Social media has become a hub for people to share not only selfies and photos from cool vacations but also a community in which talent such as singing, dancing or makeup artistry are celebrated. Viral makeup artists James Charles and Patrick Starrr are examples of ordinary people who were able to create a name for themselves through social media. Their success has caught the attention of young teenagers who seek to create a name for themselves.
16-year-old high school student Alex Ferrer is one of many teenagers who became inspired by Youtubers like Patrick Starrr and Nikkie de Jager of Nikkie Tutorials. He began posting his makeup looks and tutorials on social media when he was twelve.
“let me just do makeup I don’t care what anybody is going to say it’ll work out and I just got brave and I uploaded my first video.”
Alex began his makeup journey by becoming interested in special effects makeup. He was then introduced to drag queens and would always wonder how they were able to create beautiful makeup looks on themselves. This thought led him to go through his mom’s makeup and give it a try.
“I was feeling myself okay, I was like wow this is what I want to do now, never mind let me do this and it was at a point that I was serious about it. I was like I think I really want to do this as a career.”
Alex’s bedroom is your typical teenage room. With a huge mirror hung on the wall and a shelf used as a home for Various hair products as well as his favorite facial sprays and brushes. Alex sees these platforms as not only a way to build a career path, but also as something that’s good for his mental health.
“I was letting everything out because at this time nobody knew, just maybe my sister and we swore we wouldn’t say anything and yeah it was kind of like therapy and I remember being so happy that day and I felt good about it. If I did that every day, it would make me happy.”
20-year-old makeup and social media influencer James Charles gained viral success after his senior photos blew up on twitter showing off his perfect makeup and glistening highlighter. It’s hard not to feel envious, Alex says “I crave becoming viral sometimes… because I see these people on YouTube, they post videos and off one video they get like millions of views and their career is made. they get money off one single video”
Alex dreams of pursuing a makeup career and is counting on his YouTube and Instagram pages becoming successful.
Alex’s parents were bewildered upon discovering his passion for makeup. Though it seemed very unusual to them, they showed him nothing but support and love.
“He’s a very good makeup artist, when it comes to posting his techniques, his talent in makeup, I honestly see it in a positive way, that’s one of the positive ways I see social media. it will give him chance to advertise his work for people to get to know him, people will start seeing his work on Instagram, Facebook, twitter, another social media and say wow that guy has got some talent wow what a beautiful makeup.”
Still, Alexandra worries that there could be a negative side to social media success. “Many people when one of their work becomes viral and they’re making money because of their views, okay you’re making the money, but you need a career. you need actual knowledge. I believe that this kind of work if it does become viral okay its very good but on a part time basis, not as a full-time career.”
Internet trolls and those who seek to cause harm to others are another concern. “I get scared of people out there who will post negative comments on his work on his attitude on himself in general just because he works very hard for this and it hurts me as a mom to hear negative comments about his work.”
As he sits and scrolls through his Instagram posts with a wide smile, you can tell that Alex is excited about the future and where his passion for makeup can take him with the help of his social media.
“I see a big future, to be honest, because everybody in this generation is just progressing their career through marketing and YouTube. They post everything and people get money off of it which is something that I want to do so I really see something, I think something is going to happen in the future if I keep consistently posting and keeping up with my social media.”
The creamy walls of Alex’s small room seem to glaze with a brightness of hope. Alex continues to scroll through his Instagram account admiring his work. He is ready for what the future holds. This is Ana Duran, for Baruch College in Queens, New York.