Lauren Luke YouTube Channel Review

I've never been what you would describe as a "girlie" girl. Up until post-University, I didn't wear a lot of make up, I didn't do a lot with my hair and I just wasn't interested in any of that stuff. Then, I was introduced to BarryM make up a couple of years ago, by a really good friend, and that introduction led to my discovery of the amazing Lauren Luke.

Watching Lauren Luke's videos really drew me into the world of experimenting with make up, and I think that it is pretty fair to say, that if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be writing this blog today (so, blame her :P) So, it makes perfect sense for my first official blog here, to be a review of Lauren's YouTube Channel.

YouTube User Name: Panacea81

Making Videos Since: 28 June 2007

Rankings: #1 - Most Subscribed (All Time)
#1 - Most Subscribed (All Time) - Gurus
#1 - Most Subscribed (All Time) - Partners
#46 - Most Subscribed (All Time) - Global
#4 - Most Subscribed (All Time) - Gurus - Global
#42 - Most Subscribed (All Time) - Partners - Global
#47 - Most Viewed (This Month)
#5 - Most Viewed (This Month) - Gurus
#19 - Most Viewed (This Month) - Partners
#59 - Most Viewed (This Month) - Gurus - Global
#25 - Most Viewed (All Time)
#2 - Most Viewed (All Time) - Gurus
#20 - Most Viewed (All Time) - Partners
#20 - Most Viewed (All Time) - Gurus - Global

Content and What she does: Since 2007, Lauren Luke has been teaching normal girls like you and me how to put on make up. This might sound really ridiculous, but amazingly enough, it would seem that there are a heck of a lot of us out there that actually don't know how to put make up on. I personally only had older brothers, and they weren't exactly going to teach me how to put eye-liner on, or how to make a smokey eye look. So, it was great to find someone who not only shows you how to do, but does it on actually on herself, rather than a model. Because, let's face it, it is a whole different experience putting make up on yourself than it is to put make up on someone else! 

Set Up: Lauren's set up is quite simple. It is basically just her, in her bedroom with a web cam, putting on make up. This means that there is no posh studio with expensive, flattering lighting than hides every skin flaw. Nope, Lauren proudly shows off the fact that she is a typical twenty-something woman, who isn't perfect, who has flaws and is just like everybody else.

Length: One of the charms about Lauren, is the fact that she doesn't edit her videos (initially because she didn't know how to edit them!). This means that her videos can be quite lengthy, typically clocking in anywhere around 10 and 20 minutes. On first glance, you might think "oh god, that means it's going to take 20 minutes to do that look", but once you give Lauren a chance (and you only need to witness her popularity to be drawn in), you'll see that the videos aren't long because they're difficult, or take a long time. They're long because Lauren likes to talk. And that's what we love about her. Other "guru's" will edit their videos if they start going off topic, but not Lauren. 

What makes her so appealing? Where to begin! Lauren has never hidden the fact that she is a typical "larger" woman, who doesn't have perfect skin and isn't necessarily the prettiest girl around. But, that is exactly what makes her appealing. Everyone has flaws, and girls relate to Lauren, because she shows her own faults, warts and all (not literally!), and the fact that she doesn't feel the need to hide her break outs and problem skin, just boost her appeal even more.

The fact she doesn't edit, also means that Lauren doesn't hide her mistakes, like many other guru's do. It is human to make mistakes, and Lauren's videos unintentionally show this, and they show how it isn't the end of the world.

Lauren isn't a professional make up artist, and she isn't perfect at what she does. Sometimes she's a little heavy-handed with her eye shadows, and sometimes looks don't quite look right. But, we appreciate that, because god forbid, my make up never turns out quite as I'd like it! But, as Lauren would probably say herself, it's all about learning!

Other: Nearly three years, since Lauren's journey began, she has gone from being a young single parent, to the biggest sensation to come out of YouTube. And, no one could have predicted that the biggest "celebrity" that YouTube would be a normal Geordie lass showing women how to put make up on themselves.

Lauren now has her own make up range ByLaurenLuke, which features several make up palettes consisting of eye shadows, lip sticks, lip gloss, primer, blush and eye liner. 

For more information about Lauren Luke, and her own cosmetic range, be sure to check out her personal website. And to see exactly what Lauren does, check out her YouTube Channel.