a college makeup girl. But you already knew this. However, there’s another collegemakeupgirl out there on YouTube you may or may not know about. But her content is WAYYYY better than mine. And she’s gorgeous. And she’s really sweet. And I got to do an interview with her. Eeep! ♡

Now, five years later, the collegemakeupgirl channel has just over 20,000 subscribers! Though this may seem like quite a following, Amanda wasn’t always thrilled with her subscriber count. “Compared to a lot of other beauty gurus, it’s not a lot. But the numbers don’t really affect me anymore,” she told me. But “I will say they used to.”

Like many budding gurus, Amanda’s focus early on was on raising that number and increasing channel views. “I was constantly thinking about how I could improve my viewers and subscribers,” she said. “But I finally realized that that’s not really that important.” It took time for Amanda to refocus and remember why she started her channel in the first place: because she loved makeup and wanted to share that with others. “I never started doing this thinking I was going to be the next MakeupbyTiffanyD. I did it because I just wanted to talk about beauty and fashion and have a creative outlet for my new obsession.” 

The outlet YouTube offers beauty lovers and makeup artists alike allows for more than just creative expression. Interacting with subscribers, whom Amanda describes as “awesome,” is a big part of the draw, too. “I’m a mass communication major, so I love that I get to talk to girls and some guys that genuinely like to watch me. I love that I am able to communicate with people all over the world that share my interests,” she said. “It really feels good to know that I’m helping them in some way.” Amanda feels that offer fashion and beauty counsel is one of the best things she can do for her loyal subbies. “Even if it’s just helping them pick out an awesome beauty product or a cute shirt, it’s rewarding to know they look to me for advice on style and beauty,” she said.

For all she does for her beauty-fanatic followers through communication and interaction, they do just as much to make her smile, too. “[My subscribers] really make my day when they comment on a video or tweet me on twitter,” Amanda said.  

(A link to Amanda's twitter can be found below! Go follow her :) )

In addition to making her day, her followers, and YouTube as a whole, make Amanda more marketable in a professional sense. “Since my major is mass communication, specifically public relations, I do hope that adding my YouTube channel to my resume will help me hopefully break into my dream job,” she said. What job is that, you may ask? One that’s beauty-related. Duh. “I would love to work for a makeup brand at their corporate level,” Amanda said. “Or maybe be a clothing buyer for a department store.” These are all admirable and totally attainable goals for someone so clearly driven and talented. But this girl has something in mind that’s a bit more ambitious. 

“My ultimate dream job would be to work for Chanel’s public relations department,” she said. “That’s probably really far-fetched but hey, who knows!” With skill and charm as copious as Amanda’s, I would say it’s so out-there at all. 

Though Amanda is still in the process of obtaining a degree and that killer career, she’s involved in pretty big things right now, too. She became a YouTube partner about two years ago, and she’s a StyleHaul partner now, too! But when the massive YouTube beauty network first approached her, she wasn’t so sure. “To be honest, I had no idea what it involved or how it worked,” Amanda admitted. So, to find out more, she chatted up two ladies she’s known since first beginning YouTube. They’re talented and stunning – just like Amanda. You may know them as EleventhGorgeous. “They told me all about it and how it was an awesome network,” Amanda said. Stef and Tracy talked her into joining. And Amanda’s super glad she took their advice. “[StyleHaul] helps you with your channel, whether that means helping you with creating your banner, or tips on growing your channel or helping you sync up with other YouTubers for a collab,” she said. Essentially, StyleHaul is a coalition of big sisters, offering support and aid when and where it’s needed. “It’s nice because they are always there to answer questions you may have,” Amanda said. “YouTube is, in a lot of ways, a personal business and sometimes it can get very confusing to navigate alone.”

After five years, I think it’s safe to say Amanda’s got it down. Not only does she create amazing videos and work for StyleHaul, but she attends college full time, too! As a student myself, I can only image how stressful that must be at times. This girl is clearly committed to her channel and her viewers.

If you’re not one of said viewers, I’m assuming you’ve been convinced by this point that that needs to change. If you haven't yet searched her channel and subscribed, allow me to insert here a few additional videos that will undoubtedly send the message home. And, once you decide that you need Amanda’s videos in your subscription feed, you’ll find a direct link to her channel below, as well.

As promised, here’s a link to Amanda’s channel, as well as links to her various social media accounts. Make sure to check them out!! If you’re a student and a beauty-lover like her and I, you’ll find a lot to relate to.

And, of course, big huge thank you to Amanda for participating in this interview! She’s such a sweetheart and we have so much in common. This was a blast to write ♡

If you've read any of my most recent posts or seen my most recent beauty video, you know I'm OBSESSED with colorful eye shadows right now. Is obsessed even a strong enough word to explain how I feel about yellows and purple and pinks and greens and oranges and blues all over my lid area?? Doubt it.

I guess I'm at a loss to describe the depth of my affection for these bright, fun shades.

I was not, however, challenged when it came to finding some new palettes that could add even MORE COLOR to my collection. I recently placed a few orders from BH Cosmetics.

That was an excellent decision on my part.

As you can see, I coordinated my eye makeup to match the polo I was wearing to work that day.
It's a bit hard to see, but there is a bright, lime green color on my lower lash line smack in the middle. This picture totally doesn't do it any justice; it looked wayyyyy cooler in person.

Customers and co-workers concurred. I got more compliments on this eye look than I ever had at work before! I think next time, though, I'll do some bold, winged liner with this look. Wouldn't that be sick?? I just didn't want to go tooooo OTT for work, ya know?

High on the success of my bold use of color, I decided I just needed more... Isn't that the sign of addiction? When, not matter how much you have, you just always want more? Hmm, guess I'm a makeup addict.

But we knew this already.

So anyway, I went back to bhcosmetics.com and picked up two of their most colorful palettes! So excited rn.

Her name is Leslee. Not Lesless. For some reason, when I’m typing her name, my fingers just want to add two S’s to the end and skip out on that last “e”. I’ve got it down now. I’m able to fight the urge. Plus, Leslee herself pointed out the spelling error when I was interviewing her via email.
So now I’ve got to get it right.


Leslee (MissLeslee229) is as unique as her name spelling.
She makes incredible YouTube videos, she’s beautiful, and if you love hauls, her channel is for you.
She’s a makeup-loving shopaholic. And her subscribers love it. ♡

Leslee’s channel just recently had its first birthday! Yeay! She, like most gurus, was inspired by others in the beauty community to begin filming. “I decided to start [making videos] because I watched a lot of Melmphs a.k.a. Melissa Raymond on YouTube and I started thinking about how I’d really like to share some of my tips,” she said. “I have a lot of opinions on makeup and I felt as though I had something to add to the beauty world.”

That she did. Leslee is chock-full of beauty knowledge and she energetically shares that with an audience of just about 2,900 subscribers! Leslee’s videos are informative and uploaded regularly (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays), which is likely why her subscriber count has grown so steadily over the past year. But, Leslee said, it was a slow go at first. “It took a few months to even get past 100 [subscribers],” she said. But Leslee wanted more; she wanted to reach as many beauty-lovers as she could, through YouTube, to share her tips and tricks with.

That’s when she found StyleHaul. She joined up with the YouTube beauty and fashion network in August of 2013 to increase traffic to her channel. “I heard about them through watching other beauty gurus,” Leslee said. She applied through their website and was accepted! But I mean, duh. How could they not accept her?

StyleHaul does more than just aid in pumping up her subscriber count, though. “They pay me and help me build my channel,” Leslee said. One of the main ways Leslee is able to gain viewers is through StyleHaul’s “Link Up” program, which is essentially a way for gurus to promote each other’s videos by clicking that infamous thumbs-up icon. “I am assigned a certain day to upload a video, then everyone in my Link Up group “likes” that video, which shares it with their subscribers on their feed,” she said. “It usually leads to a little jump in my subscriber count.”

It also leads to some extra spending money for this beauty guru, too. Perhaps it’s part of the reason her subscribers get to see so many of her fabulous haul videos. StyleHaul is “sort of like my manager,” she said. They receive all of her YouTube earnings, which amount to about a penny per ad-click, and then pay her a percentage. Though it may seem like sharing her earnings would be an income loss for Leslee, she says the arrangement actually works out perfectly. “It’s easier for me since YouTube only pays you after you’ve reached $100,” she said. “Plus, when you get a high amount of subscribers, StyleHaul will fund giveaways and trips for you.” Well yeah, that sounds like a good setup to me! The partnership has helped Leslee reach the level of success and viewership she has today.

It especially comes in handy when Leslee encounters obstacles or needs a virtual guiding light. “It’s nice having easy access to someone for questions and help,” she said. “YouTube doesn’t have a customer service line, so it’s definitely nice having StyleHaul then!”

It seems like she’s pretty much got it down by now, though. Her videos are creative, edited well and simply entertaining to watch. Plus, they’re educational. Obviously not in the boring sense, though. As a college student, the term “educational,” when connected to video content, usually makes me duck and cover… or fall asleep. But Leslee’s different; she teaches viewers about all things makeup! I’m not sure about you, but I’m down to be educated about beauty any day.

Here's her newest video! You can never ever go wrong with a neutral smoky eye. Plus, Makeup Geek eye shadows are so pretty. I really really need to order some. 

For Leslee, this is what YouTube is all about: connecting and sharing. She especially enjoys the interactive component that the site offers creators and the reach she has because of it. “I love meeting people from other cities, states, and countries,” she said. “It still blows my mind that I can watch someone’s video from Brazil, or France, or China and feel like they are right there with me in my living room.” What’s better? YouTube is essentially a swapping ground, where ideas and suggestions are constantly exchanged with others of similar interests and passions, ultimately connecting everyone involved. “I get to share and learn tips from people from all over the world,” Leslee said. “It makes the world feel so much smaller.”

This aspect is what keeps those that create and those that consume from being strangers. We don’t call it the “YouTube beauty COMMUNITY” for nothing. “I like that you use the word ‘community,’” Leslee told me. “Since that’s exactly what we are!”

The community, though virtual, is nonetheless real. Leslee has even connected with other gurus across the country through their love of beauty and video-creation. “I’ve finally broken through my shell and started making friends,” she said. “I’ve been talking with a girl in Miami who also makes videos. And how else would we have ever met? We wouldn’t, but YouTube made it happen.”

I wouldn’t give YouTube all the credit, however. Leslee’s enthusiastic and outgoing personality is what has drawn in viewers and connected her with other makeup crazies. One of her most memorable YouTube moments involved another YouTube friend – GlitzyDazzle01. Leslee’s first ever collab video was made with Grisel, who Leslee affectionately calls her “new friend.”