Michelle Phan was one of the first, and by
far one of the most successful, YouTube beauty gurus on the planet. At her peak, she boasted 8.9 Million subscribers
, earning over 1.1 Billion views, with her famous 2009 Barbie tutorial garnering more
than 67 million views alone. Her YouTube popularity led to a collaboration
with Lancme, a ton of press, and a $100 million makeup brand with Ipsy. And then she packed a bag, left the country,
and left it all behind in an instant.
Why? Here's a look at the real reasons Michelle
Phan left YouTube. She hated being recognized Thanks to YouTube, Phan became one of the
most recognizable beauty gurus on the planet. But that was an unhappy accident for Phan,
who wrote in Teen Vogue that she never intended for her own face to become famous. Instead, makeup was supposed to be a means
to explore different sides of herself and transform into something or someone new.
She told Racked that she was never comfortable
with being famous. "Getting recognized in real life is always
weird, because you never know when it's gonna happen. I can't even tell you how many times I had
to take pictures with people in the bathroom. It's the most awkward thing." She felt like she sold out In a video explaining her departure, Phan
explained that her online persona was much different than her real life identity, and
that she felt trapped by her own vanity.
Her social media was a carefully curated look
at Michelle Phan the brand, not Michelle Phan the individual. That took a toll on her psyche. "Who I was on camera and who I was in real
life began to feel like strangers " "I felt like somewhere along this journey,
I lost myself" Phan said that during one of many sleepless
nights, she watched one of her earlier YouTube clips and was shocked at how much she'd changed. "I've grown to learn how money can buy many
things, like peace of mind, comfort, status.
Anything but happiness." Mental health struggles According to Phan, the biggest reason she
walked away from it all was the toll fame had taken on her mental health. The stress from multiple lawsuits, the pressures
of running her channel, the struggles of her cosmetics line Em, and the glare of the public
spotlight got to be a bit too much for her. She wrote an essay for Teen Vogue stating
that she suffered from severe anxiety and felt like she was going "borderline crazy." She told Racked, "I peaced out because I think I was going
through depression. I don't know because I didn't go to a hospital
or anything or get diagnosed, but I was taking a few quizzes online and I felt really sad
every day.
I was waking up feeling so broken. I didn't know why." Where in the world is Michelle Phan? When Phan disappeared, she didn't just go
dark on YouTube - she also temporarily shuttered her other social media channels, and even
vanished from her own company with no notice. She told Refinery29, "I decided to pack my life into a small suitcase,
and I literally just left. I bought a one-way ticket to Switzerland.
I even had contracts where my team still needed
me. But I had to go." After Switzerland, Phan also visited Egypt,
China, and the Netherlands in an effort to clear her head. As someone who once told Teen Vogue that she
felt "digitally bullied" by online trolls, Phan said the trip was "life-changing" thanks
in part to her decision to avoid social media. "We live in this world where we're so connected,
we don't even give ourselves time to connect with ourselves.
I just had my thoughts, nature, and the stars,
no WiFi or anythig, and that transformed me. It kind of rooted me again, anchored me back
to reality. And in a weird way, time moved by slower. It was beautiful." More than skin deep In April 2017, Phan surprised fans by revealing
to Allure that she barely wears makeup at all anymore other than eyeliner and lipstick
- which are now the only items she sells through her relaunched Em brand of cosmetics.
She explained that she started using makeup
in her teens because she didn't feel attractive without it. By her twenties, she was using it to experiment
creatively. Now, she doesn't need it for either of those
reasons. "I'm different.
I'm changing. I'm more simplified. I know the type of eyeliner I need to wear
to look the way I want to look. So things have become more refined, and I
think that's how my perspective on beauty in general has changed, it's become more refined.".
Across the country, hundreds of thousands of women are facing a new reality. If a girl is performing sexual favors, he would bring her in colored pencils, lip gloss. Where they are forced to navigate worlds of sexual bartering, manipulation, and abuse while finding ways to survive. Theyll definitely use your needs against you.
Sexually, physically, emotionally. They will break you down any way they can. Over the last few decades, women have been making gains in representation in almost every field and industry. Yet theres one part of society where the number of women has exploded and theyre still fighting for basic rights: Prison.
Since the 1980s, the number of incarcerated women has skyrocketed by 700%. Women have become the fastest growing population entering the criminal justice system. Its a $173 billion dollar industry, making it bigger than Target, Uber, and Netflix. Just outside of Portland, Oregon, Coffee Creek Correctional Facility has found a unique way to ease its overpopulation problem: providing beauty behind bars through its cosmetology program.
Thank you. I have to admit, I was skeptical. I knew that beauty had the power to transform, but could it really change how women do time? We went to see who these women were, and what they had to say. The cosmetology program here started in 2002, when Coffee Creek saw a need for female focus programming, and decided to do something about it.
What do you want to do today? Just a trim. The program has become so popular that it recently doubled in size. Fellow inmates make up most of the clients who come in for services provided by the students. Hows that? Yeah.
Everything from hair and makeup, to gels, and even eyelash extensions. I think it looks really good, you did a very
good job The program itself is highly competitive to get into. To even be considered, inmates must have a track record of good behavior and a desire to change. If theres anything Im good at, it will be makeup.
Its certainly true for 34-year-old Candice Altman, a repeat offender at Coffee Creek on drug charges. Some of us made more than one bad decision, but a majority of us are just here feeling bad about the things that we did. We want to get out and be good moms, and have careers, and to be reintegrated. We want that.
The majority of women coming into prison are like Candice, in for a non-violent offense and the primary caretaker of a child under 18. It doesnt look like much now, but its gonna be nice when its done. Theyre also predominantly women of color. This is my third time in prison and so, at every other time its just been hopeless, like wasted time.
For the first time I feel like I just have this goal. This just something, some kind of purpose. Why is beauty especially important for women who are in prison? You kind of lose your femininity. We all wear mens jeans and these terribly fitting blue t-shirts.
They take away all your individuality. They take away everything like that. So I think you taking care of yourself and doing your makeup and fixing your hair, it just helps your whole attitude about being here. Its all affected by that, I think.
Someone might say that women in prison dont necessarily deserve access to beauty products. What would you say to that? Maybe its not a matter of deserving these things. Its a matter of rehabilitating people and giving them hope, and keeping them from continuing the same cycles of coming back. We have a lot of women that are here that we find have co-occurring disorders, so both mental health issues, and alcohol and drug treatment needs, and they find themselves on this path that they don't really have a lot of control in.
Christine views the success of the cosmetology program as proof that an approach tailored towards women works. These women, a number of them, repeat bad relationships, and the notion of their own sense of worth and value is not something they have a great grasp on. Certainly, the programs help the practice. They help the sense of, "I can do this.
I know how to do this." And supporting them in that manner is crucial. Many of the women here at Coffee Creek and across the country come into prison with a history of mental health issues, domestic violence, and sexual abuse that makes their rehabilitation that much more complicated. Programs like this not only provide women with an access point to beauty and self care, but help to bridge the gap of mental health, drug, and social services that are underfunded. Despite the fact that for every taxpayer dollar spent on services, up to five more are saved in recidivism.
Coffee Creek gave me a glimpse into what a prison at the forefront of responding to the influx of incarcerated women looks like. But I wanted to know, how are other prisons across the country responding? I went to visit another program in another prison with a very different environment. Lowell Correctional Facility is one of the largest womens prisons in the country. The officers are underpaid and stretched thin, often at the expense of the inmates.
But theres a bright spot: the cosmetology program. As soon as I walked in I met Kerry, who after serving almost three years for multiple charges, was coming in for a haircut before being released the next day. Why was it important for you to come in today before you get out tomorrow? I mean, it just means everything to have your hair done, and walk out and feel good about yourself as you're re-entering society. When those little things are taken away you don't realize how important they are until you don't have them.
It makes sense, for many women, including myself. Beauty has been ingrained in us by society as an integral part of how we understand who we are. And in prison, where so much is stripped away from you, makeup becomes a lifeline to hold onto. It was clear that this program was doing a lot for these women.
But even in this little sanctuary, they couldnt entirely escape what was allegedly going on beyond these walls. It's what you have to live with, since you are in prison. The problem is the whole structure of the prison is set up in a way that sort of invites abuse. When guards have so much power, and inmates are so powerless, it's just a corrupting situation really.
27-Year-old Amanda Hunter was sentenced
to a year and a day for resisting and battery of a law enforcement officer. She was released in December of 2016. I told the officers, I made a promise I'm coming for heads. I'm telling everything.
The abuse, you know, sexually, physically, emotionally. They will break you down anyway they can. What would happen if you saw and reported an officer? Anything. I mean, they'll take you to lock for it.
They'll threaten your life. Ive heard the stories, you know, of people who overdose on blood pressure medicine. You know, but these people were fearing for their lives and were writing home telling their families, "I'm afraid they're gonna kill me," and then you end up dead. Amanda was referring to the case of Latandra Ellington, an inmate who in 2014 was found dead in her confinement cell at just 36 years old.
The autopsy ruled it a natural death even though toxicology reports found levels of blood pressure medication 7 to 8 times the normal amount. Just 10 days before, Latandra allegedly witnessed an officer having sex with an inmate. Latandra said that when she threatened to report it, the officer threatened her life. The mysterious conditions surrounding Latandras death set off a series of investigations that came out in the Miami Herald.
The reports revealed a culture of abuse by officers, including sexual bartering with inmates for things like cigarettes, sanitary pads, or even makeup. 40-Year-old Natalie Hall witnessed firsthand how the conditions at Lowell opened the door for exploitation. Im not gonna project like I was some perfect model inmate, cause I wasnt. Natalie was sentenced to five and a half years for armed robbery.
She told us that shes been clean since her release since March of 2017, blaming her heroin habit putting her in the wrong place with the wrong people. So these are colored pencils. They're contraband, which means you can't have them. But we still get them.
And you dip it in water and it just comes right off. We would do our eyes with them. Where did you get them? Usually if a girl's performing sexual favors for an officer he would bring her in colored pencils, lip gloss, things like that that she could use for makeup or to sell. She revealed to us that this kind of sexual bartering for makeup was just the tip of the iceberg.
You would have to sit at the window and basically flirt with a male officer for a good 20, 30 minutes just to get just enough toilet paper to use the restroom. They'll definitely use your needs against you. The things that they keep from us, toilet paper, pads. You didnt get tampons, unless you bought them.
See, as inmates, we find a way. When those necessities aren't met, and taken care of, it becomes your primary goal to always see that these things are taken care of. This is your prison tampon. Even if you'll get in trouble for it, you have to get it, and you will find a way to get it.
On Lowells main unit, theres not even walls in between shower heads. So heres the officers station, heres a wall thats maybe four feet, and heres six shower heads where six women shower next to each other. And believe me, the officers watch the whole thing. Did they ever make comments? Oh yeah, I even have text messages.
I miss turning around and seeing those things, you in the shower, ha ha ha. You know you got extra toilet paper that day. Officers have reached out to you since youve been out? Yes. At least four.
Would you be willing to show us those text messages? Sure. I dont care. He was like, "That's good. I still talked about you after you left.
Always turning around and seeing you and those things in the shower because of you being taller than the door and wall. Boy, I miss that. LOL. And Jacksonville isn't too far from me, maybe 40 minutes at the most.
Could we meet up?" What did he mean by those things? My breasts. I really thought he was just like checking in on me. And I think this is when it hit me that all they wanted was sex. It's a situation of power.
How many tampons you get, if any. How many pads you get. Whether you get to your shower or not. Those decisions are all made by guards.
So, you can see how if you get somebody in there who's mean or vindictive, or wants something from you, it's easy for them to make that happen. If a guard wants sex from you, what do you do? You could say no, but they have control over every aspect of your life. While the allegations we heard about Lowell illustrates an extreme version of what can happen when a prison systematically fails
the inmates its responsible for, this type of exploitation and abuse is pervasive across the country. Even Coffee Creek has had issues.
That fact is, until the criminal justice system overhauls the way it treats women behind bars, no prison is immune to these problems. Billions of dollars are being spent in the
name of mass incarceration. But what happens once the inmates are in the system? Without safe conditions to serve their time and the programs to address the underlying issues, women find themselves trapped by bad circumstances and bad choices. Sometimes we just have to get them out of the scenario that theyre in, or the situation that they're in.
They find that they're stronger and smarter than they ever knew they were. Do the women who participate in an educational or vocational program tend to have a lower chance of returning to prison? Participation in programming, in general,
greatly impacts recidivism rates. It is something that the women have just really thrived in. I didnt know how to take care of myself so I always went back in to use drugs and committing crime to support myself.
Has your experience this time been different from the other because of this program? Everyday I build more and more confidence. This program is really is helping me to be able to build that foundation. Not have to depend on nobody to provide what Im supposed to provide for my kids. Its clear that programs like this provide the means to restore womens dignity and self-respect amid the harshest conditions.
Beauty is just one small piece of a complex puzzle, but its one that can change lives. Prison is supposed to be punishment, it's also supposed to be rehabilitation. I needed rehab, not a prison where men degraded me and put me down and abused people. Nobody deserves what I went through.
Nobody. Somebody says that I'm not getting necessities that I need to live life normally, that's not a punishment, that's abuse. If you did that to a child, you're gonna lose your child, you're gonna go to jail. So why is it okay to do that to an adult? Theres no quick fix for a system overwhelmed with problems, but one thing is clear: No one can rehabilitate when theyre fighting for basic needs of survival.
And until then, the criminal justice system will continue to funnel predominantly non-violent offenders into a world that leaves these women worse off than when they went in. Thanks for watching Refinery29. For more videos like this click here, and to subscribe, click here..
- I hope she laughs, at least. Then our job is done here. - Huda Kattan of Huda Beauty is one of the biggest beauty
vloggers in the world. - So, we're gonna try and
recreate the look that she's doing in the tutorial that lasts 35 seconds.
- But the things is, when
she posts it on Instagram, videos are only like
30 seconds to a minute. So, we're only gonna have
30 seconds to a minute to complete this full face look. - I think I'm gonna do
absolutely horrible. - Miss Huda Kattan herself is going to be receiving our videos and judging them to pick a winner.
- I just hope I have enough
time to even try it out. What if I only get through the foundation? - I'm gonna try really
hard because I'm a trier before I'm a quitter. - I'll watch the video now. - Oh, god.
Oh, she's going so fast. Oh, god, that's three. Oh my gosh, and then... She did four and then she did mascara? - I think I spoke too big of a game because now I'm like
wait, I'm overwhelmed.
(Crickets chirping) - No one goes this fast. This is nobody's pace. - God, she... Okay, this is...
How, wait, I'm stressed out. - She has some next
level technique on here. It's gonna take me 30 seconds to even digest what she's doing. - I am a firm believer in
a lip completing the look.
My goal is just to get this onto my lips. - I'm trying to unpack as
many things as possible. - I 100% am not gonna win, we know this. It's like peewee soccer.
I'm gonna play the game anyway,
and maybe I'll get a prize. - We got foundation all over the face and then concealer here,
here, here, and here, okay, at the cardinal directions
on the face, got it. - Momma is stressed. - Alright, I'm ready to go, let's do this.
(Clock ticking)
(intense music) - I wish I had washed my hands first. I'm gonna break out. - Oh my God, this primer is very thick. - What? What? - Wait, what do I do next? - Oh, (bleep).
(Laughs) I'm so sorry this looks so bad. I'm trying so hard. (Laughing) - Gotta get a lip, gotta get a lip. Oh my God, this is...
- What? - Are you kidding me? - No, no, no. (Laughing) (buzzer noise) (yelling)
(buzzer noise) (laughing) - Aw, I got it all on my arm. - It's even on my teeth
too, I managed that. Can a tooth give me an extra point? - Yeah, that was not fun.
Actually, it was really
fun, but do I look fun? Yes, I look incredibly fun. - I made it to the foundation. I could've seen a world where I just did eyeshadow the whole time. I could see a world in
which I would've done that, and I didn't do that.
I made it one step
further, so that was cool. - Well, we all know doing a
makeup tutorial in real time is not possible, but I didn't
realize how impossible it was. Look, I think she looks so beautiful, and I look like a McDonald's. - I truly did think I had an advantage.
It was one of those things
where I was like okay, I think I'm secretly actually
gonna do pretty well at this. Cut to (record scratching). - I'm fine, it's fine. Huda, I tried my best.
- I love you so much. Please give me a good rating. - If this is the SAT, I did
put my name on the test. So, I do get 400 points automatically, and my name is on this.
- Hey, everyone. I'm Huda from Huda Beauty. Today, I'm taking part of the Buzzfeed LadyLike Makeup Challenge. Where basically, I'm in Dubai, we have some beautiful
ladies in California who are actually watching a
makeup tutorial that I did.
This is gonna get real good. - Hey, Freddie, you cute. - ... Huda's products before.
- You can do it, Freddie,
I believe in you. Oh, oh. Oh. Come on, you gotta hurry up.
Oh my God, you can't spend
that much time on eyes. She's cute, I don't know
about the makeup though. Jen, I believe in you. Ouch, why is she hitting herself so hard? You're not supposed to
slap yourself in the face.
Too much time on eyes! Oh, that was so bad, but I still love you. That could be a trend. The whole brow things could be a trend. Come on, Kristen.
We love triers (laughs). Let's do this. I feel like she's gonna win. Oh, yeah, she's not spending
too much time on the details.
Oh, she went too heavy handed. She did too much. We know that type, you gotta do less. Less is more, you don't have time.
You guys are all beautiful. (Laughing) Come on, Chantel. If she does that, she's gonna win. Less is more.
She's got the right idea. Come on, Chantel, come on. Come on, oh, I think you might win. - Oh my God, this primer is...
- Wait, wait.
Wait, why are you doing the color, though? Why are you doing the eyes? Oh, no, this was supposed to
start off good, it's like... Oh, no! Oh, honey, no! The lips, don't forget the lips. This was hilarious to watch. First of all, I don't think
it's actually realistic to ask anyone to do their
makeup in 60 seconds.
Freddie was adorable. What I liked about her
is she didn't go crazy with all the colors on the eyeshadows, and I think that really helped her because then blending wasn't an issue. She basically took the
foundation and was like hitting herself in the face, which was an interesting technique. I kinda feel like it might work sometimes.
I don't know, try it out. Jen was super creative. I loved the whole metallic brow. I thought it was beautiful
the way she did it and the way it kinda came in, but I think she did a good job.
I know it was a lot of
pressure with the timing. Kristen was such a cutie as well. I loved her energy. She was really funny, watching
her as well, she's hilarious.
She just had a really good
personality, good approach to it, which I think mad it really fun. Chantel was really great. I think she started out, in the beginning, I thought she was gonna
win because she said she was just gonna focus on the lip, but then she went for the crazy pigments in the eyeshadows and it was
a little hard to blend, so... This was hilarious to watch.
I kinda wanna try this
challenge myself on myself because 60 seconds is really
insane to ask anbody that. Overall, I definitely
think that Freddie won because she just went a
little more light-handed, and I think if you don't have
a lot of time, less is more. So, go with the lip, you can do that whole slapping technique. I think that will work too,
and then you're good to go.
Thank you, Buzzfeed, so much for letting me be a part of this. This was so great to watch, and
I'll see you guys next time. Bye, guys. (Upbeat music).
- When ya gotta blend, ya gotta blend. - Your makeup, that is. - But what if the only thing you have to blend with is an egg? - It's Ladylike and today
we're playing Beauty Roulette: Weird Beauty Blender Edition! Ah! - The rules are for
this one is that, well, we're putting our makeup
on with these things and, um, what are we doing? - Okay, so here are the rules
for this Beauty Roulette. We're gonna spin the wheel
and when you get an object you have five minutes
- Five minutes.
- To apply your foundation with the object instead of a beauty blender. - Instead of a beauty blender.
- Yeah, yeah. - Mmhmm, that's what I said. - You know, I don't really
like the smell of egg.
I don't want that on
my face, honestly, TBH. - I really want silicone bra insert, just 'cause I feel like
that's easy and sexy? - [Kristin] We haven't washed it so we've been touching it all morning. - Which one do I want the least? - [Kristin] Tennis ball! - Ooh, yeah, I think tennis ball's going to be skin-irritating. Is this a brand new tennis ball, or like a used tennis ball? - [Kristin] It might have
been chewed on a bit.
- [Devin] It was found in the
back of a truck. (Truck honks) - [Freddie] Damn it. (Laughs) - I don't want balled-up shirt, I don't want tennis ball, I
know where these have been - [Freddie] The back of the truck? - The back of the truck. (Truck honks) - [Jen] We found it in
the back of the truck.
- [Freddie] Which truck? - [Devin] No one knows. (Laughs) - The truck where we get all our props. - [All] Spin that wheel! - Whoo! - [All] Aww. (Laughing) - This is dumb! - [Kristin] Yeah yeah yeah, aww! - Oh potato! - [All] Oh! - All right, excellent,
okay, I mean, I'm not mad.
- No, no, no spoon, No spoon, spoon! - [Kristin] This is your
fault, spoon, spoon! (Dramatic music) - No, no! (Laughing)
(shouting) Balled up shirt, what? - I am going to break out. (Laughs) It's okay. Hard-boiled the egg. - Do I do it with the
skin on, or the skin off? - Skin on!
- Skin on, baby, skin on.
- Fine, you guys, fine. - All right, silicone bra insert, woo! - Ah, I hate this game! - This is my face sans foundation, I do still have eye makeup on. Gross, that's for a lucky fan. - Hey, Kristin, oh my
God, Kristin, you won! You won my gross used makeup wipe! - Yay! - Welcome to potato time with Devin.
A show that could actually
exist, if you're interested. It would just be me and a
potato, talking about my life. Probably complaining. - So I got balled-up
shirt, which was Jen's idea I feel really badly for this poor shirt.
How excited are you to
be applying your makeup with, uh, basically a boob? - It feels very fatty. It feels very, comfy. Like a little pillow. Isn't that what boobs are? Just little pillows? Pillows in the night? - We have decided after much discussion that I'm going to be
using this potato dry, I'm not going to be dipping it in, 'cause it's probably not
porous with the skin on and all of us are too lazy
to skin a potato right now.
- You guys got me used,
these are not fresh. You guys couldn't even
hard-boil any eggs for me? You had to buy me these gross-ass, like fucking formaldahyde eggs? - [Devin] Just use the other egg! - This one is just as bad! - Who wore this, whose is this? - [Kristin] We found it
in props, it was in props. - Did you find this in
the back of the truck? (Truck honks)
(both laugh) - I'm glad that we're
using a clean T-shirt. I guess we could take this tag off since we are not returning this! - [Kristin] So I know I
told you that you would have five minutes to apply your foundation - Yeah.
- [Kristin] But actually
you have 90 seconds. - Why do you hate me? - Excuse me? - A full face of foundation? - [Kristin] Yeah! - In 90 seconds? - [Kristin] Yeah! - How you just change the
rules halfway through? - We're done. - All right, well, 90 seconds 'cause Kristin wants to get this video done. (Kristin and Devin laugh) - I get 90 seconds to be a star! - [Kristin] Your time starts now! - Oh God, ooh.
- Aah... - Fuck, okay, shit. - I forgot what I do. - [Kristin] You're wasting time! - Ooh potato is hard! - The thing is because these are processed they don't smell like egg, they don't smell like fucking anything which is actually kind of disturbing, I feel like they should have a smell.
- Oh this is awful. (Laughs) The thing is that I deeply
suspect this is not working, but I have no way of knowing
because my glasses are not on. - [Kristin] It's making
a slight slapping noise. How is it blending? - Terribly! - [Kristin] How do you feel right now? - Gross, I don't feel good.
- I am the only one that got water, 'cause everyone else's
surfaces were not porous. Science. - Honestly, I think it feels better than an actual beauty blender. - [Kristin] How's it feel? - How do you think it feels, Kristin? It feels like I'm knocking
on a door with my face! - I got yolk.
I'm gonna get the other egg. The other egg is wet though. - Kinda feels like a wet T-shirt contest is punching me in the face. You got about 30 seconds left.
- Okay. Whoo, I feel the blood
vessels in my neck popping. - Honestly, I think it feels better than an actual beauty blender. - The problem is the T-shirt
is eating up all the product.
Have you thought about trying
the inside of the potato? - I did but it's just wet and slimy. And also it's hard to
get into the corners. - I'm still, I keep getting yolk! - I hate you, shirt! This is not working at all. - I'm not about to give up on this potato.
- I think it's blending
really well actually. - [Kristin] Okay so you're
actually, this is easy. (Phone chimes) - Shit! Fuck, I, doesn't matter,
I've gotta keep going. Fucking slippery as hell.
- [Kristin] You have five seconds. - I'm doing this for all
the girls who love carbs. - You know what, just, - [Kristin] And, potato down! - That's fine. - Oh, this old face? Does it look like it's full of fiber? 'Cause it is.
- [Kristin ] No, it's starch, just starch. - Oh, well fuck! - This looks like a jar of
peanut butter got murdered. There is easily four
times as much foundation on this shirt as there
has ever been on my face. - I mean that doesn't look half bad.
- [Kristin] I think that
actually looks really good. - [Jen] That looks
pretty decent, actually. That's like surprisingly decent. I went through two eggs
because neither one of them were strong enough to withstand my face.
- [Kristin] Wow, you look great! - Thanks! - [Kristin] I'm mad, you
actually got the easiest one. - [Freddie] I did get the easiest one. My widow's peak area could
use a bit more blending, but aside from that I have no complaints. - Putting foundation around the crevices, the potato did a piss-poor job, but, overall, like if you were to stand seven and a half feet back,
and squint, looks pretty good.
- [Kristin] This looks like shit. Well, look, here's the thing. For science, I helped you all figured out that you should not apply your foundation with a fucking T-shirt. The T-shirt soaks up all the product.
So, you would put it on your face, and then I would wipe it, I would basically be wiping it off. - Not bad, pretty much full coverage, so. That's disgusting. - We've done a video
where we beauty-blended with a boiled egg, which
actually wasn't as bad as I thought, but this was
easier than that, even.
Especially because it
doesn't smell like, feet-ish. - [Kristin] Are you happy
with the potato, or? - Am I happy with the potato? No, I don't recommend using
a potato as a beauty blender! (Thumping) That's what it sounded like
inside of my cheekbones. - This shirt is so
ineffective it truly messed up other parts of my makeup
that were perfectly fine before we started. - I don't mean to toot my
own horn, but uh, beep beep! - This is what, this is
CoverGirl Healthy Elixir? All right, I guess you work for me.
- [Kristin] I like how you're
giving all the credit to the foundation and none
of the credit to the egg. - The egg doesn't
deserve anything from me. The egg tasted horrible. - We finished Beauty
Roulette, and now it's time for our special guest
judge, Miss Kate Peterman! (Cheering) - Oh, thank you, thank you! - I thought it would be Shinzo
Abe, prime minister of Japan.
- He couldn't make it. (Techno music) - [Jen] Okay. - Yeah. - So he sent me in his place.
How am I going to grade this? Believe it or not, I am a makeup expert. Look at how all of my
acne scars shine through, that's highlighter, baby, so. - So first up is Freddie.
- What do you think? - Oh, you already did it. - [Kristin] Yes.
- Oh. (Laughs) I have to guess what you used? - [Freddie] Yeah. - I see a little not blended
in-between your eyebrows. I'd go so far as to either
say it was a hard-boiled egg or a silicone bra insert.
And I think I'm going to
pick, a silicone bra insert. (Chiming) (cheering) - [Devin] You got it! - [Kristin] Wow. - That's an A. 'Cause I also thought it
was a hard-boiled egg.
And that is a certified
beauty blender, right? - [Freddie] Yeah. - [Devin] So says the internet. - [Kate] Devin now! - [Freddie] Devin's turn! - [Jen] Devin the girl. - So it is in fact a les splotchy.
There are just little clumps, which means it's not something that
was good at spreading, which means it was either
absorbent, or, weird. - Yeah, the competition was fierce. - God, I'm going to say tennis ball. - No.
- A potato. - Yes. - (Laughs) I knew it! - Expert! - So with a potato... - Mmhmm, I just want to
remind you, it's, it's firm.
It's like a rock. - Yeah, it's still pretty bad. (Laughing) I'm on the cusp of a C+ or a B-. - Both of those are passing, so I'm happy.
- Yeah, Jen's turn! The edges don't look too
rough, unless you did that so it could be a tennis
ball, if you do it like this, but I'm going to say tomato. - No. - What was it? - It was an egg. - I did not know, dang.
- Yeah, applied evenly, A+. - From Jen, she's going to grade herself! - There you have it. I'd have said B. - So it's an A+! Thank you, Kate.
- No problem, buddy. - Got an A+. - [Kate] All right, Kristin! - My turn! - You said you had the worst one. - Well, the worst is subjective.
- Yeah, so it's either a
T-shirt or a tennis ball. - Not that subjective. - T-shirt? - Yes. - Ding ding ding! - Yeah! - I did in fact have a T-shirt.
It was in fact the worst
thing you could possibly put makeup on with. - Yeah? - Because it absorbed all the makeup. - Yeah. I'm going to be honest with ya.
That is an A- if I've ever seen one. - What? I did not deserve that but I'll take it. - Simply because I think we
have to take into account how hard it was to put the makeup on. - Right, mine was really hard.
- Mine was also very hard. - Yeah!
- Freddie wins. - Freddie won, and as her prize,
she gets to go home at six. - Yay! - That's the right end of the day! - Yeah, I feel like I
win Miss Congeniality because I have the crappiest
one and I still got an A.
Good job me! - Go Kristin! - Yeah, it's always a
sincere round of applause when you have to start it yourself. For yourself. - I feel like Jen and I got
the participation award, 'cause we participated. - Oh, I did, I did that.
- Beauty roulette, wacky
beauty blender edition. - Lady blended. - Lady ended. - Freddie won, bye.
- We here at LadyLike know
that beauty can be hard. - Like plucking your eyebrows for example. That's a devil's ritual and I won't do it. - But we got our hands on a list of hacks from classic Hollywood and
well, we're gonna try `em.
- It's LadyLike and today we're trying old Hollywood beauty hacks. - [Host] Gimme them hacks! - My somewhat common beauty hack that I use is just coconut
oil for everything. I rub it all over my
face and fingers at night and then I sleep like a baby and wake up feeling refreshed and shiny. - I would say maybe an extreme beauty hack is like when I'm in the shower washing my hair, the water is pretty cold.
And it's because it helps my
hair from getting dehydrated. - When I went to prom I
actually set my hair in beer. It was my mom's suggestion,
I would rinse my hair with beer and then like,
rinse it out with water and it made my fine hair
be able to hold curl. - The way I put on my eyeliner
gets a lot of comments.
When I put on my eyeliner I just, lay it on really thick and
I go probably out to myaah. Then it covers everything
it needs to cover and then I just take a wipe
and I wipe it all away. That way I don't have to be more precise when applying it because
everything's covered and I just gotta wipe away
the stuff that I don't want. - None of my beauty hacks are dangerous and none of them are
very surprising at all.
- But I hear, a bunch
of these beauty hacks that we're about to look
at are kind of intense. I hear about it because I'm actually directing this video so... So in front of me I have
a list of 20 fun facts about like, our old Hollywood idols. The beauty tips that kept them fabulous.
But apparently all of these tips will make us say what the fuck. Audrey Hepburn got her
signature doe-eyed look by separating her lashes one
by one using a safety pin. No thank you, why would you willingly put a safety pin right up on your eye? Today I was walking to Rite
Aid to buy some deodorant and a bug flew straight into my eye and I was like, this is how I die. - If you have a compact and a steady hand, go ahead, put a needle right by your eye.
I don't have a problem with that. You wanna do that, that's fine. - Marlene Dietrich insisted on having real gold dust sprinkled on her wigs to make them shine more on camera. Real gold dust, that's luxury.
This is like, a Foxy Cleopatra kinda hack. - Putting table salt in your cleanser and slapping your jawline was the secret to great skin in 1940. Really?
Table salt? - (Laughs) These are funny. - I mean salt, if you want to exfoliate but salt is abrasive.
- Last time I checked putting table salt in any kind of like, open wound, really intensified the feeling of ow. How is it supposed to keep
your skin like young and taut? (Slapping) - Rita Hayworth dyed her hair and endured a year of hairline electrolysis
to look less "ethnic". What type of ethnic?
She looks like a white lady. - Howard Hughes believed slowing down when driving over a speed bump would prevent boobs from sagging.
- Also, Howard Hughes, what
do ya know about having boobs? I'm sure you know about liking boobs. I'm sure you could
write a book about that, but what do ya know about having them? - Uh-uh, I'm tight. - According to a beauty column in 1941 placing a piece of tape between your eyes stops you from frowning. This is basically the old-timey version of when a random man tells
you, you should smile more.
Yeah let's do this one it seems fun. - [Camera Woman] It might be too big. - Yeah, like this? - [Camera Woman] I guess so. - Actor Gloria Grahame
stuffed her upper lip with paper or cotton to
make it appear fuller.
It seems like that would work but would it look ridiculous, maybe? Let's do it, I'm down. - Frances Starr did 20
somersaults every night to keep a youthful complexion
and help with indigestion. Youthful skin, no more gas, let's do it. I don't really know
what a somersault is so, lovely Brittany's gonna
show me how to do it.
- How do you do this at all? Why do I look like an angry baby? - Billie Burke famous for her role as Glenda The Good Witch in Wizard of OZ, swung from her door frame
like a pendulum to stay young. Maybe that's science?
I don't know science. But I do know that I hang
upside-down from a pole often. So I'm actually gonna
put this one to the test.
For beauty! - I feel something. - You can totally see
this if I show any teeth, and the longer it's in my mouth the harder it is to close my lips. - The pants I'm wearing are quite fitted. Not much give so I'm
going to unzip the back to make sure that they don't rip.
I have to do 20 of these? I'm tired. (Laughs) 19 Left. - [Camera Woman] It looks
like a baby Post-it. - Yeah, supposedly it pulls
your face muscles upwards and then you don't wanna frown.
- Does it?
- I guess, I mean I've been smiling a lot so I guess it's working. - You do look actually more smiley. - I know, I can't tell if it's 'cause, it's working or if it's 'cause
I just think this is funny. I don't know? Old Hollywood's weird.
- I only did it for a couple of seconds. Typically I can stay upside-down
on a pole for forever but this is a stop sign. - Really?
- [Camera Man] Yeah. - Wow.
For beauty! - If this is wait it takes to have youthful skin and no gas, I'll pass.
I'll have wrinkles and poop, and shart. - We did it. (Slapping).
- This is what they would do after they cried because the meatloaf wasn't great. (50S pop music) - Today we are trying 1950s beauty tips. - Help. - I don't know anything about the 50s, I know diners, I know milkshakes, I know Grease.
- I know it was an age of conformity. - I think I have some 50s beauty icons I like. - Whenever I see images of the 1950s it's always like, women looking very put together, their hair is coifed, like, it doesn't look like something that was like, an extremely quick process. - I think you were expected to be a housewife who's job was to tend to their husband and have children and like, that's it.
(Rockabilly music) ^- Pond's cold cream, my mama had this. ^She still uses this. ^- That was very 1950s of me. - Wow, this is really working.
- Lipstick came off in just one wipe. 'Cause I hate those things that you have to like, wash your face like, over and over again, like, I'm so lazy I can't do that. - See my problem any time I used this growing up was like, I'd really smear it all, I feel like you'd smear it all over your face. - Tomorrow, I'mma have a pimple.
- I am a little worried about what this is gonna do to my overall skin, like I have combination skin so it's a little dry and a little oily and in all the dry places, I feel like, ahh. (Rockabilly music) ^Time to go under. ^- I'm so excited about this. ^- Me too.
^- [Girl Under Pink Blanket] It's so hot. ^I like it though, it's like a spa. My pores feel scared. - [Girl Under Red Blanket] This is so comforting, I feel like we should have a room like this that we can just go into.
- [Girl Under Pink Blanket] Yes. - Wow. - I feel like a new person. - I do feel like, nice and soft.
- I feel like it opened up my sinuses. - I feel like that combined with the Pond's cold cream it feels like I just did like, a moisturizing face mask. - Was that supposed to like, open our pores? - Yeah so then I guess we're clean after. (Doo-wop music) ^- It's kinda like harm-y, like it's kinda like, abusive.
- I'm already worried 'cause I feel like this to me ^just feels like it's like tantamount to bleach. ^Like, it feels like a very raw soap ^and I feel like my skin is gonna be in shock. ^- When I get facials, the first thing they tell me ^is to not wash your face with the soap you use ^for your body, so this can't be good. - Ow.
My skin on my face gets hot, it will be like (beep). - Exfoliating, I love exfoliating. I love it, it's like, nice and rough. - Going into this, I expected this to feel like sandpaper and I wanted to hate it, but I actually kind of love it.
It seems like, to me, like, a good zero waste exfoliant. (Doo-wop music) ^- So this is like the cucumber of the 1950s? ^We're about to get tea-bagged. - Well it feels nice. - It does feel nice, it smells good too.
Now I want some tea. - This whole routine just makes me feel like I'm being rocked by my mother to sleep. I'm like, I just wanna go to bed now. - It feels really nice, I feel like, this is what they would do after they cried because the meatloaf wasn't great.
- That felt so good, I honestly think it did help with the bags under my eyes. (Doo-wop music) ^- If you could eat this, then I would buy into it ^'cause then it's like, you can do everything with it. ^- Okay so I'm gonna do my arm, what are you gonna shave? ^- I'm gonna shave my little pubescent mustache. - I do appreciate that about them.
They use like one product for everything which is my brand. - I feel the cream getting caught in the razor. - I feel like this is great for probably like, sensitive skin. (50S pop music) ^So this is supposed to prevent you from frowning.
^I guess it works 'cause you have like, something on your forehead so you're like, more conscious of like, what's happening. - I'm really happy that we're getting to a place where women are allowed to have feelings on their faces. - I'm like, getting extra tape 'cause this is like, my five head. - After you like, bath yourself in Pond's cream you just, throw a dash of tape on it.
- It's like Botox, I like it. - I would absolutely not try this. This makes me want to frown. (50S rock music) - It was fun, it was rigorous.
- When you think about all the things that we do to like, feel pretty and feel, I don't know, like, that we're taking care of our skin. Like, I get it, you know, but that is so much work. - It was way too much. I think some of them, I get, like, exfoliating and washing your face or whatever.
Like, I get those and I think I do those still. I think what troubles me the most is the reason why they did it. - Because you're using so few products, it's super cheap. Like, I'm like, it's minimal, good for the environment and good for your wallet.
- I'm sure like, so many of the, you know, skin care steps in beauty routines from the 50s and earlier eras definitely led to like, our routines, you know, 'cause you keep evolving things and you make them better, so thanks ladies, thanks fore mothers. (50S pop music) - If the apocalypse comes and I can't get to a Lush. Like, just bust into Walgreens, steal a crate of Pond's..
Hey guys, it's Ro Today I'm hanging out with my friend Justine Justine: Hello She is amazing I love her. I'll put her links down below Go give her some love Subscribe! All of that jazz You guys requested that I try some Japanese beauty products All of the instructions are in Japanese so I printed off some papers with translations on them Justine: *whispers* oh okay Ro: so we can understand how to do this I'm going to treat you to a day at the spa starting with this first Japanese gadget Justine: it looks like it's sucking your eye out. I mean it kind of actually just looks like an eyelash curler... They're putting that thing everywhere Ro: Lips, side of your face, the unibrow, forehead But it looks like it vibrates You push against your eyelids and exercise the muscles in your face every minute Microcurrents pass through...
[Words start blending together] ...Tech face stretch her face looks like it's curling a bit Justine: Go outside go for a job Ro: You know what I'm scared of Justine: What Are these kinda like those machines that people buy like the shake weight like the vibrations are supposed to work you out or like that machine where it ji- Justine: [laughing] I bought that Ro: Does it work?? Justine: No!! Ro: Oh [both laughing] Justine: It looks like a razor Ro: It does Justine: [razor noises] Ro: Oh, it's going! Oh my gosh Justine: Oh! Ro: Do you want to try it first Stick it over- Justine: Hey come over. Stick this eye suction cup on your eye! It's cool. Ro: this is what friends are for Justine: [mumbling] I mean it doesn't... It's like...
Ro: does it tickle? Justine: this is so... [Laughing] [Ro laughing] Justine: do you feel ten years younger? I do. Ro: let me try my chin [laughing] I will say that the vibrations are very very small. It doesn't like jiggle your face.
Justine: Don't put it on your ear [both laughing] You gotta put it on your lips [Justine laughing] Ro: [sound from lips] You just sit here? Justine: yeah. It says one minute every morning I mean I'm seeing the effects immediately [Ro laughing] I want it to vibrate more Justine: yeah Ro: I want more like [buzzes lips] These are supposed to shape your nose into a desirable shape. Justine: Oh, you got to wear this while you sleep Ro: I think your nose is pretty cute already Justine: Thanks I think yours is too! Ro: Maybe this will give us the extra umph Oh my gosh! This is extremely uncomfortable [Justine: Oh, it hurts] Justine: Oh jeez, oh my God Ro: Do I have a fat nose? Justine, you gotta put them in your nostril [Justine: oh my gosh!!] These are not comfortable Justine: I'm not gonna lie so like I have really bad sinuses and this feels really good. Like I freaking love it Ro: you like this? Justine: yes [Ro: it's painful] I get tension headaches and pressure from my sinuses and it's alleviating all of that Ro: is it really? Justine: This is my new look You're gonna see me at like Vidcon and- Ro: girl, how you gonna sleep in this.
If you're sleeping down like this, you know like this I have to breathe out of my mouth, and then I'll get dry throat. I feel this is making my nostrils bigger Which I don't think is very desirable Justine: No, nuh-uh Ro: All right. Let's do a new one The next gadget we're gonna try is for health It looks like a toy, but it says it's a lung exerciser [Justine laughing] and here's a picture Justine: It looks like she's throwing up. Use ten times a day Ro: ten times a day?! Justine: How are you gonna have time to do anything else? Ro: I don't know, but these are very portable you can just pop them in your purse and bring them out whenever Oh, I'm just exercising my lungs don't worry this will just take a minute [Justine laughing] *screeching sound* What.
Just. Happened. Ro: I feel like it just yelled at us like "girl you're doing it wrong!!" Jutine: "you got this you got this!!" *Screeching sound* [both laughing] Justine: Matty's terrified It's okay. Mommy's alright.
I think *screeching sound* *screeching sound* *screeching sound* [Ro laughing] *screeching sound* * screeching sound* [both laughing] *screeching* Ro: [while laughing] yes! [Laughing] Lung health Justine: ooh I feel a little light headed now I'm feeling real dizzy Ro: I will say that it worked my body a little these are pretty funny Justine: it's fun Ro: next gadget An inflatable face mask it's supposed to defy gravity by holding your face up Do you want to try this first or do you want me to try it first I think you can try it first Ro: okay It's a fact of life as years go by [Justine laughing] oh okay. You're reading the facts things have a tendency to drop. There's still easy way to counter it Thanks to this Facelift belt blow it up And then attach [it] to your face watch TV or relax and read a book even 5 minutes a day are enough for a good stretch stretch Justine: a good stretch? Ro: it's supposed to stretch my face or hold it up. What's going on here? She does not look happy in here.
She looks real squishy [duck noise from Justine] Uh oh Oh, that's feeling tighter. Nice job. That's good. [Justine panting] *squeeking sound* I feel like this is one of those things that wrestlers wear Justine: is that tight enough or do you want it tighter Ro: no I think you need it tighter it's supposed to lift my face this isn't lifting my face [both laughing] this does not feel good! Justine: look at your little chin it's- [starts laughing] Ro: I hate it I don't want to sit in this and watch a TV show Justine: [while laughing] AHA!! Oh.
My. God. You need to see your chin!! Your chin looks like a little baguette!! [Both laughing hysterically] Ro: oh yeah, just put this on and read a really relaxing book Justine: [squealing] lookit!! You're so cute! You're little chin!! Ro: it really does not feel good. Uhhh you gotta try this Justine: do we take this- let me take this off of you Ro: Hold it in place Justine: all right Ro: and tell me when it's too tight Justine: just make it as tight as you can that's nice Ro: ok, because it's supposed to lift [Ro laughing] Justine: I feel like a chipmunk Ro: you have like little chubby cheeks [Justine squeals] Do I look younger I don't really know doesn't she look like a wrestler when the wrestlers are like Justine: I feel sad Ro: you know this how wrestlers do it I will say though if you wear that and like watch a TV show or something I wouldn't want to eat popcorn or anything Justine: That's true use this as an anti-snacking device Justine: do you wanna, popcorn Ro: no I don't want to This is the last beauty gadget that we have to try it kind of looks like one of those heads massagers, but this is for your face She looks like she's in heaven here This is gonna fit on my face? Like this? Justine: I think so Ro: and then you just shove it? Justine: shove it.
OH!!! NO!!! Ro: do I have a fat head? Justine: how does that feel? It looks like your squeezing your face Ro: it says it's supposed to be extremely relaxing Pretend you're at a spa *spa music* And pretend there's spa music playing Ro: okay? Justine: okay Ro: you're lying down would this relax you more? Or is it weird? Justine: I mean I know your doing it so it's weir- [both start laughing] Justine: wait let's try it on our head Ro: there how's that Justine: that's nice Ro: really?! Justine: yeah Ro: this does feel very good I feel like we should be gadget testers Alright that does it for all the Japanese beauty and health gadgets that we have to try today A big thank you to Justine for coming over here and trying these with me I know this was like a weird video we had never done something like this before Justine: it's good it was fun I mean I have never really used any of these things and I was real into the nostril stretcher Ro: I think my favorite one that was the funnest was this one Justine: What if we used them all at the same time Ro: Oh my gosh. Yes. People are like wow They're getting their beauty on *squeeking* Justine: I feel like I'm five years old Anti-aging *squeeking* Ro: Thank you guys for watching We made another video over on Justine's channel I'll put a link down below Go check it out We had so much fun And if you guys wanna see another video you can click up here Justine: or up here Ro: yeah Alright, thanks again you guys bye bye *squeaking* [both laughing].
