Tuesday to Saturday I have a very specific ritual. I wake up, feed the little human, make a coffee and then settle down to watch my favourite beauty YouTuber, Tati, aka Glam Life Guru. I don’t know what it is about Tati that ensnears me so. Perhaps it’s her soothing voice? Her sparkly eyes. Her to-die-for hair. Or maybe it's the fact that she’s kindly straight-up about the products she loves and hates. And every now and then she comes across something and raves about it to the point where I have to buy it*. Leading me to justify said purchase as #TheBeautyGuruMadeMeBuyIt.
Tati is not the only beauty influencer in my life. The delightful KathleenLights has seen me literally log onto a website and buy every second thing she raved about in a video. And The Beauty Review crew’s beloved Wayne Goss is another YouTuber whose advice has seen my credit limit become perilously closer to the nuh-uh stage.
There are plenty of beauty gurus out there, but due to what feels like innate honesty with no-strings-attached on their part I truly believe that their recommendations will work for me. But have they? Read on…
My first ever #TatiMadeMeBuyIt was the Guerlain L’Or Pure Radiance Face Primer. Totally out of my usual budget, to the point that on any other day it would be something I wouldn’t even look twice at. But I sat in front of my screen and watched as Tati’s skin lifted in front of my eyes. LIFTED. At my age and stage I’m all about the lift. So I bought it. And not one day has gone by we’ve I’ve regretted that purchase. It tightens, it firms, and it’s a lovely base for makeup. Also it has gold flecks… and I don't care if people say gold in skincare is a load of hooey, I’mma all about the goooold. Put. It. On. My. Face.
#TheBeautyGuruMadeMeBuyIt rating? 5.5
My next Tati recommended purchase was the Milani Conceal & Perfect. And thank god for Makeup.co.nz for stocking this because I actually thought I might combust if I didn’t get to try it. Tati raves about this foundation almost as much as she raves about Maybelline’s Age Rewind concealer. It’s amazingly packaged for the price, coming in a glass bottle with a pump. As for the product? It’s high coverage, it blends beautifully, but on me it tends to oxidise… then weirdly enough settles down to a more manageable colour. That being said, I don’t reach for it often as I’m afraid I’ll look like an Oompa Loompa. I do think it’s good though, and I just wonder if the oxidisation depends on your skin chemistry?
#TheBeautyGuruMadeMeBuyIt rating? 3.5/5
Beauty Blender! Beauty Blender! Beauty Blender! Yep, I’m saying it like Lorelai Gilmore’s Coffee! Coffee! Coffee! (And have you ever noticed how similar Lorelai (aka Lauren Graham) and Tati look? Once you’ve seen it, it can’t be unseen.) Anyway, Tati is all about her Beauty Blender (as well as her Artiste brush, that dream can wait until my credit card is looking like there's life in it) and when recovering from finger surgery and in need of a treat I found myself ordering one. Giddy aunt, I can see why people rave. It bounces like a dream, blends like a dream, it’s a dream come true.
#TheBeautyGuruMadeMeBuyIt rating? 5.5
When I saw Sephora.nz was stocking the Jaclyn Hill Palette my day was made. Ever since Wayne Goss raved about it I had done some serious lusting. Three beautiful blushes and two gorgeous highlights including the highly regarded, Champagne Pop. It was pricy. No doubt about that, but if you split it out the cost it worked out to be just over $20 per shade/highlight, which makes it totally justifiable. Totally. *cough* It's safe to say, it did not disappoint.
#TheBeautyGuruMadeMeBuyIt rating? 5/5
Next up from Mr Wayne Goss was The Ordinary – a range of ridiculously affordable skincare products. Apparenty they contain super effective ingredients and cost a tonne less than similar products. I had to give them a go, so I had them sent from the UK. I tried them. I liked them ok. But to be honest I found them... ordinary (and this could very well be because I'm of the age where I need stuff that's super-charged). In fact I find myself preferring the likes of Trilogy’s Nutrient Plus Firming Serum and once The Ordinary is all used up I’ll be sticking to all serums home-grown.
#TheBeautyGuruMadeMeBuyIt rating? 3/5
Lastly, let’s talk about my brief love affair with ColourPop, which came about thanks to Kathleen Lights. The texture of the eyeshadow and the colour range had me at hello. So I bought her specific shades, a then a handful of eyeshadows as recommended by her and some Lippiestix. Thoughts? Feelings? The eyeshadows are fab, but I prefer my palettes and reach for those more often, which has seen the less metallic Colourpop shadows dry out and be chucked out. As for the Lippiestix? Not my favourite. Funny smell, funny texture. I’ll stick to what I can swatch in store.
#TheBeautyGuruMadeMeBuyIt rating? 2.5/5
Of course there is one other big bunch of people who influence my beauty purchases, and that would be YOU! It’s fair to say that reading your reviews and seeing your passion for products on the Forum has seen me heading in store or online to see what all the fuss is about. Thanks to Beauty Review members I’ve discovered the joys of LUSH bubble bars and bath bombs and their lip scrubs, NARS Sheer Glow is one of my top two foundations, Za blusher is top-shelf (another Tati saying! The obsession is real.), and when I lost my MAC Twig I had to buy a replacement. Your influence is real!
So do tell… am I on the only person influenced by beauty gurus and fellow Beauty Reviewers? Which beauty gurus influence you? What have you bought? And was it worth it? Chat away!
*All products mentioned in this article have been paid for out of the beauty crew member's own pocket.
I have the Tati eyeshadow pallette and I absolutely love it. I miss her videos