MAKEUP ARTISTS THRIVING ON TIK TOK

BY EMILY UITERMARKT

The coronavirus pandemic has brought millions of viewers to the TikTok app. It has also kept the world in quarantine, leaving many stuck in their homes in order to stay safe.. Staying home all day, every day quickly becomes boring, so finding things to do to occupy large amounts of free time is a must. TikTok is a great app to have during quarantine, as people can spend time scrolling through a variety of videos. There are over 800 million users on the app, including very creative makeup artists.

TikTok has brought attention to a wide range of beauty influencers. It has allowed makeup artists to gain lots of exposure. The app allows users to create 60-second videos that are easy to keep an audience’s attention. According to Sensor Tower’s data, TikTok is the second most downloaded app. It is one of the best platforms to grow an artist’s audience and get their work noticed.

Makeup artists on the app create unique looks, and TikTok shows growing beauty trends that many artists like to follow and replicate.. Some trends include makeup looks that allude to cartoon characters, to makeup challenges, a variety of tutorials and iconic Euphoria looks, to name a few. A popular trend on TikTok right now is creating awe-inspiring Halloween looks. Creators go above and beyond with their skills by showing tips and tricks ranging from everyday looks to exotic and idiosyncratic looks.

Sam Koehler, a 2020 marketing graduate from Iowa State University, is a TikTok makeup artist. She joined the app in 2019 and began creating videos at the start of COVID-19 in April 2020. After two months of being on the app, one of her videos went viral. She created an eyelook with angel wings. The video has 522k views and 68.2k likes. Her follower count has increased to 10.8k. Koehler follows trends on TikTok and gets inspiration from other creators, but her own creation is what got her noticed.

“I like seeing other makeup artists on TikTok and seeing what they’re doing,” Koehler said. I take a lot of inspiration from them, but the one look I came up with myself was the one that went viral, which I think was pretty cool.”

She said it takes about an hour and a half to create an eye look but three to four hours to create a full face look. Her success on TikTok has gotten her brand deals with Boxycharm, Makeup Revolution, Jade Cosmetics and others. Koehler plans to continue creating content and hopefully gain more followers.

TikTok lets anyone sign up and become a creator. Molly Sage, freshman studying business, explains why she enjoys the app.

“It’s a fun pastime if I’m bored and it’s something to do when I don’t want to watch Netflix,” said Sage. “I get to learn new dances.” She also enjoys watching makeup videos and says it inspires her to try new looks.

Sage does not run a makeup account, but she noticed her follower count growing during quarantine. She posts try on hauls, dance trends and videos with her friends.

The pandemic brought more people to the app and more exposure to frequent creators and TikTok has become a huge platform to show unique talent. Makeup artists and creators of all types are growing their platforms just by creating videos on TikTok.