No way around it, I simply love makeup and spend more money than I should on it. I watch YouTube videos about makeup as background music. (We can talk about how that’s weird later.) This week, one beauty influencer got dethroned – and it was brutal.

One of my favorite beauty YouTubers of all time is Tati Westbrook. I love that she gives her honest opinions and reviews makeup versus telling me how to use it. She doesn’t do many sponsorships, so it never feels like she’s ‘selling out.’ She recently (okay maybe 8 months ago?) created her own brand, Halo Beauty. Halo currently sells vitamin supplements that promote healthy skin, nails, and hair.

She has numerous friends in the beauty community on YouTube, one including James Charles. James Charles, well, eh. He caters to a much younger audience than me. However, he was instrumental in raising awareness for men in the beauty community. He became a face for CoverGirl which was huge. His following grew exponentially, and he became one of the beauty influencer royalty. He had his share of controversy, but most of it could be blamed on his young age and immaturity. Tati became a mentor and guide to James Charles as he navigated the influencer world. They became close friends to the point that she flew him out so that he could do her wedding makeup.

This past week, shit hit the fan. James Charles started supporting Sugar Bear Hair, a direct competitor to Halo Beauty. Social media commentary from both sides ensued.

Tati said her piece in a 43-minute video where she explained her disappointment and feelings of betrayal. While she did resort to creating a public video, she remained pretty respectful. She called out other actions of James Charles that were embarrassing and inappropriate. James Charles followed with an apology video of his own where he tearfully expressed his regret.

The beauty community on YouTube has had its share of controversy and drama. However, this particular feud had the most dramatic ripple effects. James Charles has lost almost 2 million subscribers whereas Tati gained almost 2 million subscribers.

The Lesson is…

That shows the significance of influencer actions. Brands can pour thousands – millions – of dollars into an influencer, and, in a second, the influencer could lose it all. Influencers rely on social media, and social media is the harshest critic on people.

Brands need to be extremely careful when choosing and utilizing influencers in their marketing. Subscriber or follower count means less when huge controversies follow them. Choose influencers based on their personality, interests, and ideology that you can trust. It’ll pay off in the end.

About Marissa Musings: Marissa Musings are short blog posts that derive from an outpouring of random thoughts. My brain can be a very crazy place. Enjoy with caution.