A thing of beauty is a joy forever, as the saying goes. And what could be more beautiful than this list of 40+ beauty influencers around the world?! There are influencers for almost every industry today, but the beauty industry might be considered one of the first where influencer marketing really took hold.
In part because it follows a fairly traditional pattern: it’s easy to send products, easy to demonstrate products, and easy to show results.
Beauty influencers have a really important voice in the world today, many making a concerted effort to expand beyond narrow or traditional definitions of beauty, as put forward by the industry itself. Beauty brands that approach using influencers for marketing their products stand a lot to gain from embracing this culture.
The beauty influencers on this list have high engagement and true reach numbers and are worth having on your radar!
Lists of beauty influencers in this post:
15 Top Beauty Influencers with 1M+ Followers
8 Top Beauty Influencers (100K-500K+ Followers)
7 Top Micro Beauty Influencers
8 Top Male Beauty Influencers & Non-Binary Beauty Influencers
13 Top Black Beauty Influencers
Are you looking for more specific beauty influencers? Take a look at the top South African beauty influencers and the top Filipino beauty influencers to find the right local partners for your brand.
What is a Beauty Influencer?
Beauty influencers are social media personalities and content creators that focus primarily on makeup and skincare, though it definitely doesn’t exclude other aspects such as nail art and hair styling. You might be thinking a majority of beauty influencers are women, but there is actually a beautifully diverse range of beauty influencers from men, women, and non-binary content creators!
They will often post makeup tutorials and product reviews, many working with the same company for multiple campaigns. Beauty could also be considered a subcategory of “makeup influencers” that focuses on more traditional uses of makeup, as opposed to special effects makeup or makeup transformations, which definitely belong in their own category.
A beauty influencer might be a professional makeup artist or skincare specialist in their own right, which certainly adds clout to their content, but many are also self taught individuals who just love all things makeup!
Many beauty influencers are also fashion influencers and vice-versa. Check out the top 40 fashion influencers here!
Why Partner With a Beauty Influencer?
Brands who are looking to demonstrate their products on social media through the eyes of a trusted friend rather than a sales pitch will gain a lot from working with a beauty influencer.
A recommendation from an influencer can go a long way toward increasing product sales for cosmetics companies, skincare lines, and hair care products. These products are easy to demonstrate and very portable, so it's also easy for brands to send social media influencers gifts and samples as a way to open up a conversation.
This is a double edged sword however, as in the interest of keeping trust with their audiences, beauty influencers are under no obligation to say they like your beauty products.
Tip: Learn how to do influencer gifting to promote your brand and partner with the right influencers.
What Are the Top Channels for Beauty Influencers?
Beauty influencers typically have strong presences on multiple social media platforms including
- YouTube
- TikTok
Short-form and long-form videos are prime content types for beauty influencers, allowing them to appeal to audiences on channels like Instagram as well as YouTube.
Tip: We also have a global list of the top Instagram influencers for you if you'd like to broaden your influencer marketing strategy.
15 Top Beauty Influencers with 1M+ Followers
Beauty influencers who have 1 million followers or more are often professional makeup artists or hair stylists using their Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok platform to promote products and services.
These influencers have cultivated strong relationships with their audience over time, sharing tips and they tend to work with the same brands for several campaigns, over months and years.
- Jeffree Starx
- Les Do Makeup
- Nikkie Tutorials
- Mikayla Jane
- Jackie Aina
- Huda Beauty
- Shayla
- Taylor R
- Sananas2106
- Aaliyah Jay
- Darcei
- Casey Holmes
- Beauty Bird
- Leilani Green
- Lauren Curtis
Let's look at them more in-depth:
Jeffree Star
- Followers: 28.2M
- True reach: 11.7M
- Average engagement: 616.2K
- Average number of posts per month: 52
Les Do Makeup
- Followers: 6.5M
- True reach: 4.6M
- Average engagement: 447.5K
- Average number of posts per month: 20
Nikkie Tutorials
- Followers: 21.6M
- True reach: 4M
- Average engagement: 370.6K
- Average number of posts per month: 43
Mikayla Jane
- Followers: 17.1M
- True reach: 3.9M
- Average engagement: 606K
- Average number of posts per month: 69
Jackie Aina
- Followers: 5.2M
- True reach: 2.1M
- Average engagement: 200.8K
- Average number of posts per month: 33
Huda Beauty
- Followers: 69.6M
- True reach: 2M
- Average engagement: 72K
- Average number of posts per month: 119
Shayla
- Followers: 4.2M
- True reach: 1.5M
- Average engagement: 99.2K
- Average number of posts per month: 39
Taylor R
- Followers: 1.8M
- True reach: 1.4M
- Average engagement: 192K
- Average number of posts per month: 75
Sananas2106
- Followers: 4.4M
- True reach: 1M
- Average engagement: 37.5K
- Average number of posts per month: 126
Aaliyah Jay
- Followers: 2.8M
- True reach: 1M
- Average engagement: 85.2K
- Average number of posts per month: 17
Darcei
- Followers: 1.1M
- True reach: 1M
- Average engagement: 127.8K
- Average number of posts per month: 37
Casey Holmes
- Followers: 2.1M
- True reach: 678.5K
- Average engagement: 41.5K
- Average number of posts per month: 31
Beauty Bird
- Followers: 1.7M
- True reach: 643.5K
- Average engagement: 45.7K
- Average number of posts per month: 54
Leilani Green
- Followers: 1.5M
- True reach: 512.7K
- Average engagement: 35.7K
- Average number of posts per month: 4
Lauren Curtis
- Followers: 3.4M
- True reach: 509.6K
- Average engagement: 48.5K
- Average number of posts per month: 15
8 Top Beauty Influencers (100K-500K+ Followers)
We’ve got some more specified lists below of the top male beauty influencers and top black beauty influencers, but here are some more macro social media influencers in the beauty space that you should know about!
This list of beauty influencers is also sorted by True Reach to give a more accurate representation of their sphere of influence on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and other socials:
- Karen Young
- Alexandra Anele
- Luisa Simona
- Huda Fode
- Ayavanessa
- Mariam Rahman
- Anette Hovland
- Ishidakazuho
Here are their beauty influencer stats:
Karen Young
- Followers: 815.8K
- True reach: 287.8K
- Average engagement: 12.4K
- Average number of posts per month: 21
Alexandra Anele
- Followers: 475.3K
- True reach: 236.4K
- Average engagement: 23.7K
- Average number of posts per month: 18
Luisa Simona
- Followers: 369.8K
- True reach: 158.8K
- Average engagement: 30.6K
Huda Fode
- Followers: 330.8K
- True reach: 48.3K
- Average engagement: 2.5K
- Average number of posts per month: 12
Ayavanessa
- Followers: 130.9K
- True reach: 39.2K
- Average engagement: 3.7K
- Average number of posts per month: 4
Mariam Rahman
- Followers: 410.2K
- True reach: 29.7K
- Average engagement: 1.3K
- Average number of posts per month: 8
Anette Hovland
- Followers: 100.2K
- True reach: 26K
- Average engagement: 2.5K
- Average number of posts per month: 8
Ishidakazuho
- Followers: 140.4K
- True reach: 8.1K
- Average engagement: 235
- Average number of posts per month: 16
7 Top Micro Beauty Influencers
Micro beauty influencers are often self-taught, and have a very authentic view of which products they like and don’t like. They are great to follow for the joy of seeing someone's skills develop and improve over time, and you can watch their success grow as they work with more and more beauty brands.
Makeup and skincare recommendations from micro beauty influencers tend to be on the more cost-effective side as well, as many of them may not make a full living as beauty influencers. As opposed to Mega influencers who are commonly beauty industry professionals or professional makeup artists as well as influencers.
Reading Tip: Learn more about why micro-influencers matter.
- Jeremiah Drew
- Chici Eburu
- Lara Matos
- Hana Adams
- Sophie Fournet
- Bree
- Mirna Elena
Jeremiah Drew
- Followers: 29.2K
- True reach: 28.5K
- Average engagement: 1.9K
Chici Eburu
- Followers: 14.5K
- True reach: 22.7K
- Average engagement: 1.4K
Lara Matos
- Followers: 16.3K
- True reach: 14.7K
- Average engagement: 4.4K
- Average number of posts per month: 7
Hana Adams
- Followers: 16.4K
- True reach: 11.9K
- Average engagement: 4k
- Average number of posts per month: 12
Sophie Fournet
- Followers: 14.5K
- True reach: 9.3K
- Average engagement: 1.4K
- Average number of posts per month: 20
Bree
- Followers: 13.2K
- True reach: 2.5K
- Average engagement: 700
- Average number of posts per month: 8
Mirna Elena
- Followers: 12.7K
- True reach: 1.7K
- Average engagement: 1.2K
- Average number of posts per month: 8
8 Top Male Beauty Influencers & Non-Binary Beauty Influencers
Makeup is for everyone, men, women, and non-binary and beauty influencers are proving that all over social media.
This list of top beauty influencers who identify as male or non-binary is sure to inspire you:
- James Charles
- Brad Mondo
- Manny Gutierrez
- Zain
- Sean Garrette
- Johnny Ross
- Jose Jimenez
- Angel Merino
James Charles
- Followers: 69.1M
- True reach: 13.8M
- Average engagement: 934.2K
- Average number of posts per month: 53
Brad Mondo
- Followers: 11.7M
- True reach: 2.5M
- Average engagement: 235K
- Average number of posts per month: 26
Manny Gutierrez
- Followers: 7.7M
- True reach: 2.4M
- Average engagement: 118.8K
- Average number of posts per month: 54
Zain
- Followers: 46.1K
- True reach: 590.4K
- Average engagement: 5.9K
- Average number of posts per month: 5
Sean Garrette
- Followers: 121.6K
- True reach: 313.1K
- Average engagement: 4.2K
- Average number of posts per month: 4
Johnny Ross
- Followers: 294.4K
- True reach: 144K
- Average engagement: 11.9K
- Average number of posts per month: 4
Jose Jimenez
- Followers: 557.3K
- True reach: 143.3K
- Average engagement: 16.9K
- Average number of posts per month: 8
Angel Merino
- Followers: 1.3K
- True reach: 66.1K
- Average engagement: 3.1K
- Average number of posts per month: 13
13 Top Black Beauty Influencers
Beauty and makeup companies have come a long way when it comes to diversity and inclusion. This applies to body type, gender & sexuality, racial diversity, and beauty standards in general.
A concerted effort to produce a wider range of foundation colors, for example, is something many beauty influencers of color may look out for when deciding who to work with.
These are the top black beauty influencers:
- Jackie Aina
- Shayla
- Aaliyah Jay
- Nyma Tang
- Leilani Green
- Sean Garrette
- Chizi Duru
- Logan Nicole Mua
- Uche Natori
- Lesley
- Miss Evelyn
- Leal Alexander
- Shanell
Jackie Aina
- Followers: 5.2M
- True reach: 2.1M
- Average engagement: 200.8K
- Average number of posts per month: 33
Shayla
- Followers: 4.2M
- True reach: 1.5M
- Average engagement: 99.2K
- Average number of posts per month: 39
Aaliyah Jay
- Followers: 2.8M
- True reach: 1M
- Average engagement: 85.2K
- Average number of posts per month: 17
Nyma Tang
- Followers: 837.3K
- True reach: 719.7K
- Average engagement: 47.4K
- Average number of posts per month: 13
Leilani Green
- Followers: 1.5M
- True reach: 512.7K
- Average engagement: 35.7K
- Average number of posts per month: 4
Sean Garrette
- Followers: 121.6K
- True reach: 313.1K
- Average engagement: 4.2K
- Average number of posts per month: 4
Chizi Duru
- Followers: 421.5K
- True reach: 200.2K
- Average engagement: 14K
- Average number of posts per month: 25
Logan Nicole Mua
- Followers: 138.5K
- True reach: 180.9K
- Average engagement: 25.6K
- Average number of posts per month: 4
Uche Natori
- Followers: 312.3K
- True reach: 107.9K
- Average engagement: 19.6K
- Average number of posts per month: 4
Lesley
- Followers: 123.1K
- True reach: 54.4K
- Average engagement: 1.8K
- Average number of posts per month: 21
Miss Evelyn
- Followers: 118.8K
- True reach: 41.3K
- Average engagement: 4.9K
- Average number of posts per month: 4
Leal Alexander
- Followers: 41.2K
- True reach: 25.3K
- Average engagement: 2.3K
- Average number of posts per month: 4
Shanell
- Followers: 35.9K
- True reach: 20.1K
- Average engagement: 2.3K
- Average number of posts per month: 4
Which Beauty Influencer is Right For Your Brand?
When choosing an influencer to work with, it’s important to observe their style, and brands they’ve worked with in the past. Most beauty influencers are not shy about products they don’t recommend, and this is a risk you take if you choose to send them comped gifts as a tactic for opening the conversation.
Learn more about influencer gifting.
As this list of beauty influencers shows, there are many different levels of expertise and many different areas of focus. You may want to narrow down your search by keywords such as “skincare” “haircare” or “makeup tutorial” to make sure you don't waste time in unnecessary rabbit holes.
Beauty and cosmetics brands should also be cognizant of how many consumers today value brands that are sustainable, eco-friends, and cruelty-free. Beauty influencers are also keenly aware of this, many making it their mission to support eco-conscious brands and educate their followers on how to choose brands in line with these values.
You can narrow your search by all these parameters and more using the Meltwater Influencer Marketing Suite! Request a demo to see it in action by filling out the form below.
