When Carli Bybel posted her first video to YouTube in 2011, people in her hometown of Marlboro, New Jersey “were like, ‘What are you doing?’” she recalled.
At the time, Bybel was 20-years-old and doing makeup as a side hustle. “I would charge $20,” she said. Her clients always wanted to know how she’d done the makeup she wore to gigs, so she found herself handwriting detailed tutorials. Eventually, she decided to film herself doing her makeup, which was not the widespread, normalized phenomenon it is today. “Michaelle Phan was making videos,” Bybel said. She never imagined she could make money from the videos she made.
Now, a decade later, Bybel is a new mom and has amassed over 5.8 million subscribers on YouTube and 4.7 million on Instagram. She’s expanded beyond makeup videos. For example, she’s moving soon and told Glossy that she plans to create content around her move. Though the social media landscape has changed since 2011, Bybel said she will always remain loyal to YouTube, because it’s where she got her start and provides a forever home for longer-form content.
On May 20, she is releasing her second collaboration with makeup brand Il Makiage, which is a seven-piece line of celestially-inspired makeup — the full set will be available for $149. (In addition to Bybel’s first collaboration with the brand, she has also worked with BH Cosmetics and Anastasia Beverly Hills on collaborations.) She introduced the collection to her followers with a detailed YouTube video on May 13. It includes a face palette, two lipsticks, two brushes and two lip liners.
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Of the collection, Bybel said the face palette is a standout. “I’m especially proud of the Moonstruck Palette because it includes a combination of baked and pressed, which is my secret for the perfect face routine,” she said. The palette features a baked bronzer and baked blush, as well as both baked and pressed highlighters, and comes in three shades to accommodate all skin tones. The palette offers Bybel (and its users) a travel-friendly compact that combines the essentials: “Whenever I pack my makeup bag or travel, I always end up forgetting one of my favorite products. Having them in one place makes life that much easier,” Bybel said.
The brand collaboration allowed Bybel to be involved in developing formulations, which she called her favorite part of the process, as well as designing the packaging. She said she likes working with Il Makiage because she trusts the brand: “I care so much about the quality of ingredients in the products I’m putting on my skin, so it was important to me to incorporate ingredients like jojoba oil and mango butter, which deliver skin-care benefits.”
