Nikkie de Jager, better known as NikkieTutorials, has become one of the most recognized faces on YouTube in recent years, but her career as a vlogger dates back longer than some fans may realize.
The Netherlands native joined the video-sharing platform in 2008. She was 14 years old at the time and decided to get into the makeup industry after admiring Lauren Conrad’s eyeliner in an episode of The Hills.
“I saw [YouTuber] Sandy Gold and she did ‘Wake Up and Make Up,’ and she literally filmed herself getting out of bed to do her makeup to look like Lauren Conrad. I was obsessed,” NikkieTutorials recalled to HelloGiggles in February 2017. “I was like, ‘What is this? And I want more.’ So I found this entire world of beauty gurus doing tutorials, which was really small back then. That’s when I started practicing, going to the drugstore, getting stuff — and that’s where it all began.”
Two years later, NikkieTutorials began taking makeup classes and eventually became a professional artist. She became a viral sensation in 2015 with her video “The Power of Makeup,” which inspired countless fans (including Kim Kardashian!) to record their own vlogs showing their faces with and without cosmetics on.
“One of the main inspirations behind ‘The Power of Makeup’ was bullies, and the one thing I believe in is that makeup is not just society, it’s for you,” she told Glamour UK in August 2018. “It’s for making yourself look amazing and whoever makeup-shames has more issues than you do. Wear your wing and do what the f–k you want in life. Keep going and keep believing and do what makes you feel good. And when you feel good and get to the point where no one can take that from you, then that feeling will the best feeling.”
While the vlogger continues to make YouTube videos these days, she has also scored some major gigs away from her computer screen. In January 2019, Marc Jacobs Beauty announced that she would serve as the brand’s global beauty advisor, which allowed her to work in product development and share her expertise on the company’s social media channels. She has also teamed up with Maybelline and Ofra.
NikkieTutorials came out as a transgender woman in January 2020.
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