YouTuber star Mariale Marrero to introduce beauty collection
Influencers don’t only move the sales needle for beauty brands they tout. With consumers’ tuned into their every move; more of the social stars are launching their own cosmetics. The latest to do so is Mariale Marrero, a Venezuela-born YouTube star who is releasing her own lip kit bearing her name.
She joins others such as Jaclyn Hill, who is behind a Morphe eye shadow palette, and Kandee Johnson, who served as an authority for two nail color collections for SinfulColors.
Marrero has multiple English and Spanish-language social platforms commanding more than 10 million followers including three YouTube channels, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Her video announcing the lip kits had has over a million and a half views in a week.
She teamed with makeup brand IGXO Cosmetics to translate her favorite lip looks into three lip kits — Karma, Bom Bom and Tako. Sold on her own site, MarialeMarrero.com, the kits retail for $14.50.
“The lip kits are very girly…very positive and bubbly,” said the effervescent Marrero in an interview with WWD, adding she was involved in everything from the package design to the color choices. “I’m a biologist, so I’m comfortable working with formulas. It was important for me to develop a line of lip wear that could go with me everywhere, from day to night, for all occasions.”
One issue she wanted to address with her lip products was to make a product that hydrates because she feels most products on the market dry lips out. Marrero hopes to expand into other beauty categories and uses immediate feedback from followers for future ideas.
Marrero started her YouTube channel in 2010 in Venezuela to serve what she saw as a neglected audience. She moved to the U.S. with her husband in hopes of finding better income opportunities, eventually settling in Los Angeles. With her Spanish-speaking YouTube channel growing in popularity, she added an English channel — partially to boost her grasp of the language but to broaden her scope. The English channel, which just hit one million followers — there are 5.8 million across her two Spanish channels — in particular has been fertile for beauty.
“I’m a lover of makeup,” she said, noting she feels the impact of influencers will expand. “Who wants to spend money on cosmetics they aren’t happy with when they get home. You can get authentic reviews from someone who you feel is your best friend,” she said. “They [bloggers and YouTubers] aren’t going away.”
While it might look easy, Marrero said the perfect video or Instagram post takes great effort. “Not everyone can do it and some give up if they aren’t successful right away, they give up,” she said. She also tweaks her content based on the platform.
“My fans know the brands I love because I use them all the time,” she adds. “Smashbox Photo Finish Primer is in every one of my videos,” laughed Marrero, who has collaborated with a long list of beauty companies including Smashbox, L’Oréal, MAC and Pantene.
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