It's been a few months since I started making makeup content - both video and photographs. It's a great way to scratch that itch I feel with creation using my camera but at the same time learn some new things and improve my skills with color. Doing video, photography, and painting (my face haha) - it's a really good combination of the skills I currently have and what I seriously wanted to do years ago.
Makeup is a different field. Although it's the same color theory and art, it's still something so different because here you are working with pigments on skin. Which made me unsure about to actually do it temporarily or something I would do long term. And here I am after a few months and I'm still doing it and enjoying it. :D
I'm very aware of how my body and mind works now and it gave me so much better ways to take care of myself to prevent burnout again (which lasted 3 years btw). I could say I'm not in that phase anymore but I'm still careful because I'm learning a lot of things at the same time which makes my brain use more energy and have to chill cos I only have limited RAM haha.
I'm taking things slowly and not pressuring myself and really just enjoying creation. I don't focus on growth yet. I focus on what my style would be (without ofc putting myself inside a box) and how I would manage my time so my day would be efficient.
Honestly since becoming aware of what stresses me out or burns me out, I am able to take breaks and formulate some new working style that works for me.
I'm gonna talk about this still, but since having known that I am AuDHD, I am able to cater to the needs of both (ADHD and autism) and balance them out so it doesn't cause so much chaos, since both need COMPLETELY different things. Maybe I will write about it at some point, if anybody is interested. I just don't wanna write about it all the time since I don't want to sound like a whiny bitch haha.
My Instagram and TikTok have been doing great lately. I'm surprised it's growing the way it is now despite not really consistent with posting (since I take a few breaks at times). I'm also not engaging so much since I want to focus on making content first but yeah, people still find my content in their feed or by being shared by other people.
I love the niche that I got into. I'm focusing on eyeshadows and lipsticks to make creative looks and specifically using Cbeauty brands. It has I would say a tiny community and it's slowly getting traction so growth-wise it would be better long term. I followed what my heart wants and not the metrics and trends and I am really enjoying it. :D
I also just started another Youtube account specifically for makeup to separate it from the gaming cos I want to upload my stuff to get views and reach haha. The views are doing so well considering I just created it like 5 days ago. :D
Pretty sure people are searching Youtube for swatches and products too since not everyone have IG and TT for that so it will be good in the long run.
Some of the ways to earn that I know of are affiliate/referral codes, ads, and brand collabs. I already am affiliate for 2 websites where I would earn a small commission if someone orders using my codes. It would be a nice passive way especially I also like taking nice videos of the products haha.
I don't have any commissions yet, I need to make more content first so they'll have a reason to follow me. :P
Another way is in Youtube monetization which I also currently don't have yet.
And of course there's Hive too, I'd like to post my makeup looks and process and also some photography and that adds to the revenue but I just don't want to think of Hive as work. I treat Hive as a way to share my thoughts, make friends, and share my looks and imo focusing on Hive as something with earning makes me feel burnt out. I'd like to keep it my safe personal space and not a work environment, you know? :D
This swatch video has an insane 47k views and I didn't do anything special. No promotions, nothing. I was really surprised it started to get a lot of views and looking at analytics, it showed up on search cos people are looking for swatches and reviews.
You can also see how much users had them saved so they can watch later, and for audience's perspective it makes sense.
So far, when I post a product or makeup look, I put the keywords in the description and tags. I always think "If I'm a customer who wants to buy this product, what keywords would I use in the search tab". I guess that works haha. I don't want to analyze too much on the metrics and stuff since I really just want to enjoy it for now but I'm glad it got those views even at an early stage.
Among the other posts that have the most views of all time are the SAEM pot concealer and ELF liquid glow filter. They are mostly products and people who view most likely are going to buy. So just imagine if you have an affiliate code in that video and a lot of them used your code. :o
But I don't want to go that route tbh. I want to focus on the creative makeup and not on the influencer beauty guru side.
Overall, I'm learning and having fun so there's no point pressuring myself and having that one big goal to be strictly achieved. I'm being realistic at the same time just not worrying too much about it all.
Since I have kinda settled on what my filming process and lighting setup would be, it has become easier for me with that flow.
I'm hoping I can go back to making art and recording gameplays soon, but also at the same time do this makeup thing. That would be so nice once I figured out the workflow for me and I have accustomed to doing things constantly. Coming from burnout is not easy since I got used to doing unproductive things for so long...
And I'm just glad I am able to do so now. :D
