The beauty industry doesn’t wait for anyone to catch up. While traditional advertising budgets shrink and consumer trust in brands hits all-time lows, beauty influencers are doing something most marketing teams can’t: they’re actually convincing people to buy products.
And we’re not talking about a few impulse purchases here and there — the global influencer marketing industry hit $32.55 billion in 2025, according to the Influencer Marketing Hub Benchmark Report, with beauty creators leading the charge.
Here’s what makes beauty influencer marketing different from every other channel fighting for your attention: authenticity sells. When James Charles turns himself into a walking art piece or Mikayla Nogueira films a review in her bathrobe with her Boston accent on full display, their followers don’t just watch . . . they convert.
Beauty influencers on Instagram and TikTok generate engagement rates that would make any CMO weep with joy, with TikTok beauty content alone pulling in 3.63 million posts and a 2.46% engagement rate, according to Sprout Social’s Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report.
The math gets even better. According to Sprout Social’s Influencer Benchmarketing report, 86% of consumers buy something after seeing it from an Instagram beauty influencer at least once a year, while 49% make these purchases monthly or more often. For beauty brands trying to crack Gen Z and millennial markets, working with the right Instagram beauty influencers isn’t optional anymore — it’s survival.
Instagram influencer marketing has grown from experimental budget line items to core strategy, with 57% of brands now choosing Instagram as their top platform for influencer campaigns (according to the IMH Benchmarket Report).
But picking the right beauty creators to partner with? That’s where most brands stumble. The biggest beauty influencers command massive audiences, but follower count means nothing if engagement tanks or their audience doesn’t match your target customer.
The famous beauty influencers on this list earned their spots through consistent content, authentic connections with their communities, and proven track records of moving products off virtual shelves and into shopping carts. Whether you’re a scrappy indie brand or an established beauty powerhouse, these are the voices shaping beauty trends right now.
The Power of Influencers in Beauty Marketing
Beauty brands ignoring influencer marketing in 2025 might as well be shouting into nothingness. The channel stopped being experimental years ago — now it’s what separates brands that grow from brands that fade into obscurity.
Back in 2021, roughly 70% of U.S. marketers worked with influencers. By 2025? That figure hit 86% (as we’ve shown above in the Statista chart). This wholesale shift in how beauty products reach customers isn’t slowing down. Brands winning right now understand something crucial: beauty influencers don’t just promote products. They spark the conversations that make people care about those products in the first place.
What Makes Beauty Influencer Marketing Work
Consumers vote with their wallets, and the verdict is clear. Your audience can smell a paycheck post from three miles away. The Instagram beauty influencers who built loyal communities? They did it by telling the truth — even when that truth includes roasting a brand’s terrible foundation shade range or a mascara that flakes off by lunch.
Think about how different types of social media influencers connect with their audiences. Beauty creators sit at the top because they’ve mastered something other industries still fumble: showing instead of telling. A 30-second TikTok of someone testing a concealer under fluorescent bathroom lighting does more for purchase intent than a million-dollar ad campaign ever could.
Instagram Reels shows particularly brutal conversion power — the kind that turns casual scrollers into buyers in under 60 seconds. The creator economy isn’t slowing down either, and popular beauty influencers learned what works: find the right voices, give them creative freedom, watch your ROI climb.
The Partnership Advantage
Most brands treat influencers like fancy billboards. Wrong move. Your influencer partners become real-time focus groups, product testers, and customer service reps rolled into one. (Try getting that kind of intel from a Super Bowl ad.)
Smart beauty brands mine these insights to fix products, spot content trends early, and pivot before small issues become PR nightmares.
Here’s what separates brand marketing that works from ones that wastes budget: trust and relationships that go deeper than one sponsored post. A full-service digital marketing agency knows this cold — beauty influencer marketing demands ongoing partnerships, not transactional one-offs. Brands treating influencers like rented megaphones keep wondering why campaigns flop. The ones building genuine partnerships? They’re filling sales funnels with customers who show up ready to buy.
1. Arishfa Khan
Arishfa Khan went from child actress on Indian television to social media powerhouse without missing a beat. She started on shows like “Ek Veer Ki Ardaas…Veera” before pivoting to digital content that now reaches over 30 million Instagram followers. Her appeal? She makes beauty feel accessible instead of aspirational. Makeup tutorials, fashion hauls, dance videos, lifestyle vlogs — Arishfa covers it all without the pretense that usually comes with influencer territory. Her 2021 launch of Mishy Me Cosmetics proved she’s more than just another pretty face filming tutorials. She’s building a beauty brand that mirrors her authentic, relatable style.
| Details | Information |
| ✅ Main Themes | Beauty tutorials, fashion and lifestyle content, dance videos, makeup artistry, youth-oriented lifestyle vlogs, Indian beauty trends |
| 🏆 Achievements | 30 million+ Instagram followers; Won “Best Influencer of the Year” at International Iconic Awards 2025; Launched Mishy Me Cosmetics brand (2021); Transitioned successfully from television to full-time digital creator |
| 📱 Platforms Besides Instagram |
|
2. James Charles
James Charles became CoverGirl’s first male brand ambassador in 2016 at age 17, which broke the internet before breaking the internet was even a tired phrase. The self-taught makeup artist started his YouTube channel in 2015 and built 23.9 million subscribers by doing what most beauty brands were too scared to try — challenging every outdated gender norm in the beauty industry. He hosted and produced “Instant Influencer” for YouTube Originals in 2020, a reality competition that won Show of the Year at the Streamy Awards. His Morphe collaboration palettes sold out so fast the brand’s website crashed. Twice.
| Details | Information |
| ✅ Main Themes | Makeup tutorials and transformations, product reviews, celebrity-inspired looks, beauty challenges, gender-neutral beauty advocacy, influencer collaborations |
| 🏆 Achievements | First male CoverGirl ambassador (2016); 23.9 million YouTube subscribers and 6.7 million X/Twitter followers; Won two People’s Choice Awards for Beauty Influencer (2018, 2020); Three Streamy Awards including Show of the Year for “Instant Influencer” (2020); Teen Choice Award for Choice Fashion/Beauty Web Star (2018); Shorty Award for Favorite Male Social Star (2021); Morphe Cosmetics collaboration line; 2019 Met Gala appearance; Birmingham Morphe store opening caused traffic congestion |
| 📱 Platforms Besides Instagram |
|
3. Jeffree Star
Jeffree Star went from MySpace musician to beauty mogul by doing something most influencers never pull off — building an empire that doesn’t need sponsorships to survive. He poured his life savings into three liquid lipsticks back in 2014, launching Jeffree Star Cosmetics from his living room. The brand hit $100 million in annual sales at its peak, which tells you everything about how his brutally honest product reviews and unapologetic personality resonated with beauty shoppers sick of sugar-coated Instagram posts. His vlogs mix luxury lifestyle content with real talk about the beauty market, and his audience of 15.7 million YouTube subscribers keeps showing up because he’ll drag a bad product regardless of who made it.
| Details | Information |
| ✅ Main Themes | Makeup reviews and tutorials, brand launches and product reveals, luxury lifestyle content, business and entrepreneurship, honest beauty industry commentary |
| 🏆 Achievements | Founded Jeffree Star Cosmetics (2014) reaching $100M annual sales; Blood Sugar palette made $5.2M gross profit in first batch; Conspiracy palette with Shane Dawson generated $30M gross profit at launch, sold 1.1M units in 24 hours; Named #5 on Forbes’ highest-paid YouTube stars (2018) with $18M earnings; Celebrated 15th anniversary of Beauty Killer palette (2024); Products available in Belgium, Netherlands, France, and major retailers |
| 📱 Platforms Besides Instagram |
|
4. Jaclyn Torrey (Jaclyn Hill)
Jaclyn Hill belongs to YouTube’s original wave of beauty creators — the ones who started in 2011 when the platform was still figuring out what beauty content even looked like. She made her name doing celebrity-inspired makeup tutorials. Then came the brand deals. Her 2015 Becca Cosmetics Champagne Pop highlighter? Gone. All 25,000 units sold out instantly. The next year she launched a full Becca collection that raked in $3.5 million in five hours. (That’s roughly $11,667 per minute, if you’re keeping score.) She founded Jaclyn Cosmetics in 2018, added a jewelry line called Jaclyn Roxanne.
| Details | Information |
| ✅ Main Themes | Makeup tutorials and product reviews, celebrity-inspired looks, beauty product launches, lifestyle and personal vlogs, brand collaborations and partnerships |
| 🏆 Achievements | Becca Cosmetics Champagne Pop highlighter sold out 25,000 units at launch (2015); Becca collaboration collection generated $3.5M in sales within five hours (2016); Morphe collaboration palettes consistently sold out with multiple restocks; Founded Jaclyn Cosmetics (2018); Launched Jaclyn Roxanne jewelry brand;; 2017 Kim Kardashian collaboration became one of most-viewed videos |
| 📱 Platforms Besides Instagram |
|
5. Naomi Giannopoulos (Vegas Nay)
Vegas Nay didn’t ride any viral wave to get where she is. She earned it the old-fashioned way — 20 years as a professional makeup artist before Instagram even existed. When the platform finally launched, she became one of the first major Instagram beauty influencers, building millions of followers by posting the kind of glamorous makeup looks that made people stop mid-scroll. She’s got her own product lines (Vegas Nay Lashes and Nails by Vegas Nay), which makes sense when you’ve spent two decades perfecting techniques most people only dream about. Oh, and she founded the Stardust Tour, a beauty convention centered on community instead of just selling stuff.
| Details | Information |
| ✅ Main Themes | Glamorous makeup tutorials, professional makeup artistry, lash and nail application techniques, beauty product reviews, fashion and lifestyle content, Latina beauty representation |
| 🏆 Achievements | 6.4 million Instagram followers; Recognized as #1 Latina blogger on Instagram; 20+ years professional makeup artist experience; Created Vegas Nay Lashes and Nails by Vegas Nay product lines; Collaborated with Too Faced Cosmetics on limited edition palette; Founded Stardust Tour beauty convention; Featured on Las Vegas Boulevard live billboard; Honored at NYX FACE Awards 2014; Masters degree in Fashion and Art Studio degree |
| 📱 Platforms Besides Instagram |
|
6. SHAYLA (MakeupShayla)
Shayla Mitchell spent seven years behind the MAC Cosmetics counter, doing makeup for clients while building her YouTube channel on nights and weekends. That grind paid off. She’s sitting on 3 million Instagram followers and 735K YouTube subscribers who show up for her honest product reviews and body-positive approach to beauty content. Maybelline made her their first-ever influencer collaboration partner in 2017 — a watershed moment that proved beauty brands were finally ready to share creative control with creators.Her focus on BIPOC representation and inclusive beauty for diverse skin tones set her apart in an industry that spent decades pretending only one shade range mattered.
| Details | Information |
| ✅ Main Themes | Makeup tutorials and product reviews, inclusive beauty for diverse skin tones, body positivity and fitness, BIPOC representation in beauty, drugstore and luxury beauty comparisons, lifestyle and wellness content |
| 🏆 Achievements | First-ever influencer collaboration partner for Maybelline (2017) creating custom mascara shades and eyeshadow palette; Named ‘Beauty Blogger of the Year’ by Essence magazine; Signed with UTA talent agency (2020); Collaborated with ColourPop, Tarte, MAC, NARS, Secret, Buxom, Laura Mercier, and Estée Lauder; Tarte contour palette sold out in minutes (2016); Founded Season 10 Fitness brand; Seven years as MAC Makeup Artist |
| 📱 Platforms Besides Instagram |
|
7. Mikayla Nogueira Hawken
Mikayla Nogueira joined TikTok in 2020 and started filming makeup tutorials in her bathrobe. That’s it. No ring light, no perfectly curated aesthetic, just a 25-year-old from Massachusetts talking about foundation in her thick Boston accent. Her unfiltered approach — including showing her own acne in coverage tutorials — clicked with an audience exhausted by the filtered perfection dominating beauty trends. TIME put her on their 2025 TIME100 Creators list, she won a Streamy Award for Beauty in 2023, and she founded POV Beauty. The secret? She reviewed products like she was texting a friend, not auditioning for a sponsorship deal.
| Details | Information |
| ✅ Main Themes | Authentic makeup tutorials and product reviews, foundation application techniques, acne coverage and skincare, drugstore vs. luxury product comparisons, relatable beauty content in Boston accent, honest brand reviews and recommendations |
| 🏆 Achievements | Named to TIME’s 2025 TIME100 Creators list; Won Streamy Award for Beauty (2023); Honored at Bryant University (2025); Founded POV Beauty brand; Viral “Catfish Challenge” video; Won American Influencer Award for Makeup Artist; Known for challenging beauty industry perfection standards |
| 📱 Platforms Besides Instagram |
|
8. Leilani Green
Leilani Green started creating content on Musical.ly back in middle school — that’s 10 years ago, before the app even became TikTok. The 23-year-old Hawaiian spent four years making videos before earning her first dollar, which should tell you something about her dedication. Her breakthrough came when Instagram Reels launched and her first transition video hit 23 million views. Forbes named her to their “Top Creators: Fashion 50” list. She positions herself as an “online big sister,” which explains why her makeup tutorials feel less like ads and more like FaceTime calls. Her Sephora collaboration created a custom lip stain shade called “SHE’S THE ONE” — proof that three-year partnerships with beauty brands can lead somewhere real.
| Details | Information |
| ✅ Main Themes | Makeup tutorials and transformations, “big sister” relatable beauty advice, skincare routines, fashion and style content, authentic unfiltered beauty content, product reviews and recommendations |
| 🏆 Achievements | Named to Forbes’ “Top Creators: Fashion 50” list; Collaborated with Sephora Collection to create custom lip stain shade “SHE’S THE ONE”; Three-year partnership with Sephora Collection; First transition video received 23 million views; Brand collaborations with MAC, CoverGirl, HiSmile, Nivea, BaByliss, and KissPartner; 10 years of content creation experience starting from Musical.ly |
| 📱 Platforms Besides Instagram |
|
9. Kandee Johnson
Kandee Johnson has been doing this since 2009, back when YouTube beauty content meant figuring out camera angles in your bathroom. She’s a trained hair and makeup artist who turned transformation videos into an art form — we’re talking full Disney princess recreations, turning herself into Barbie in under two minutes, and Lichtenstein comic-inspired looks that made people question if they were looking at a person or a painting. Her bubbly personality and “make people feel beautiful from the inside out” approach, inspired by makeup legend Kevyn Aucoin, kept viewers coming back for over a decade. She co-hosted the American Influencer Awards and got tapped as a UN Change Ambassador through YouTube’s partnership program.
| Details | Information |
| ✅ Main Themes | Transformative makeup tutorials, Disney princess-inspired looks, character transformations, motivational beauty content, hair and makeup artistry, lifestyle and personal journey vlogs |
| 🏆 Achievements | Co-hosted American Influencer Awards with Patrick Starrr; Selected as United Nations Change Ambassador through YouTube partnership to promote #OwnYourVoice gender equality; YouTube creator since 2009 (15+ years); Viral “Hi-Speed Barbie Transformation” video; “Everyday Disney Princess Makeup” series; Transformed into four Kardashians in one viral video (2015); Close friendship and collaboration with Gwen Stefani; Inspired by makeup icon Kevyn Aucoin; Nominated for Shorty Awards |
| 📱 Platforms Besides Instagram |
|
10. Aditya Madiraju
Aditya Madiraju went from risk management at Morgan Stanley to full-time beauty creator during COVID-19, which might be the most unexpected career pivot in the industry. He started playing with makeup as a hobby and discovered an audience hungry for male South Asian voices in beauty. His content breaks down complex techniques into steps anyone can follow, regardless of gender or experience level. Sephora named him a Squad Mentor for 2025, cementing his role as someone who makes beauty feel accessible instead of exclusive.
| Details | Information |
| ✅ Main Themes | Gender-neutral makeup tutorials, easy makeup techniques for beginners, brown skin-friendly beauty tips, product reviews and recommendations, LGBTQ+ representation in beauty, accessible beauty education |
| 🏆 Achievements | Sephora Squad Mentor 2025; Successfully transitioned from finance career (Morgan Stanley) to full-time beauty influencer on Instagram; Advocates for gender-neutral beauty and LGBTQ+ representation; Creates accessible content breaking down beauty barriers for male-identifying individuals; Featured in IPSY collaborations revealing “undupeables”; Builds inclusive community celebrating diversity in beauty standards; 15 years living in USA sharing unique cultural perspective on beauty |
| 📱 Platforms Besides Instagram |
|
11. Sophie Hannah
Sophie Hannah doesn’t do subtle. The London-based creator built her brand around mermaid-colored hair, experimental makeup looks, and a willingness to try beauty ideas most people would scroll past. She’s been posting since 2013, back when having rainbow hair meant fielding questions from strangers on the street instead of launching product collaborations. Her content spans festival beauty, editorial looks, and everyday makeup — all filtered through a lens that says “why blend in?” She launched Sophie Hannah Hair in December 2021, a sustainable and vegan haircare brand featuring conditioning semi-permanent colors.
| Details | Information |
| ✅ Main Themes | Creative and experimental makeup tutorials, mermaid hair and color techniques, festival and editorial beauty looks, sustainable beauty and haircare, fashion styling and OOTD content, motherhood and lifestyle vlogs |
| 🏆 Achievements | Founded Sophie Hannah Hair brand (December 2021) — sustainable, vegan, cruelty-free haircare featuring conditioning semi-permanent hair colors; Products stocked on Beauty Bay and sophiehannahhair.com; Featured in The Mail Online, Metro.co.uk, The Independent, Maximum Pop, Galore, Unilad, Glamour Online, and Lad Bible; Named one of top social media influencers redefining celebrity by The Independent |
| 📱 Platforms Besides Instagram |
|
12. Christen Dominique
Christen Dominique has been uploading makeup tutorials since 2009, but her real genius was figuring out that beauty content could do more than teach contouring. Every video ends with a motivational message about inner beauty — not in a cheesy way, but in a “I genuinely care if you feel good about yourself” way. She created the “Two Face” tutorial series comparing American makeup trends to techniques from other countries, which gave her content an educational edge most beauty creators skip. When she founded Dominique Cosmetics in 2018, she didn’t just slap her name on some palettes.
| Details | Information |
| ✅ Main Themes | In-depth makeup tutorials and techniques, product reviews and comparisons, “Two Face” tutorials comparing international makeup trends, empowerment and self-love messaging, beauty education and skill-building, lifestyle and personal growth content |
| 🏆 Achievements | Founded Dominique Cosmetics beauty brand (2018); Named one of Forbes’ top influencers; YouTube creator since 2009 (15+ years); First eyeshadow palette and makeup collaborations sold out in minutes; Created first-ever cooling metal wand applicator and multi-use pan sizes for palettes; Products feature inspirational messages on packaging and mirrors; Developed signature “Two Face” tutorial series; Collaborated with major brands throughout career; Nominated for Shorty Awards |
| 📱 Platforms Besides Instagram |
|
13. Jackie Asamoah (Jackie Aina)
Jackie Aina started her YouTube channel in 2008 doing makeup tutorials for deeper skin tones, back when most beauty brands pretended only three foundation shades existed. The Nigerian-American creator made her name by reviewing products honestly — if your “universal” palette looked ashy on Black women, she’d say it. Out loud. On camera. She became the NAACP’s first-ever “YouTuber of the Year,” got named a UN Change Ambassador, and launched FORVR Mood in 2020. The self-care brand’s pre-launch waitlist hit 45,000 people. Now it’s sold at Sephora nationwide.
| Details | Information |
| ✅ Main Themes | Inclusive beauty for deeper skin tones, honest product reviews and brand accountability, diversity and representation advocacy, luxury beauty and lifestyle, social commentary on beauty industry issues, makeup tutorials and techniques |
| 🏆 Achievements | NAACP’s first-ever “YouTuber of the Year” at 49th NAACP Image Awards; Glamour Woman of the Year; Refinery29’s Beauty Innovator of the Year; WWD Beauty Inc Awards’ Influencer of the Year; United Nations Change Ambassador through YouTube partnership (2016); Founded FORVR Mood lifestyle brand (2020) with 45,000+ pre-launch waitlist, sold at Sephora nationwide; Collaborated with e.l.f. Cosmetics, Too Faced, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Artist Couture, and Sigma Beauty |
| 📱 Platforms Besides Instagram |
|
14. BeautyyBird (Yasmin Maya)
Yasmin Maya started making YouTube videos in 2012 while stuck in Mexico dealing with immigration issues at age 21. Her mom told her to start filming as a way to cope. Smart advice, considering she turned those early videos into a bilingual beauty empire. She creates makeup tutorials in both English and Spanish, launched Birdy Lashes in 2020 (sold out in a week), and prices her products at $12 because accessible luxury shouldn’t be an oxymoron. Twelve years in, she’s proof that building community beats chasing trends.
| Details | Information |
| ✅ Main Themes | Beauty tutorials in English and Spanish, affordable and accessible beauty, Latina representation and cultural pride, lash application techniques and education, immigrant and family stories, lifestyle and motherhood content |
| 🏆 Achievements | Founded and CEO of Birdy Lashes brand (launched December 2020) — products sold out in one week; Collaborated with Impressions Vanity and Sigma Beauty; Mother of two, proud Latina entrepreneur; YouTube creator since 2012 (12+ years); Built bilingual community creating content in both English and Spanish; Self-funded brand emphasizing smart marketing and community connection |
| 📱 Platforms Besides Instagram |
|
15. Lauren Curtis
Lauren Curtis launched her YouTube channel in 2011 from her bedroom in Australia at age 20. She had no clue it would blow up. Her 2012 video “HOW TO GET MASSIVE LASHES!” went viral and suddenly she’s Australia’s best-known beauty blogger. The trained hair and makeup artist spent years teaching “cover up” makeup before switching gears to an “enhance what you’ve got” approach. She founded LOUNGEFACE after her audience kept asking what mascara she used. When everyone wants to know your lash secret, you might as well bottle it and sell it.
| Details | Information |
| ✅ Main Themes | Makeup and hair tutorials, product reviews and comparisons, travel vlogs, honest beauty recommendations, makeup techniques and tips, lifestyle and personal journey content |
| 🏆 Achievements | Founded LOUNGEFACE Lash mascara brand; Founded Sun Smock brand; Viral “HOW TO GET MASSIVE LASHES!” video (2012) launched channel to prominence; YouTube creator since 2011 (14+ years); Named Australia’s best-known beauty blogger; Collaborated with Too Faced Cosmetics |
| 📱 Platforms Besides Instagram |
|
Smart Marketing Strategies That Let Beauty Brands Glow
Ninja Promo specializes in influencer marketing for beauty brands that need campaigns driving sales. We connect beauty companies with creators who move products off shelves and into shopping carts.
Our subscription-based model gives you access to influencer marketing specialists who handle everything from creator vetting to campaign execution and performance tracking. No hiring. No training. No wondering if your in-house team knows what they’re doing. What you get? Results tied to the metrics that matter: customer acquisition cost, conversion rates, and revenue attribution.
We match beauty brands with the right creators across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube — the ones whose audiences match your customers and whose engagement rates prove they drive action. Our campaigns prioritize authentic partnerships because we know what the data shows: genuine reviews convert better than sponsored posts that reek of paychecks.
Influencer campaigns worth running include creator identification across platforms, strategy tailored to beauty buying cycles, and performance tracking tied to conversions. We handle contracts and relationship management so your team focuses on product instead of chasing down content approvals.
Ready to work with beauty influencers who fill your pipeline? Let’s build campaigns that convert.
