The Views: Reactions, Reinventions and Wrap-Ups
Yearly wrap-up videos have been trending on YouTube all month as YouTubers wrap up their favorite moments and memories of the past year and set goals and resolutions for 2020. Beauty YouTubers are no exception with constant videos displaying their favorite products of the year, including Shalom Blac. Blac dedicates her channel to makeup tutorials, fashion and lifestyle videos. In the spirit of the new year, Blac has posted a video detailing her favorite products from 2019 for her 1.42 million subscribers. Mainly filming tutorials, this video allows Blac to go in-depth about the products she reaches for the most in her everyday life. She discusses everything from concealer to brow products that allow 12,000 viewers to see exactly how each of these products works and performers. These videos are perfect for viewers looking for inspiration going into the new year for new makeup products to buy to then experiment with different makeup looks. They allow viewers to get a deeper look into the makeup artists they follow and how to better achieve their perfect look.
Beauty YouTubers are not the only ones looking ahead to the new year. Booktubers especially have been bombarding YouTube with videos detailing reading goals for the new year. This includes Naya of the channel, NayaReadsandSmiles, whose newest video gives her 64,000 subscribers an idea of what to look forward to in the new year. Naya promises her almost 7,000 viewers more daily reading vlogs in 2020 where she speaks openly about the books she has been reading and gives her viewers insight into her daily life. Naya talks about the struggles of finding the time to read while having a full-time job, which many people can relate to, and gives helpful advice on how to achieve reading goals set at the brink of a new year. This vlog doubles as a reading goals video and a normal reading vlog with an unboxing thrown in. This highlights the beauty of vlogs on book tube- they can encompass various topics and moments into one lengthy, yet entertaining video. Naya never fails to spark inspiration for your next read or as her channel name suggests, puts a smile on your face with her infectious attitude. For anyone looking to read more in the new year, book tube is a great place to start for inspiration on what to read, how to manage your time and where to spark inspiration.
Reactions videos are definitely among the many video formats being taken into 2020 without hesitation. They continue to be popular so long as there are things to react to and creators have no problem finding more and more cringey, spooky, or fantastic things to sit and react to. Shaq of the channel, No Life Shaq, fills up his channel with reactions of new music, specifically rap. For his newest video, he strays from his typical format to react to a video from YouTuber Gabriel Brown of the channel, Black Gryph0n who claims to have 54 voices as he sings a song impersonating 54 different artists including Eminem, Drake and Freddie Mercury. The only thing more joyful than watching Brown do his impression is watching Shaq react to them with true surprise and amazement. This video is a great example of why reaction videos can be so entertaining and heartwarming. This break from his usual content allowed Shaq’s 1.41 million subscribers to see a different side of him and explore more musical genres than he usually discusses. Every view out of the 500,000 guaranteed left the video with an appreciation for Brown’s vocal talent and Shaq’s ability to simply react and turn it into enjoyable content.
Eleanor, of the YouTube channel, Snitchery takes the phrase “new year new me” to a whole other level in her newest video. Snitchery found fame on Instagram cosplaying as various popular characters through makeup, wigs, and costumes. Within the past few years, she has blown up on YouTube amassing over 350,000 subscribers. Here, she talks about hair growth, films makeup tutorials and shys away from no topics too big or too small. Most recently, Snitchery posted a video entitled “I got a new face WITHOUT surgery and you can too” where she demonstrates how she used to do her makeup and how she does her makeup now through doing both on different sides of her face. This follows the style of NikkieTutorials’ “the power of makeup” series where she applies makeup on half of her face to show just how powerful makeup can be. In her video, Snitchery explains the downfalls of her past makeup styles and how she has corrected them to better fit her lifestyle and facial features. These kinds of videos have the power to make the almost 300,000 viewers pause and question whether their current beauty routine is the best it can be and how it can be improved. Especially in the new year, everyone is looking to elevate their look and a new makeup routine can definitely do the trick. Snitchery proves that a new look is possible and achievable just through products you can buy at the mall- no surgery required. Now everyone can continue to chase that “new you” that the new year always prompts.
Buzzfeed’s As/Is channel loves a good challenge. Recently, they have been exploring a fashion challenge that pits a professional stylist against a best friend to see who can style their subject better. In their newest installment, Joyce is looking for a first date outfit. The question is who will put together the perfect look: her best friend, Auri, or professional style Mikael? Joyce loves an eclectic colorful look that she describes as “confused” so both parties definitely have their work cut out for them. Both Auri and Mikael shop around and attempt to style the perfect first date look that screams “I’m bold, I’m cool, I’m hot,” in Joyce’s words from the outfit to shoes to accessories. After the looks are crafted, Joyce models both and determines who executed her style and her idea of the perfect first date outfit the best. Who could it be? Join the other 80,000 viewers and find out!