Top 15 Most Powerful Beauty Influencers of the Year, Revealed
James Charles, Bretman Rock, and Yuya take the crown as the top three most influential beauty gurus
20 January 2022
Cosmetify ranked 15 of the world's most influential beauty influencers, taking in account not just how many followers these YouTube and Instagram beauty gurus have, but also how much money they could be earning from sponsorships and collaborations.
Keep scrolling for the top 15 list, curated based on their YouTube subscribers, estimated earnings per YouTube video, Instagram followers, and estimated Instagram earnings per post.
1. James Charles
James Charles rose to the top spot of the most influential beauty gurus in the world, with 2.5 million YouTube subscribers and 24.4 million Instagram followers. The makeup expert has a combined total of almost 50 million followers, despite getting involved in several controversies in the past few years.
2. Bretman Rock
Filipino-American makeup influencer and designer Bretman Rock has seen a following of over 18 million on Instagram, and 8.88 million on YouTube. Since his early viral days on the now-defunct app Vine, Bretman has starred in his own Reality TV shows, won several influential awards, and collaborated with major brands.
3. Yuya
Mexican beauty vlogger and YouTuber Mariand Castrejón Castañeda, aka Yuya, has a combined Insta and YouTube following of over 41 million people.
4. Mari Maria
Mari Maria is a Brazilian makeup and beauty guru on YouTube and Instagram who now owns her own makeup brand.
5. Jeffree Star
Another long-established beauty influencer who's seen steady popularity in 2021 is Jeffree Star, CEO of his namesake cosmetics company.
6. Nikkie de Jager
Nikkie de Jager, better known as 'nikkietutorials', is the beauty guru behind hundreds of viral YouTube makeup videos. She has over 1.5 billion views on the platform, and kickstarted the viral 'The Power of Makeup' beauty trend.
7. Zoe Sugg
British YouTuber, writer, and lifestyle influencer Zoe Sugg remains one of the biggest names in the UK's vlogging and beauty scene today. In the past year, her content has seen a shift towards family and motherhood due to her pregnancy.
8. Nikita Dragun
Nikita Nguyen, best known as Nikita Dragun, is a YouTuber, make-up artist, and Instagram model who also recently starred in a Netflix Reality series about influencers.
She first gained attention in 2015 for her make-up tutorials, and has since grown into a multi-platform beauty and fashion influencer. Nikita Dragon remains in the top 10 despite a few online controversies.
9. Camila Coelho
Brazilian makeup artist, vlogger and entrepreneur Camila Coelho got her start in the beauty and fashion industry as a YouTuber in the early 2010s for her makeup tutorials.
10. Bianca Heinicke (Bianca Claßen)
Bianca Heinicke, better known as BibisBeautyPalace, is a German fashion, lifestyle, and beauty YouTuber where she has over 5.9 million subscribers.
11. Pony Makeup
Park Hye-min is a South Korean makeup artist and beauty YouTuber known professionally as Pony, Pony Park, Pony Syndrome, or Pony Makeup.
She has over 347 million views on YouTube and has been credited for popularising South Korean-style makeup on the platform. Pony was also listed in Forbes Asia's 30 Under 30 for her beauty career.
12. Rachel Levin
Known for her YouTube personality as RCLBeauty101, Rachel Levin is a beauty guru and content creator.
13. Safiya Nygaard
Previously a common face on Buzzfeed videos, Safiya Nygaard left the company and started her own YouTube channel, quickly gaining popularity as a makeup, beauty, and lifestyle content creator.
14. Jaclyn Hill
Jaclyn Hill is a self-taught make-up guru, YouTube personality, and entrepreneur. Ever since her videos catapulted her into a popular name in the American beauty industry, her fame allowed her to collaborate with makeup companies and even build her own beauty brand.
15. Bethany Mota
Bethany Mota is a YouTuber who shares content on fashion, style, beauty and music. She has previously collaborated with major clothing brands in the US.
