Tyra Banks once said, “I love the confidence that makeup gives me.” Like Tyra, many women love cosmetics and won’t leave the house without being fully made up. Others like the thought of wearing makeup on a regular basis, but don’t have a clue to where to begin. For women looking to learn from scratch, step up their makeup game or just add a few tricks to their existing knowledge, Youtube is packed with tips and tutorials from “makeup gurus”.
While text tutorials are nice, there’s nothing like someone actually sitting down and showing you how to beat your face. This is especially true for beginners. These makeup women are the big sister or knowledgable friend you’ve never had that will show you how to do a smoky eye, apply foundation, and suggest good drugstore buys — all at your convenience.
There are tons and tons of makeup artists on Youtube, but often the lists of notable gurus leave out the Black girls. Of course, you can learn about makeup from a woman of any color. However, if you’re looking for an expert who shares your complexion then you must check out this list of 10 Black Youtube makeup artists (with one honorable mention). It’s in no particular order and definitely not an exhaustive list, so leave a comment to let me know who else should be added to this list!
If you ask your friends who you should subscribe to on YouTube to find out about makeup, at least one will probably tell you to check out “Nitraab”. Anitra is a freelance makeup artist with nearly 150-thousand subscribers. Along with posting beauty videos she is also vlogging about her upcoming wedding.
Keisha is a freelance makeup artists from Atlanta, GA and has been uploading beauty/hair/makeup videos to her YouTube channel since 2009. She has giveaways, monthly/yearly favorites, and beauty reviews but the majority of her videos are makeup tutorials. She also takes requests from viewers and recreates looks from celebrities such as Rihanna’s “Where Have You Been” music video and Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass” music video.
Jackie is a former MAC makeup artist from Los Angeles who serves in the US Army Reserves and freelances professionally as a makeup artist. She says she is “going against everything women of color are told NOT to do with makeup”. With nearly 100 makeup tutorials, Jackie is sure to have a tutorial on a look you want.
Missy’s YouTube Channel is “Let’s Be Pretty Together” and this self-described “average girl, who’s stuck in this place we call ‘The Beauty World'” is also a member of the US armed forces! Her videos include reviews, monthly favorites, blogs about makeup in the military and makeup tutorials.
Megan lives in Los Angeles. Some of her loves include healthy hair care, easy makeup tutorials, product reviews and much more. Along with makeup tutorials, she also uploads a lot of hair videos called “Megz Hair Talk”.
Ebony is a licensed Esthetician and certified makeup artist from California. She is partial to “wearable” looks with “affordable” makeup. Her mission is to bring light to the darker side of beauty — making it clear that beauty comes in all shades. She does transformation videos like the one here where she transforms her look into Eva Marcille.
Destiny is a makeup artist and actress. “#DesiDoesItAll” in NY ATL CA. She posts new hair and makeup videos every other day. She has drugstore makeup looks and celebrity makeup looks. She also does the transformation videos (like Coloured Beauty). Check out her Nnenna Agba from ANTM transformation.
Adrianna is a criminology and public administration major at FAMU and popular YouTube makeup artist. She got started in highschool and now covers hair, beauty and fashion. Recently, she was featured as one of AOL’s Black Voices top hair bloggers. She has different playlists on her channel with makeup tutorials including one particularly for Women of Color.
Jennie is a freelance makeup artist from the UK. She studied psychology in school, but loves all things makeup and fashion. Her YouTube channel and blog are random compilations of everything from makeup, fashion, hairstyles, reviews, hauls and random thoughts. Her videos have garnered more than 18-million views and she has 136-thousand subscribers.
Shirley is a 22 year old who lives “across the pond” in London. She joined YouTube in 2008 and has nearly 140-thousand subscribers. Her website is “Meek-n-Mild” where she talks about makeup, hair and fashion.
xxTheIslandBeautyxx is from Japan. There isn’t much about her personal life online and she doesn’t seem to have a Twitter page or a blog, but she has some popular tutorials on her YouTube channel. One of her most popular videos is her Kim Kardashian-inspired wedding makeup look.
