A few years ago I consumed a lot (ok not that much, but I was a regular watcher of a few Youtubers) of makeup related content and learned from it. Nowadays I feel like everyone is just repeating their existing videos. Everything is done and old so I stopped watching maybe over a year ago.
Is it me personally or is beauty YT still as big as it was in let’s say 2017?
I think the massive stars and drama, yeah. It is mostly one big advertisement as other’s stated, and there’s very few regular channels I watch where that kind of content actually interests me – they have to hit on particular niches. Otherwise I’m skipping 90% of those videos and watching one 2 minute part probs. Also can’t stand declutters – I get there’s a niche of people who like it, but for me it’s like watching someone sort trash or a gift basket. Actually, that’s what seems to be most popular: A new thing to get hyped about and an old thing to throw away. That seems… bad, for a few reasons.
Outside of those predominant videos, I watch tutorials and you can still find them out there. Robert Welsh when he does something “different” like ghost stories while he does his makeup or dressing as a clown is also great, lol. Those “history of’s” by Lisa Eldridge are also so interesting – more people need to be making videos like that: You can tell she loves it and is knowledgeable. She’s authentic in a sea of “LOOK WHAT GLAMLITE SENT ME!” The fun and diversity in types of videos are lacking.
I’m one of the weirdos who watches declutters, but only from very specific people. I agree the purchase-discard cycle is problematic, but I just like to see what they actually keep. In some ways it’s better than a review. If they’ve got a foundation or a palette that they’ve been using for years and still want to keep, that’s a pretty strong recommendation for it. Also, if they’re getting rid of a bunch of popular items, it helps remind me that I don’t need to buy the shiny new thing. It actually helps me personally curb my spending and be more picky about what I buy.
But yeah, it’s definitely weird. I think most people see that consumerism cycle and rightfully get turned off by it and don’t want to watch, and that’s totally fair.
I hadn’t thought of declutters in that way and I can see the appeal with it a tad better!