If you’re a beauty creator trying to get ahead of the competition, you need to understand what’s helpful and what’s not when it comes to growing your beauty YouTube channel. We’ve seen the behind-the-scenes strategies that really work and studied the data. Here’s what we’ve learned about the beauty creators currently leading the charge.
The Creators Winning Now Aren’t Just Pretty Faces
Let’s talk about creators like Ali Andrea or Kelly Gooch. They’re not the ones that drop $20K on full glam sets and expensive brand cosmetics. However, they still grow fast. Why?
Because they’ve positioned themselves as narrators of the industry. Take Kelly, for example. She’s built momentum by blending commentary with tutorials. Instead of just reviewing the product, she explains more important things. Like is the brand oversaturating the market? Does it signal a trend shift? She is a beauty analyst, a trusted voice, and not just another affiliate link.
If you aren’t adding perspective, you don’t add value. Tutorials are everywhere. But commentary layered with product insights gives people an actual reason to come back for you, your personality, and not just the mascara.
They’ve Mastered “Content Flywheels”
One rising star built a recurring series where she rates new Sephora releases under $30, and she always follows up three months later to say what she actually kept and what flopped. The audience loves it. Why? It builds trust and adds built-in episodic structure.
Too many beauty creators burn out chasing endless uploads instead of creating formats that regenerate traffic. Sustainable growth comes from formats. Create recurring content structures that auto-build anticipation. Weekly “hits and misses”? A “one-brand face” series? Make the wheel spin itself.
They’re Winning With Localization
Beauty is a universal category, but product culture is regional. The way you talk about SPF in California is different from how you talk about it in Seoul. Creators who recognize this and adapt - win internationally.
If you’re only targeting English-speaking audiences, you’re missing out. Start by translating your top 5 evergreen videos with localized metadata and subtitles, and track the performance. Need help? That’s what we do.
We helped thousands of channels localize their content and spread them beyond one channel or even beyond YouTube. Contact us and learn more!
They Understand the Algorithm Isn’t Enough
Beauty creators are among the best-positioned to take advantage of YouTube’s new discovery flows, especially with Shorts, now expanded to 3 minutes.
We’ve seen creators chop long tutorials into quickfire “before-after” Shorts, pair them with pinned comments that push traffic to the full video, and boost session watch time. Others run 24/7 live streams of skincare routines with ambient music and occasional product callouts.
It’s not one format that wins, it’s how they work together. Long-form builds trust, Shorts hooks, live streams retain. If your content strategy doesn’t have a rhythm that blends all three, you’re invisible to the algorithm’s new engagement loop.
Who’s Leading and Why You Should Watch Closely
The names that are trending go as follows:
1. Kylie Jenner
An easier question to answer would be why isn’t she popular. As a founder of Kylie Cosmetics, Kylie had built a whole beauty empire with a massive social media following. Her influence extends beyond makeup and right into fashion and lifestyle, which makes her a trendsetter in multiple categories.
2. Huda Kattan
As the founder of Huda Beauty, Huda combines her expertise as a makeup artist with savvy social media strategies, offering tutorials and product reviews that resonate with a global audience.
3. James Charles
Albeit controversial, he’s well-known for his bold makeup looks and interesting easy-to-follow tutorials. James amassed a big following on both YouTube and Instagram, influencing beauty trends worldwide to this day.
4. Nikkie de Jager
Nikkie's transformative makeup tutorials and candid personality have earned her a loyal fanbase. Her viral video "The Power of Makeup" was a perfect example of both her skill and authentic personality.
5. Jackie Aina
Jackie is popular because she advocates for diversity in the beauty industry, using her platform to highlight products suitable for deeper skin tones and calling out brands lacking inclusivity.
6. Hindash
A painter turned makeup artist, Hindash is known for his artistic approach to beauty, creating visually stunning content that merges art and makeup. Not to mention, his narrations are very interesting to watch!
7. Golloria George
Golloria, just like Jackie Aina, uses her platform to advocate for shade inclusivity, sharing makeup tutorials and reviews that cater to dark-skinned individuals, and collaborating with brands to improve diversity.
8. Bretman Rock
Bretman's charismatic and flamboyant personality combined with humorous content and his makeup tutorials, have made him a standout figure in the beauty community.
All of them aren’t following trends, they’re setting them. And more importantly, they’re doing it with scalable content formats, revenue ecosystems, and brand voices that stand for something deeper than “what’s in my makeup bag.”
Beauty creators who win in 2025 won’t just be the best at makeup, they’ll be the best at strategy. If you want to scale sustainably, the tactics are there. We’ve helped thousands of channels evolve their content, reach, and monetization. If you’re ready to build a beauty empire, we’re ready to help you do it.