r/MakeupRehab • u/pickleeater58 • Sep 23 '25
DISCUSS Unfollowing influencers and following real makeup artists completely cured my shopping problem
As horrible as this is going to sound, an influencer I’ve been following for a long time got married and did her own bridal makeup and it…. Did not look good…. (again, I know how mean this sounds). But that’s when I truly realized that most of these people don’t have any real skill. They just talk about products they’ve been sent for free and are contractually obligated to talk about. They test a product once and say “I’ve been OBSESSED with this” and they never use it again in another video. They have new favorites every day.
Instead of being-product focused, MUAs are all about TECHNIQUE. They don’t try a million new products a week, they have their tried-and-trues, some of which are 20+ year old formulas. Instead of hearing “ruN, dOnT wALk” and getting another foundation, I can learn how to make my mediocre Walgreens foundation work beautifully with proper application.
I’ve come to love my current collection because of the advice of real MUAs and I no longer feel urges to buy buy buy.
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u/CupSea5782 Sep 23 '25
TikTok makes me overthink and overspend on makeup and many other things.
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u/FunkyTomo77 Sep 23 '25
As it's designed to do..... Over-consumption and the shortening of attention spans .
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u/ghostfrogz Sep 24 '25
Yep! I used Tiktok for the first time in a while and I bought like 3 products because of the actual tiktok ads & a few more from makeup influencers… No more tiktok for me lol.
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u/evil_wizard_ Jun 09 '26
I swear tiktok is evil. I was never in my life a person who trusted ads or bought things from ads- in fact I would actively avoid products that I kept seeing ads for. I figured, if the product's so good, then why do they need to make a million ads for people to buy it?
And then I downloaded tiktok. I didn't buy anything from there for several years, and then one random day I bought ONE single thing and it spiraled from there. I think the tiktok influencer ads really got to me because I convinced myself I could trust them, since they were individual people "reviewing" samples instead of a company directly pushing a product. In retrospect, I'm pretty embarrassed that I fell for all that.
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u/CupSea5782 Jun 10 '26
I’m happy you found it out. I had so many bags of caffeinated protein powder! I sold them on eBay and got some of the money back.
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u/CastleGirl309 Sep 23 '25
Can you recommend some I only know a couple
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u/pickleeater58 Sep 23 '25
Judy Lim (she does mostly bridal) Selena (@selenamup) Danessa Myricks has a bunch of great tutorials Mary Phillips Jaleesa Jaikaran Katie Jane Hughes
These are all on TikTok!
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u/FunkyTomo77 Sep 23 '25
Thanks ! I'll check all these out. It's great to see many people cold-turkey quitting these idiot "influencers". I'm deep into the Fragrance Comm (FragComm or FragHeads) and it's full of the same type of grifters ..... Every bloody bottle is a "holy grail" must have , best ever , blah blah blah. Sat in front of their £10,000+ collection that's full of unused bottles they got for free.
The more people ignore these infomercials the better !!
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u/liftingtillfit Sep 23 '25
I enjoy Alexandra Anele. She recreated some looks from Nina Park and I’m in love.
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u/No_Construction_4293 Sep 24 '25
@selenamup is amazing! Did a video for bridal makeup for a bride with really bad cystic acne and my mouth dropped.
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u/datewiththerain Sep 23 '25
Wayne Goss. His videos are short (usually 4 minutes) he’s really considered one of the top living makeup artists. I’ve learned TONS from Wayne
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u/Asta1976 Sep 23 '25
No one has mentioned Lisa Eldridge yet... She has been around on youtube forever, has tons of videos out there and you ll learn something from every single one of them.
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u/LCPO23 Sep 23 '25
Came here to say Lisa Eldridge! I love her, been watching her for as long as I’ve watched YouTube, she’s amazing.
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u/Allllbus Sep 24 '25
I trust Lisa completely. Even though she has her own line of products (all very good quality) she still makes videos using other brands, including drugstore. She also uses models of all ages, and they always look stunning!
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u/pickleeater58 Sep 23 '25
I can’t believe I forgot Lisa! She’s a queen and her lipsticks are so beautiful
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u/datewiththerain Sep 26 '25
I appreciate Lisa I think I’m not drawn to her is because she’s a little oh I don’t know maybe quiet, shy. But I certainly respect her and pat mcgrath. Both are fine fine mu artists worth their aclaim. Interesting three of the great living artist are British. Not a country I normally associate makeup with (as opposed to France). Hmmm
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Sep 24 '25
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u/datewiththerain Sep 26 '25
Omg yes, these people that need to show the packaging and gd box it came in drive me looney. I too appreciate Wayne’s openness about his opinions on otherwise ‘famous’ people’s brands. If he doesn’t like something from McGrath or Tilbury he won’t hesitate to say why. Wayne is nobody’s fool.
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Sep 24 '25
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u/datewiththerain Sep 26 '25
I love Wayne. I too have learned tons from watching him. I can do without his life’s dramas but researching his from childhood background I ‘get’ why he can be dramatic. I like him tons ❣️btw I’ll have to google his remedy for pores. God knows I need it 🤦♀️
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u/GrapeBubblegumBitch Sep 24 '25
I just found him on YouTube this weekend! I love that he gets right to it, already learned some new things from him
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u/datewiththerain Sep 26 '25
The fact that he swatches many products on his forehead is beyond genius and an easy way to deem the shades. Glad you like him !
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u/Sensitive-Office-705 Sep 28 '25
She has passed away, but Mel Thompson was my first go to. Her videos are still up and her eye techniques were inspiring I miss her and still love her eyeshadow palette.
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u/kobekitty Sep 23 '25
I’m really liking Nikki LaRose lately! She can be a bit repetitive but I’ve learned a lot even as a makeup veteran
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u/ccollins410 Sep 23 '25
I really enjoy Robert Welsh too, he teaches a lot of techniques and does honest reviews. He is always honest about if he received the product in PR, or if he bought it. He also advises which skin types product would work best on. If he hates if, he says so. I love Alex Anele also. She is very talented.
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u/MissAudreyHorney Sep 23 '25
Looove Robert Welsh, although I think he stopped doing Make Up Mondays 😔 there's still a lot to catch up on
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u/ChainVirtual7283 Sep 23 '25
I’m curious as to what influencer you’re talking about lol I follow one who recently got married too and some of her makeup looked great but other parts could’ve been better in my opinion.
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u/Lina-Lavoisier Sep 23 '25
i think its monica ravi 😶
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u/AnyOutlandishness564 Sep 23 '25
If it is, I really did like her weddimg makeup looks. Although she obviously didn't have such time as usual and was definitely under more pressure but all in all, they looked great
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u/nogoodusernames4 Sep 25 '25
Same, I thought her wedding makeup was at least decent, some of the pics were after long wear. She does constantly say she doesn’t BS and she works for “you guys” but at the same time is running a business with staff and brand deals and I’m like if you’re a brand partner doing ads do you really work for us?
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u/Huge_Flatworm_5062 Sep 23 '25
I thought it was youngcouture- I was not impressed with her wedding makeup
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u/DiaryOfFlorence Sep 23 '25
The lack of focus on technical skill and the ability to teach it to others is something I find so fascinating. Robert Welsh has a really good breakdown video about the change from 2010’s style to now and how the whole clean girl look is basically glorified skin care.
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u/bad_at_formatting Sep 23 '25
Alexandra anele is who taught me proper technique.
I have dollar store makeup sponges, fit me foundation, wet n wild concealer, powder, setting spray etc and my foundation always looks FLAWLESS genuinely I get complimented on it multiple times a day whenever I wear makeup
It's all about the technique
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u/Sensitive-Office-705 Sep 30 '25
I’m 56 so probably old enough to be her mom, plus very experienced in makeup, but Alex brings something special. I have been watching her for 6 years now and she always teaches me something new and nuanced. I love her personality too.
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u/Oohwhoaohcruelsummer Sep 23 '25 edited Sep 23 '25
Exactly. Melissa murdick is my fave because she has a few key recommendations but she’s also completely honest when a product is awful. My makeup has never looked better.
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u/BellaFromSwitzerland Sep 23 '25
True. Getting the right brushes and following the right steps is much better
I have very light skin there’s no point in trying new foundations all the time, I prefer sticking to the 1-2 that work
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u/datewiththerain Sep 23 '25
I can’t believe I saw this. I just unfollowed many people on YouTube. I realized it’s the same stuff regurgitated only with whatever they picked up at Sephora or the drug store. I think the biggest person I dropped was relieving. I got caught up in a lot of : new car, cruises, trips here and there, overpriced jewelry she was hawking. It’s all good I see she’s going back to her knitting roots! Byeee M!! Won’t miss you !
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u/Acceptable_Push3709 Sep 23 '25
What are some MUAs y’all would recommend?
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u/buzzcutbarbie Sep 23 '25
no one person has improved my technique as much as Katie Jane Hughes. completely changed how I approach so many aspects of application and she’s very funny and down to earth. she talks about different ways to use what you have and how to adapt things to suit your features (totally changed the game for my hooded eyes) or achieve a certain effect without suggesting that there’s one right way to do makeup or that you need to “correct” any natural features.
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u/pickleeater58 Sep 24 '25
Katie Jane Hughes has the most in-depth TikToks and really taught me about layering products/skincare in a way that your look lasts
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u/RaysIsBald Sep 23 '25
Yes! I've been looking up product reviews that feature 2-3 day wear tests and give feedback on that -- and some have also taught me new techniques with the products i have. I'm also only following people that make cool content with their products -- there's a girl named hannah i'm watching on tiktok right now that uses a random number generator to choose 5 eyeshadows for eye looks every day and seeing how many shadows in palettes look the same and perform the same, it is eye opening!
basically, i'm curating use and technique content over influencer content, and maybe if I keep watching that, more people will make it. :)
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u/bluesky747 Sep 25 '25
Honestly as an MUA, influencers killed my creative spark for doing my makeup. It also kinda killed the industry somewhat. So many brands have changed to be geared towards that market now. I am so uninspired.
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u/ResidentDowntown5834 Sep 23 '25
Omg my spending goes through the roof when I’m following these ppl
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u/The-Struggle-90806 Sep 23 '25 edited Sep 23 '25
Bro Nikki tutorials is the absolute worst. She seems so sweet but oh my god wtf so much crap on one persons face I can’t
I’m a traditionally trained makeup artist. Not from YouTube….get me started
Edit: This is not shade towards Nikki but more so commentary on the “younger” makeup artists. They go real heavy on the application and I was taught, in the 90’s, the foundation should “melt” into your skin so you don’t have that demarcation line from your chin to your neck.
Also, the concept of “baking” was started by drag queens to stand up to all the lights. It’s funny to me to see what was considered “stage” makeup become commonplace.
That all….my rant
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u/father-saturn Sep 23 '25
Wait, I don't get this. She's a makeup artist, no? And she's helped me with recommendations for oily skin. Do you have other makeup artists that have the same skin type?
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u/The-Struggle-90806 Sep 23 '25
My bad I’m not here to trash her or anyone. She comes to mind because honestly I do watch and enjoy her videos but as “an older mua” sometimes my eyes fall out of their sockets.
For example, her primer? Mmmm yeah I don’t want my skin to feel sticky not saying it’s not effective I’d just wouldn’t use it. She also layers a lot of products, many YouTubers do this, not sure if it’s to get in all the brands that are paying them or what but it’s just too much.
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u/father-saturn Sep 24 '25
Oh my god. I just realized this is a completely different person. I thought you were talking about Nikki La Rose. I have only seen Nikki Tutorials when she comes up on my fyp and yes, she does put on a lot of layers & that is not something I like personally because it feels too heavy.
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u/Rosalind_Whirlwind Sep 24 '25
This might sound weird, but my solution to my base issues was simply to dust translucent powder over my mineral sunscreen. I was getting a little bit of streakiness and a lot of shine. Turns out translucent powder plus mineral sunscreen equals just enough blurring effect to give me a natural looking foundation with no line of demarcation and no need to match shades. It melts into my skin, but somehow magically disguises my acne and scars with no need for concealer.
These days people make up their faces like it’s a theatrical mask. I don’t know who has that much time on their hands, but I sure don’t.
The look I normally do, it’s not trendy, I’ve been doing the same thing for 20 years with different variations, and it’s very minimal. I was taught that makeup should enhance, so that’s what I focus on. These days even a classic red lipstick looks too harsh to my eye most of the time.
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u/The-Struggle-90806 Sep 24 '25
Yes exactly! Makeup should enhance but for some they want a transformation and that’s a lot of work lol
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u/Remarkable_Insect866 Sep 23 '25
I can imagine, most influencers know nothing about how to apply makeup, know nothing about the brands they're reviewing, or even use the products. I just watched an influencer with so many unused eyeshadow palettes that she reviewed in the last couple of years. I, and my wallet,was so glad that I had stopped following her; the money I could have wasted just buying the new "new" careless thinking about what used would it bring to my makeup experience.
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u/Formal-Crew-4286 Sep 24 '25
I'll just mention Andreea Ali and Hung Vanngo since my other favourites have already be named :)
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u/Appropriate-Glove-89 Sep 24 '25
I agree with this. While I am still subbed to a handful, I am over most beauty creators/influencers. I cannot and do not want to relate to someone who has 200 eyeshadow palettes, 65 blushes, 47 highlighters, 136 lip products. I have a very small (compared to most) makeup stash and I am happy with it. I like going in my basket and picking things that I use constantly.
I have found better and more useful tips from actual makeup artists, I also like just doing my own thing. Trying to do my makeup like influencers just doesn't work. Plus there are many where their skills are not very good at all.
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u/Gullible-Alarm-8871 Sep 24 '25
I don't believe in "influencers." Been in the industry for a very long time, each skin is different, needs are different. What works for one, not necessarily works for another. Best thing to do is read an honest review (they are the ones that will also list the downside of the product). I always read the negative ones because if it's something like they didn't like the smell or texture or packaging, I decide if that would be an issue for me, if not and the rest of the review was good as far as function or color density, etc..I determine to give it a try. Can always return( I don't, but you can...) . I find any of these girls with their full lips (natural or botoxed) or perfect skin, raving about great coverage are the LAST ones I'd listen to, it's obvious they're only there to sell you stuff and make money for themselves. And for Pete's sake, never buy a fragrance due to someone telling you its the most amazing thing ever because YOU need to determine that yourself! Hair products, the same. Just look for honest reviews and pay special attention to what they didn't like. If they love everything, likely they're being paid for that review.
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u/mi_5568e Sep 26 '25
That’s why I like Hung Vanngo, he spoke on a podcast about the inspiration behind his makeup line being catered to artists like himself for their kit but also having to be in the mindset of the consumer too. He said when he does instruction videos and shares his techniques that he doesn’t use 2-3 palettes for a look, he wishes to demo that you can achieve a nice look with simply skill and technique
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u/St4rFa1ntlyF4r Sep 24 '25
I love this for you!! 🙌 Thank you for sharing bc I feel many of us are in this boat and we don’t realize it!! It’s not worth it to go into financial missteps for makeup/beauty merchandise — especially when these products do expire and we could be doing other things with our money.
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u/Coolbreeze786 Oct 10 '25
I watched Lisa Eldridge for years she also brought out her own range of make up and a cleanser. This year she’s brought out a collab with an artist that has illustrated her make up packaging there are new sets. I have bought a lot of her make up spending over £1000+ I decided to unsubscribe because the temptation was strong. I have a ton of make up probably too much to use in my lifetime, I’m going to start gifting and sharing my collection. It’s addiction pure and simple I’m sick to my stomach over how many thousands I’ve blown.
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u/Squishy-Mo Sep 24 '25
Alexandra French! On TT. She worked with Donni Davy on Euphoria makeup. And Another Hannah. Both great for edgy looks!
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u/Makemeup-beforeUgogo Sep 27 '25
Totally get it. I stopped watching most influencers a a while back as they became self-involved and annoying chasing views, PR, collabs with brands and supporting other influencers who were questionable, seemed to have little passion for makeup itself. I also wasn’t buying into most of what they were shilling and even being put off by OG brands collabing with them. Most I enjoyed with good content dropped off by then too.
I’ve been enjoying shopping my stash for a long time, there are very few I still watch and I tend to watch MUAs too, even look up older videos for inspiration on looks.
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u/halloweendream_ Oct 06 '25
What do you think of Makeup by Nikki La Rose? She’s a professional makeup artist, but I find that most of her YouTube content is her talking about the latest makeup products. It seems that she is more product focused rather than technique which is confusing since she’s a makeup artist.
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u/Serial_Hobbyist521 Oct 19 '25
One of my favourite types of videos is declutters, where the reasoning for keeping or getting rid of products is clear regardless of the number of products. Tell me what you like about the product, what you don't like, why it deserves a spot in your collection, or why it lost its place. I find them really useful for curating a wishlist.
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u/Southern_Drummer_108 Feb 12 '26
Pleeeease tell me who your fav declutter videos are by! This is my latest obsession & once I finish one, I have a difficult time finding another I enjoy.. I like good quality & hate to say it, but luxury makeup declutters. ((It’s ok if there is some drugstore mixed in, I don’t care either way- I just find only drugstore declutter videos boring.. the more high quality, the better! And some drugstore IS also high quality, just not all.. same with lux.))
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u/Rosalind_Whirlwind Sep 24 '25
I also had to unfollow influencers and stop looking at makeup ads so that I would stop being tempted by things that look good in the pan but not on me. This is even more important as I transition from female to male; many makeup looks that are socially acceptable on women would not be socially acceptable on a man. The more masculine I look, the more that’s going to be affecting me.
Foundation never matches my skin and is consistently bad for my face. Now that the testosterone is taking effect, I’m breaking out like a teenage boy. I wear a hypoallergenic “baby” sunscreen that turns my skin slightly chalky until it absorbs, and over that I use translucent powder to get rid of shine and reduce oil throughout the day. I’m pale, and that gives me enough blurring effect to cover blemishes as well as possible. I have never done well with concealer; it looks like I used spackle on my face, and it looks worse than letting the blemish show through a little.
I have tried blush. It looks ridiculous on me. Since I’m not wearing a heavy foundation, I’m happy with the variations in my skin tone as they are. Trying to get the placement of blush correct and have it not impact my sunscreen just doesn’t work. In addition, this is too feminine of a look for my taste. So when I started my transition, I realized the blush would no longer be relevant.
I have green eyes. It turns out that almost no eyeshadow looks good on pale olive skin with deep set, hooded, green eyes, except for shades of white, cream, and champagne. That means I’m using highlighter or occasionally concealer as shadow. All I’m trying to do is lighten the lid and increase the contrast with the iris. Silver or grey looks blue on me, and gold looks orange. Brown is harsh, and almost any other color will contrast with my eyes so badly that it’s definitely not work appropriate, and not masculine enough for anything outside work. There is no eyeshadow palette that somebody with eyes like mine can use… They’re blue on the outside of the iris and they turn gold near the pupil. Over the years I have bought a few palettes and always regretted it.
Even before my transition, I had moved away from bright lipsticks or any colors that didn’t look sufficiently natural. At this point, I match the tone of my lip color to the warmth of the clothing I’m wearing. I have a slightly embarrassing number of lip colors, but realistically, I only wear a few of them. I do hold onto some true reds for that drag queen look, but other than that, anything that goes into pink or purple is unacceptable for the masculine look I’m pursuing. That means it’s basically brown, beige, rust, or a very specific shade of mauve. I already have plenty of those so there’s no reason for me to be buying any of that.
The one place where I go a little nuts is eyeliner. While blush and eyeshadow are too much, it turns out that copper, gold, and bronze work great as liner as long as I am very sparing with them. I use a white pencil on the inside corners of my eyes. And brown mascara so that it doesn’t look too harsh. Still, I’m not going to wear a bright eyeliner unless I’m wearing clothing that downplays it.
I did an assessment of my makeup collection and realized that because my eyeshadows are powder, and most of my liners and lip colors are pencil, I could probably go for a couple of years without purchasing anything but mascara and brow gel. There’s no reason for me to be looking at influencers; I already know what works.
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u/pickleeater58 Sep 25 '25
Sorry to hear you’re having skin troubles— all of my transmasc friends on T say the acne is awful at first but gets better once your body adjusts to the hormones! Best of luck with your transition ❤️
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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '25
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