Tiktok, Trends and Tarte

The new ‘it’ girl Alix Earle and why we shouldn’t compare.

Tia Martello STAFF WRITER

It’sabundantly evident that 22-year-old Alix Earle is TikTok’s new big thing. She personifies an all-American girl who became famous by talking getting ready with me’s (GRWMs), and so far, her lavish life hasn’t disappointed amongst her dazzling story times. But it made me wonder—what made her so well-liked? From Autumn until the end of the year, Alix accumulated almost 2 million fans, demonstrating how eagerly people were anticipating her climb to prominence. It is clear that her image’s key selling point is her relatability. I can’t avoid the sight of a lovely Miami beauty who consistently appears on my ‘for you page,’ and as a woman, I continuously find myself comparing myself to her.

She has always been quite upfront about her sporadic relationship with Tyler Wade, her tendency to be untidy and disorganised, her issue with acne, and the side effects of ‘Accutane’ (a drug used to treat acne with many depressive side -effects) which sets her apart from most “influencers” in that she gives an alternate narrative for the younger audience. She has been open about her high school challenges with body image and the difficulties she encountered trying to fit in with a lunchtime eating culture. In order to remove any stigma associated with obtaining medication for mental health difficulties, she has been extremely open about how her anxiety has affected her life and the medications she takes to help her every day. Despite the fact that this American culture is incompatible with British society, she raises awareness of the universal teen experience because of her global fan base. We as a culture find solace in these universal experiences as it makes the hardship of girlhood a little less personally isolating by her sharing her own struggles. She is a good example of the idiom ‘hell is a teenage girl’ since she reflects on the difficulties of growing up in a technology-driven society in a very authentic way. It is encouraging to see someone who is so honest about removing the curtain from the ‘filtered reality’ promoted on TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram.

There are, however, limits to Alix’s relatability. Personally, like with most social media, using TikTok can be a dangerous game because one wrong swipe might leave me feeling self-conscious when another toned beauty appears in a bikini and forces me to resume paying for a gym subscription. Although this scenario is completely based on my own personal ideas, I believe that women, especially young girls, experience some kind of common ground when it comes to modern day confidence. The relatability of Alix Earle’s traits is what makes her personality easier to watch and serves as a gentle reminder that we are all imperfect human beings who collectively experience the same self-doubts as the next person. However, as with other body-positive advocates, when they gain experience and exposure, they stop being accessible and persona- ble. For instance, Alix Earle recently travelled first class to Dubai with the makeup company Tarte to promote their brand, all costs paid. If I said I wouldn’t take advantage of an opportunity if it were provided to me, I would be lying because I know probably most people would. However, the attention surrounding these sincere people makes it more difficult for their audience to become committed and continue engagement. Therefore, it can be challenging to assess your position as an influencer, but I believe it is still possible to maintain consistency with encouraging feminine content. People who go through these kinds of experiences start to lose connection to reality, and the people who inspired us, end up becoming exactly what they protested against: filtered individuals. This demonstrates how we must work to find our own joy from our own intrinsic value and that we cannot rely on the candour of our once favoured individuals.

Without sounding like a self-love article - we simply shouldn’t compare ourselves. I’ve chosen Alix Earle as a specific illustration of an image-positive influencer, but she really serves as a symbol for all the nameless women we use as benchmarks for our own beauty standards. I sincerely hope that the attention she is getting will prevent her from going down the road of indifference and inconsistency. Ironically, I believe that her capacity to accept herself and to be ‘bold’ is what made her such a lovable influencer because as humans, we are drawn to this vivacious energy. If only we shared the same self-perceptions, accepting our imperfections and mistakes while still loving ourselves, as we shouldn’t let our fears about ourselves interfere with our daily lives.

There is a particular quote made by Emma Thompson in an interview where she says “Don’t waste your life’s purpose worrying about your body. This is your vessel. It’s your house. It’s where you live, there’s no point in judging it. Absolutely no point.” This particularly resonated with me because ever since hearing it, I have begun to judge myself a little less. After all, what kind of life do we lead if we are constantly comparing ourselves to others? Is a life like that even meaningful? I believe we would all feel a little less hatred toward our appearances if we were to reflect on all the places our bodies have taken us, the accomplishments we have made, and the places they will take us in the future. Even though our lives don’t seem like the ones others depict on our phone screens, they are nonetheless meaningful. The recent epidemic of individuals demanding greater openness, particularly from beauty gurus, suggests that as a generation, we could be moving in the right direction. It is encouraging to learn that some influencers, like Alix Earle, work to represent the real in a society populated by fakes, and in light of this, we should all be a little bit kinder to ourselves because nothing is really as it seems.