We also seem to be nostalgic for a time when content creation was just a hobby, not one of the more lucrative career paths available to anyone with a ring light. The turn against social media creators seems to have come to a head this summer when a “No Influencers” sign was put up in an antiques and handmade crafts store on Nantucket.
The move by the shop owner launched a flurry of online discourse about the tripod-wielding gaggle of usually young, almost always female influencers who parade their phones around in the hopes of building, or nurturing, a gainful following. “People back in the day started creating based off of passion,” Manny Gutierrez, known online as Manny MUA, told Allure.
Now, “there's some content creators I watch and I can just see them lying through their teeth.”
The early days of YouTube sure look nice through a pair of AI-free, unfiltered glasses, huh? It makes sense, then, that many people are gazing back at their favorite early creators—the pioneers that paved the way for the influencers of today to fill our feeds with reviews, tutorials, and product hauls alike—with particular fondness these days.
Below, we caught up with some of the most popular beauty vloggers of yore to check in and see how they’re doing, what their plans are for the future, and when (or if) they’ll ever truly retire.
In this story:
Jaclyn Hill
Desi Perkins
Jackie Aina
Nikkie de Jager
Manny Gutierrez
Jasmine Brown
Carli Bybel
36, Los Angeles, California.
Follower count: 5.38M YouTube subscribers, 8.2M Instagram followers, 1.2M TikTok followers
First year on YouTube: 2011
First video: A Kim Kardashian New Year's Eve look that I had recreated from her cover of Glamour.
On pursuing content creation full-time: I had been on YouTube for over a year when I quit working at MAC. My mom was the only person that said, "I believe in you.
If you think that you can do this, you can do this.” At that point I was making between $2,000 to $3,000 a month off of AdSense, which was big money to me. I thought, if I quit MAC, I know that I can throw myself into this community more and I can make more money.
Everyone was like, $2,000 or $3,000 a month is not enough to support yourself. The month after I quit, I made $12,000 on YouTube.
On her first viral video: It was a smoky cat-eye tutorial and didn't go viral for three or four months. I think it got 15,000 views, and a few months later I thought, oh my gosh, how did this video get to 70,000 views?
Then it was 100,000 and it just kept going. I learned that Kylie Jenner posted a picture of my video on her Tumblr page with a link.
This is when she was just known as the Kardashians’ little sister, she hadn't popped off yet, but I thought that she was just so fun and young and cool. I think that video got 20 million views in the first year.
On the 2016 makeup tutorials she still follows: I still do my eyeliner the same exact way. Also, I used to always tell my audience, "do not make the fishy face" when you contour. I've always said you have to follow from the very top of your ear to your mouth. That's where you want the shadow to be.
On how the industry has changed the most: It's become very strategic. Back in the day when a product came out and it wasn't good, all of us OGs would just be like, "This new lip gloss is not good.
Don't waste your money. Moving on." Point-blank period.
Now, if a really huge brand launches something, no one wants to give their honest, negative feedback because they're like, "well, I want to work with that brand and I don't want that brand to stop sending me PR." I do wish that's something we could really get back to, is people giving honest reviews
On what she misses the most about the early days of beauty YouTube: The love for makeup. I miss going to my subscription page on YouTube and being like, oh my gosh, four of my favorites all uploaded in the last 24 hours.
It was like a TV show, because each video was 20 or 30 minutes long. I would be excited all day and I would know that it's going to be absolutely no drama, no negativity, just makeup.
I would be going through a lot of hard stuff in my personal life, but when I was watching beauty YouTube, none of that existed.
On what she doesn’t miss about the early days of YouTube: The pressure to post. There was such a small group of us and our audience loved us and it was such a privilege, but if you did not post… people were coming with pitchforks on Twitter.
The demand was so intense, which was amazing, but also [high] pressure. I remember being so sick one time with the flu in my apartment and [thinking], I have to film, I have to post, because my audience was so upset with me.
On her last posting break: Recently, I did not post anything for six days. Me and Jordan [Torrey, Jaclyn’s husband], did a group trip up to Idaho together, and I intentionally did not get on social media.
I didn't post, I didn't scroll. I truly just unplugged for six days, though I had my phone on me to take pictures and text my family.
That's something that I could have never done a few years ago. There was a 10-year period where I would not take one day off.
I had to scroll. I had to know what was going on.
It's like this obsession.
On separating Jaclyn Hill from Jaclyn Torrey: Jaclyn Hill is my online persona that I allow people to see. In real life, I'm Jaclyn Torrey.
I'm the wife to an incredible man, I'm the daughter to a wonderful mother. I'm a sister, I'm an aunt.
There's so many different sides to Jaclyn. I've really learned to disconnect the two, so when I see people talking about me on the internet, I'm like, well, they're talking about Jaclyn Hill.
They're talking about the girl who launched the makeup palette and they're talking about the girl who launched the lipsticks and the girl who's been canceled, but they're not talking about me because they don't know me.
On what she regrets sharing: My divorce. There's been so many times I've looked back and I'm like, I wish there was a way that I could have just gone through that and not even had to talk about it.
I have other friends in the industry [going through their own family issues] and they'll say "Oh my gosh, I don't know how I'm going to address this," and I'm like, don't. We feel so much pressure to share everything, but we don’t have to.
On being a contentious figure: I'm a very polarizing person and it's been that way my entire life. I was bullied when I was younger, before I ever even turned on a camera.
My mom pulled me out of my school to homeschool me when I was in third grade because I was physically beaten up in the library. I've always had a very loud, obnoxious personality.
I’ve always been a person that people have a lot of opinions about. The people that I have in my life who love me, they love me.
They will march into war for me, they will take a bullet for me, but the people who don't like me, they hate me.
On starting and shuttering brands: At this point, I'm like, how many brands have I opened? [Editor’s note: Three, by our count.] I saw the opportunity to start brands and businesses because there was such a high demand. As a successful beauty creator, there was so much money to be made through AdSense, partnerships, and collaborating with beauty brands.
That in itself was a business, but we weren't really respected for that, so we were all like, okay, we have to start companies. At the end of the day, nothing about my brand [Jaclyn Cosmetics] worked for me.
I rushed into things. I put trust in people that I shouldn't have put trust in.
It got to the point where I was no longer posting for the love of posting. I had totally lost touch with my community and was just running brands.
I was like, how did I get here? Why am I running brands?
I'm miserable. I used to be so happy posting makeup tutorials.
On what’s next: It's a dream and priority of mine to relaunch my lipstick line. I’m having conversations about what it would look like to have my own brand again. It would be done very, very differently than it was in the past. I just feel like it's a box that I need to check for myself. It spiraled so out of control. I need to have my redemption moment.
On the paranoia that comes with posting online: I'll be at Trader Joe's and I'll see someone looking at me out of the corner of their eyes and think, oh my God, do they think that I contaminated my lipsticks? You just put so much of yourself out there on the internet and then you leave and go out in the real world and think, these people could hate me.
They could have heard a story or watched a gossip video and they think I'm a terrible person and now they're standing behind me in the checkout line at Trader Joe's. It's just this very scary paranoid feeling.
On when she’ll call it quits: I've thought about this before. I feel like there will come a time, because I do love my audience so much, where I will make a goodbye video. I'll literally get online and whatever platforms are popping at the time and just be like, I love you guys and thank you so much for the last 20 years. I'm retiring.
39, Los Angeles, California. Founder of Dezi Skin (skin-care brand) and Dezi (sunglasses company)
Follower count: 3.11M YouTube subscribers, 4M Instagram followers, 633.2K TikTok followers
First year on YouTube: 2013
First video: A soft, warm, sultry eye makeup tutorial.
On breaking into the beauty world: Doing my husband Steven’s makeup for a work Halloween party snowballed into my taking clients out of my house for $50 for the whole Halloween season. Then someone asked if I did TV makeup and I said yes, and I ended up on a show for ABC Family doing television makeup.
On her “I made it” moment: The first moment was when I got reposted by Vegas Nay. She was a huge reposter and back then a repost was so massive.
My phone just completely blew up. My second moment was when Motives Cosmetics offered to send me free makeup.
I thought that was incredible because, what do you mean you're going to send me free makeup? At that time there were no influencers really yet, it was editors.
We were in this new category and I had no idea how to navigate it, but I was so excited. The third moment was when I got signed as an Ipsy creator in 2014, and that was the first time that I was offered money [as a content creator].
My husband and I were living in a makeshift garage place that was so tiny and this was this huge opportunity for me.
On how the industry has changed over the past decade: Now, [brands have] so much more respect for content creators and influencers, whereas before we had to really fight for that. A lot of brands rejected [YouTubers] and the new wave of marketing. I remember that I didn't get hired at [one cosmetics brand] because they said they don't hire people with a following and I had 10,000 followers at the time.
On staying in touch with the beauty community: Close Friends on Instagram is great for a lot of creators. A lot of my creator friends are brand founders now. We all have similar struggles and it's just nice to have like-minded people to talk to.
On how the influencer business model has shifted: I think one of the biggest switches now is that you don't have to really be a big creator to work with brands. There are so many different avenues to make money, like creating affiliate links and UGC [user-generated content].
In the beginning, it was a small pool of people and the brand trips were always the same people. Now it's like, even as a brand founder myself, I don't look for people with a big following.
As long as their content is good and they've captivated me somehow, I'm like, "Hey, I would love to work with you.”
On being a two-time brand founder: You have to be a little crazy to have more than one brand, which I guess I know I am. Eyewear is an immediate gratification because I can see somebody wearing it out in the streets or at the mall and it's so exciting for me.
It takes a lot longer to get that gratification with skin care. You really have to build trust and people have to love something enough to buy it more than once.
It was hectic because I started my family at the same time as I started the companies.
On her four-year YouTube hiatus: Becoming a mother is so transformative. You come out of it thinking, who am I?
What am I doing? Am I the same person?
It's an identity crisis. I think having that at the same time as building these brands pulled me away from my creator side a little bit because it took up so much of my time, especially in the beginning.
That all happened in 2020, when nobody really wanted to see makeup videos. It was also just such a sad time and I think a lot of us pulled away. [Editor’s note: Perkins did not post any videos to YouTube from April 2023 until April 2026.
Her first video back was a “half 2016, half 2026” makeup look on Selena Gomez.]
On YouTube’s comeback: I think a lot of people are getting a little burned out from short form. People want that connection [that comes with long-form] again, at least that's what I feel from my audience. Let's meet back over there on YouTube.
On what she misses the most about 2016 beauty: People not being afraid to do fun looks. Before, it was more so about hanging out than even the look. Like, maybe not all of us are going to wear a glitter cut crease, but it was fun to watch someone do it.
38, Los Angeles, California. Founder of FORVR Mood (a lifestyle and fragrance brand)
Follower count: 3.41M YouTube subscribers, 1.9M Instagram followers, 3.4M TikTok followers
First year on YouTube: 2009
First video: An electric purple eye shadow look, broken down with a series of photos and graphics.
On growing her YouTube platform: It wasn't until year six that I made enough money to not have to have a side job. When I got my first viral moment, a parody video called “Trends We're Ditching,” all my other videos started getting traction too.
The subscribers just started coming by the hundreds of thousands damn near overnight. Six months later, I started getting calls and emails from agents and managers and I was like, oh, I can make a career out of this.
On how the industry has changed the most: Brands were more open. I used to be able to say yes to a campaign and still be somewhat critical or give feedback [on a product] within a [sponsored post].
I'm starting to notice that brands want you to stick to a script, and I don't necessarily think that's a good thing. You used to have more wiggle room for more authentic feedback and candor.
It can be unfortunate for the consumer, but also for myself. I can like a product and still be critical of it or give feedback around it.
On how being a creator has changed her as a founder: It's allowed me to be really open to feedback. I don't take reviews personally.
I want to know if they don't like something. I want to get down to the why.
I do think that being a content creator has helped prepare me for that. Sometimes I see these instances where brand founders who aren't creatives get feedback on a product or their brand, and to them that's their baby, and so just one negative review can set them off.
On balancing FORVR Mood and creating content: Splitting the day is probably the best answer. Morning is content creation time, evenings are FORVR Mood times. I have to actively keep work hours, especially with social media. Doom scrolling gets to a point where you shouldn't be doing that at midnight.
On the biggest challenge of being an influencer: The creator becoming the new age celebrity is definitely not something I was prepared for. When I started, the content creator, the influencer was basically the antithesis of a celebrity and now we're basically held to the same standards.
I don't necessarily think that's always a good thing. I wouldn't expect someone who is not in a particular community to use their platform to be the voice of that community. [For example,] I personally would not feel comfortable championing conversations about motherhood.
I don't have kids, so it just wouldn't make sense.
On what keeps her creating content: My community. If the community aspect isn't there, then I just don't see the point in doing this as a job. The money you can make is not worth the public scrutiny. It can cost you your privacy, your sanity, the safety of your family. If you've ever spent a day on platforms like Reddit, you'll see some of the crazy stuff that people say.
On what she doesn’t miss from her early YouTube days: I definitely don't miss the Black women pay gap, which unfortunately does still exist, but it was way harder back then for us to be seen, to be recognized, to be paid fairly. The campaign opportunities were non-existent.
You had to quite literally work three times harder to be recognized, to be invited on a brand trip. Nowadays, it's really, really nice to not be the only Black woman in a room.
32, Uden, Netherlands. Founder of Nimya (a cosmetics brand)
Follower count: 15.3M YouTube subscribers, 18.5M Instagram followers, 9.2M TikTok followers
First year on YouTube: 2008
First video: A green smoky eye makeup tutorial.
On first joining YouTube: I was a very insecure trans girl growing up in the Netherlands. I didn't feel beautiful, and then I watched The Hills on MTV.
I saw the winged eyeliner on Lauren Conrad and I saw Heidi looking all fabulous, and I was like, I want to look like that. I looked up The Hills makeup and then I found a tutorial on YouTube and I was hooked.
It was like, love that first time. I started locking myself up from the bathroom, playing with makeup, and then after a couple of months I was like, I want to [make] those videos.
On what 2016 makeup product she misses the most: I used to be obsessed with this blush called Taupe from NYX. I used to contour with it. It was the perfect shade.
On her current relationship with YouTube: She's on the back burner. I had a very secure, good thing going with YouTube. I feel like I still have a community there, but when algorithms work against you, it feels so hard to keep that momentum going for yourself and to keep the joy in it.
On moving to new social platforms like TikTok: I really had to relearn everything [about creating content]. I had to learn how to edit short.
I had to learn how to talk quickly and get to the point. And to be honest, it was exciting to me.
I had this new platform, TikTok, which had zero followers, and after all those years, it was kind of exhilarating that I was like, oh my God, it's like a fresh start. Let's see if I can do it again.
On how the industry has changed the most in the past decade: I never started [thinking] this is going to make me famous, or this is going to make me rich. I remember my first video had seven views and three comments.
That all grew as I was doing it. I think long-form content has drastically changed, but also the reasons people start [creating content] has changed.
It’s often to become a beauty influencer or to become famous.
On what she misses most about 2016 YouTube: The community. I would recognize [follower] names, I would recognize people coming back and telling me stories about their lives and I'd remember who they were. It felt more like a close-knit family, whereas now it's so global that you can't keep up.
On the reason for starting her cosmetics brand, Nimya: My collaboration history has been tumultuous, some would say. I had been wronged a couple of times and my trust in people was low.
I met my manager, Wes, and throughout our years together, I would tell him about products that I wanted to make and he would say, "Why don't we make it then?" I said I didn’t trust people and he goes, "Well, you trust yourself, right? Then go make it.”
On maintaining a work/life balance: It's hard because you're always busy with product development, promotion, new content, keeping things alive on socials, trying not to compare yourself too much with others but you do. It's a busy life, but it's a very rewarding life as well.
On comparisons during the early days: Back then I would compare myself to Jaclyn Hill. I would compare myself to everyone because I was like, well, my numbers aren't growing as fast as theirs are, or why am I not rich yet? I think that's part of growing up. I don't really do that anymore. Sometimes I can get a little envious, but that's about it.
On what launching a brand has taught her: One thing I've found out is that deadlines are the bane of my existence. I'm not great with deadlines.
On the moment she felt she “made it”: The [2021] Met Gala. To be this Dutch girl doing makeup online, coming out, and then walking those stairs… I remember thinking at the top of the stairs, first of all, I survived. That's number one. I didn't trip, I didn't fall. But number two was, oh my gosh, is this what I've made it feels like?
On how her relationship with her audience has evolved: I think it's become much more real, much more honest. People have become so much more warm and open with me.
To get these DMs of people saying, you literally changed my child's life or my life or my family's life… When we post, we focus on the views or if it's doing well, but we kind of forget that those numbers are people that have an opinion and their own lives. To be able to change people's lives through your honesty and your true self is very surreal.
On what she wished she had when she started posting: Better editing skills. My gosh was it cringe, honey.
On her dream job: Once Andy Cohen stops, I would love to take over.
35, Los Angeles, California. Founder of Lunar Beauty (a cosmetics brand)
Follower count: 4.82M YouTube subscribers, 3.7M Instagram followers, 2M TikTok followers
First year on YouTube: 2014
First video: A full-coverage foundation routine.
On what inspired him to embrace beauty: I grew up so religious and sheltered, but I always had fond memories of watching my mom get ready for work. She’s always been a glam girl.
She very much was the woman that was like, "I feel confident putting my makeup on. The world takes me more seriously when I put my makeup on.
I take myself more seriously when I get ready for the day." I remember always feeling really empowered by her feeling empowered. When I was coming out and coming into my own, I was looking for something to help me do that and I think makeup was my shield.
On the Golden Era of beauty YouTube: I struck gold when I didn't know there was gold to be struck. I had no idea what we were doing was a revolutionary thing because to me, it was just about my passion and having fun and finding this community.
Now, of course, it's a full-blown business. [Consumers have] the pick of the litter. There are so many different beauty content creators out there, you can really find what you seek.
On going viral: I've had photos of me in full glam and a beard go viral. Back in the day, it would be like, “men used to go to war and now this is men.” A lot of my photos would just go viral just because I was a man [wearing makeup] and I wasn't trying to be female presenting.
On content creators then vs. now: I feel like intention is so different now. People back in the day started creating based off of passion. There's some content creators I watch now and I can just see them lying through their teeth. It seems so odd because back then, you cared about your community because they cared about you. Now, I see people trying to pull one over on their audience.
On what he misses most about the Golden Era of YouTube: I just miss how simple it was. It wasn't so serious. Now it's like, girl, you can get canceled for anything. Things have gotten much more tense. The social media landscape seems more volatile than ever. I do miss the simplicity of, baby, I'm just teaching you how to do eyeliner.
On what he doesn’t miss from the early YouTube days: I don't miss what I looked like. I definitely do not miss feeling like I had to buy that Cartier bracelet or I had to have that nice car to keep up with what other creators were doing.
Now, I feel like I'm much more of myself because I don't really take as many people's opinions about things that I should be doing to heart anymore.
On how he’s changed from 2016 to now: I'm less messy than I was when I was 25. I was more of a nasty little bitch when I had moments, whereas now I'm like, girl, you're 35, calm down.
On his favorite YouTubers to watch: I actually don't watch any beauty on YouTube at all. I don't watch lifestyle. I only watch gaming. I'll watch content creators that I don't even know the names of that are playing the video game that I always play, Marvel Rivals.
On what he learned from “dramageddon”: At the time, my world was Manny MUA. That's all I really cared about, being that mega influencer who had it all.
When I lost a lot of it, I was like, oh my God, well, what am I? Then I started to really focus on myself and now if I were to go through a cancellation, it wouldn't have the same effects on me.
I wouldn't be fucking bedridden, debilitated for three months, just not wanting to live. [That experience] taught me a lot about resilience and really making sure that your work life is not your whole life. And when you're a creator, it's so easy to feel like that's all you are.
On what 2016 Manny would freak out over today: That I became the first male ambassador for Maybelline. It was a huge deal to have a boy be the face of a Maybelline campaign.
Since then, I've been able to be the face of Covergirl and L'Oréal. The fact that I've hit the big three in beauty at the drugstore, which is notoriously conservative, I find it to be really dope because there's no other boy that's done that.
On what 2016 trend he’d like to see come back: I would love to see more blinding highlight.
On a 2016 trend he never wants to see again: I never want to go back to that day where the liquid lipsticks were really drying and matte. Back then we would love to do a full liquid matte, no gloss, nothing. Now I look back and I'm like, Bitch, my lips were dry as fuck.
On a current beauty hot take: Faux freckles always look faux. There's no world in which your faux freckles look realistic, but at the end of the day, it's fun to do. I still do faux freckles all the time, but I know it looks fake.
31, Los Angeles, California
Follower count: 2.25M YouTube subscribers, 1.1M Instagram followers, 1.5M TikTok followers
First year on YouTube: 2015
First video: A daily makeup tutorial. A few days later, I posted my natural curly hair routine.
On her first YouTube videos: They were so long, and since I didn’t really know how to cut them down, I just sped the entire video up to make it shorter. That meant, in all of my early videos, my voice was super high-pitched, and people genuinely thought that was how I talked.
Looking back, they’re definitely a little cringey, but they have so much character, and I love that they’re still on my channel. They remind me how it all started.
On deciding to pursue content full-time: I was in college and working at Dillard’s. When I came home I was filming and uploading multiple videos a week because I genuinely loved making videos, not because I thought it could become a career.
Then my first YouTube paycheck came, and it was bigger than what I was making at my actual job. I was completely shocked.
That’s when it finally clicked that this could be something real.
On the first time she went viral: I was going viral on both YouTube and Instagram at the same time, but for completely different reasons. On Instagram, it was the 2015 “Don’t Judge Challenge,” which ended up getting featured by People magazine.
At the same time, my YouTube channel was growing so much faster than I ever expected. My first two videos each passed 100,000 views, which felt absolutely insane for a brand-new channel.
Then my third video hit over a million views showing people how to curl their hair a specific way. Not long after that, I uploaded a video of me straightening my naturally curly hair that ended up getting over 9 million views.
On what she misses about the early YouTube days: It really felt like an event. Everyone was waiting for their favorite creators to upload.
You’d wake up excited to see who posted, and when your own video went live, you knew your audience was just as excited to watch it. There was something really special about that feeling, and I don’t think we’ve quite recreated it.
I also miss how creative and carefree that era was. I was so young when I started that I didn’t overthink anything.
If I had an idea, I filmed it. I posted challenge videos, routines, DIYs, hair videos, whatever sounded fun.
I wasn’t worried about how it would perform or what people would think. I was just creating because I loved it.
On how the beauty creator economy looks different: Back then, it felt a lot smaller and more niche. Everyone kind of knew each other, creators were constantly collaborating, and there was a real sense of community.
It felt like we were all figuring it out together because influencer culture was still so new. Not many people believed in it, except for the people doing it.
I also think beauty content has evolved a lot. In the beginning, people watched full-length tutorials, Get Ready With Mes (GRWMs), favorites videos, and monthly hauls.
People really wanted to learn techniques and spend time with creators. Now beauty content is much faster.
You have to grab someone’s attention in the first few seconds, and a lot of reviews or tutorials are under a minute.
On audiences becoming more educated: When I started, if a creator recommended a product, people usually trusted them and went out to buy it. Now viewers are a lot more informed, they compare reviews, look at ingredients, and want to hear multiple opinions before purchasing something. I actually think that’s a good thing.
On the biggest lessons she’s learned over the years: When you put your life online, everyone has an opinion, whether they know you or not. I’ve learned that not every comment deserves my energy, and it’s okay to protect your peace.
I started YouTube at 19, so a lot of my twenties have been documented on the internet. People have watched me grow into adulthood, and with that comes learning, changing, making mistakes, and figuring out who you are, all while people are watching.
That can be intimidating, but it’s also something I’m grateful for.
On what her 2016 self would freak out over: Getting to meet Beyoncé. If you would’ve told 2016 Jasmine that one day she’d meet Beyoncé because she decided to make YouTube videos for fun, I would’ve never believed you.
35, Freehold, New Jersey. Co-founder of Sippi Kids (a boxed water company for children)
Follower count: 6.07M YouTube subscribers, 4.5M Instagram followers, 498.7K TikTok followers
First year on YouTube: 2011
First video: A how to curl your hair with a straightener tutorial.
On her first viral moment: After a year of creating content, I posted a Megan Fox lookalike makeup tutorial. It went viral and hit 100,000 views. Once I saw that, I did Mila Kunis, I did Adriana Lima. I was like, okay, who are the top girls in the industry that everybody wants to know their makeup look?
On her first brand deal: It was a teeth whitening company called Whitening Lightning. I actually still use the products 14 years later.
On how the industry has changed in the past decade: When everything moved to the shorter form and the lower attention span, it was hard for me to transition, but I’m seeing a lot of people requesting long-form again. I think everything kind of comes in waves and cycles. And now it's a career for so many more people, so it's just a way more saturated market.
On how her content has evolved in the past decade: Beauty, fashion, hair will always be what I'm known for, but I think the relatable, funny mom content has been doing really well. I'm also back with my high school sweetheart.
We were together when I first started on YouTube and then we broke up for eight years and now we're back together and engaged, so I think it's bringing the nostalgia back to a lot of people. They’re saying we healed their hearts because we were their “divorced parents.”
On what audiences really want: People can tell when someone's genuine and not just trying to sell them something. I feel like a lot of people caught on in the past five, seven years that [they can make] tons of money and a lot of people came into it with the wrong intentions.
They’re thinking, how can I make money out of it versus how do I build a community and an audience? When I started, I didn't know that it could be a career.
It was all about connection and trying to help people and building relationships, and that's why it has been so successful for me.
On what’s been the hardest part of her career: The biggest challenge, of course, is the negative people online. I'm a very sensitive person. Although I put some of my life out on the internet, I'm a very private person and I take things to heart. That was, and still is, the hardest part. I delete and block.
On being a Jersey Girl: I never wanted to move out to LA... I didn't want to be a celebrity.
I wanted to have my online life, and then check out and be able to live a regular life. Obviously I am well-known online, but I feel like I could have taken it to another level if I moved.
I feel like I'm very happy with where I'm at. I just wouldn't want to be at the top where everybody's nitpicking every little thing you do.
You see the rise and fall of people that go through that and it makes me sad.
On staying out of beauty YouTuber drama: One thing people will say about me is I've never been involved in all the beauty drama. I really tried to just keep myself separate.
When me and Brett broke up, I never talked publicly about it. My best friend of 26 years and I had a friendship breakup and everybody of course wanted to know [about it].
I could have shared details, but I've always kept that stuff to myself because I didn't think it was anybody's business. Keeping certain things private was something I'm proud that I did, because all that stuff can backfire.
On shuttering her beauty brand, The Beauty Bybel: I unfortunately had a bad business partner. I've had some pretty bad luck...
My most popular palette was through BH Cosmetics, and had a bad experience with a middleman involved in that deal. I feel like I always tend to pick the wrong business partner.
My biggest piece of advice for anybody starting their own business is to make sure you know who you're getting into business with, because at the end of the day, it's your name and face that's on the brand.
On the brand she shares with her sister, Sippy Kids: It's water in a juice box format with a straw. It's so random, but it didn’t exist.
My sister and I are going through momhood together and noticed that at birthday parties, they have juice boxes or plastic water bottles with a cap. Those are your only two options.
We were like, why is there not a juice box option for kids with pure water? It makes it easy for them to drink.
We Googled it and it didn't exist. We launched in February and we're already in 250 locations.
On what her 2016 self would think now: I would definitely be proud. I've had a lot of personal things happen, like losing my dad and going through a toxic relationship and having a child and being a single mom.
There's so many things that could have made me give up and fall into a hole, but I just kept going and pushing and working through all of the craziness. I still am like, how do I have a career after all this time?
How do people still like me? I still don't understand it, but I'm so grateful and honored that people still want to follow my journey and be a part of my life.
On a 2016 beauty trend she never wants to see again: Eyebrow blindness. I know bold brows were such a moment at the time, but when I look back at some of my photos from back then, I'm like, "Holy crap, they were so dark and just so thick."
On a current beauty hot take: I will be full glam at a barbecue, like a daytime barbecue. I will show full glam because it makes me feel good and I love to do it and I think you should just do whatever makes you feel good.
September 10, 2026: We edited the story to clarify that Carli had a bad experience with a middleman in her BH Cosmetics deal, not with BH Cosmetics.
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