In the beauty industry, influencer marketing is everywhere. Did you know over 65% of consumers buy beauty products because an influencer recommended them on social media?
However, influencer marketing is competitive. Especially for beauty brands. That's why having a solid strategy and finding the right beauty influencers for your brand is key.
We’ll walk you through how to partner with beauty influencers who will drive results for your brand. Ready to navigate the competitive world of beauty influencer marketing? Let's dive in.
What is a beauty influencer?
A beauty influencer is a social media content creator. They share content on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and other social media platforms. They focus on cosmetics, skincare, haircare, nails, and other beauty-related topics.
Examples of top beauty influencers
Here are some of the most popular beauty influencers, based on the number of followers.
- Victoria Lyn
Instagram: @victorialyn
Instagram followers: 6.4M
Country: United States
Victoria Lyn has 1.4M followers on Instagram and 5.2M followers on TikTok.
She shares the latest beauty, hair, and skincare trends, along with tips and tutorials on how to achieve different looks with various makeup techniques and hairstyling ideas.
Collaborations
She has worked with 298 brands on Instagram in the past 12 months, including top beauty brands like Charlotte Tilbury, Sephora, NARS, and Victoria Beckham.
Best for brands who…
Are luxury brands in the beauty sector who want to reach people on Instagram and TikTok.
- Nikkie de Jager
Instagram: @nikkietutorials
Instagram followers: 19.6M
Country: Netherlands
NikkieTutorials is a content creator with 19.6M Instagram followers and 8.6M TikTok followers.
She shares content related to makeup, beauty, and fashion. She has worked with 95 brands on Instagram in the past 12 months.
Collaborations
These days Nikkie mostly promotes her own beauty brand, Nimya, but she has mentioned Haus Labs by Lady Gaga, Fenty Beauty, Charlotte Tilbury, and Sephora in her content.
Best for brands who…
Want to reach a lot of beauty enthusiasts, and portray their products in an educational way.
- Marjan Tabibzada
Instagram: @youngcouture_
Instagram followers: 1.6M
Country: United States
MARJAN is a popular beauty and fashion content creator with 1.5 million followers on Instagram and 3.7 million followers on TikTok.
Her content covers a wide range of topics including makeup tutorials, transformations, and product reviews. MARJAN also provides makeup ideas for different occasions like weddings and Halloween. She is known for her expertise in contouring, eyeliner techniques, and DIY beauty hacks.
Collaborations
Marjan has worked with 188 brands on Instagram in the past 12 months. She works with many cosmetics brands including Loreal, Benefit, NYX, YSL Beauty, Tarte Cosmetics, and many more.
Best for brands who…
Want to reach a large audience with fresh, news, creative ideas.
- James Charles
Instagram: @jamescharles
Instagram followers: 20M
Country: United States
James Charles is a US-based content creator with 20.7 million followers on Instagram and 38.5 million followers on TikTok.
James encourages self-expression through artistry and makeup, promoting individuality and creativity.
Collaborations
James Charles collaborated with 144 brands on Instagram in the last 12 months, including Kylie Cosmetics, Benefit, and Tarte Cosmetics.
Best for brands who…
Are open-minded and think outside the box.
- Lina Noory
Instagram: @linanoory
Instagram followers: 2M
Country: United States
Lina Noory has 2M followers on Instagram and 1.2M on TikTok.
She shares fashion and beauty tips, outfit ideas, hairstyles, and makeup tutorials to inspire and help you look your best.
Collaborations
Lina has collaborated with 216 brands on Instagram in the last 12 months. Her brand partners include Charlotte Tilbury, YSL Beauty, Lancome, and Laura Mercier.
Best for brands who…
Are trying to inspire a large audience with educational content.
- Nichole Ciotti
Instagram: @nicholeciotti
Instagram followers: 1.8M
Country: United States
Nichole Ciotti has 1.8M followers on Instagram and 834K followers on TikTok.
She shares hair tutorials, outfit inspiration, and snippets of her family life in the Bay Area, CA. She co-founded @storyluxe and often talks about hair, makeup, fashion, and her brand partners.
Collaborations
She has worked with 98 brands in the last 12 months, including GHD, Dove, and Dyson Beauty.
Best for brands who…
Are everyday beauty brands wanting to reach a wide range of consumers.
What makes a good beauty influencer?
You’ll notice that the influencers in the list have millions of followers and top brand collabs. However, it’s not all about the numbers.
It’s essential to work with creators who vibe with your brand, share your values, and most importantly, have the power to influence your target audience.
Similarly, if you’re a beauty brand, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to work only with typical beauty influencers. Breaking out of that cage and working with influencers from other niches can be an effective way to reach fresh, new audiences.
For example, nail brand Maniko regularly collaborates with Lea-Sophie Jell (@lea_jell_working_equitation). Lea is actually an equestrian influencer. She might not be the most obvious choice as her content is mostly horse-related:
However, Lea has many young, female followers. And working with an influencer from a completely different niche enables Maniko to reach new users.
Thinking outside the box can help you drive more value from your influencer collaborations.
How to find beauty influencers
Let’s explore the most effective (and mostly free) ways to search for beauty influencers.
- Social media research
You can search for creators directly on Instagram, YouTube or TikTok.
Just open Instagram and type in terms relevant to your product or brand. You can then browse through the posts and profiles that come up. Like this, when you search for “hair tutorial":
Go through the results and take a look at basic KPIs like followers and engagement so you can see how big their account is and how engaged their audience is. Then, browse their other content.
Add influencers you like to a collection so you can find them and contact them later. Just click the dots at the top of the post and select “Save.”
There are some limitations to this method, though.
First, there are so many influencers on Instagram, it’s like searching for a needle in a haystack. It’s easier to use an influencer marketing tool that enables you to filter based on what’s important to you, like account size, location, and language.
Another issue is that Instagram’s search is mostly limited to hashtags and text. For example, if an influencer with red hair and freckles posts their beauty routine, Instagram won’t recognize what they look like, just the caption they used. So it’s harder to find what you’re looking for.
That said, searching for influencers directly on social media is better than nothing and can be a good starting point.
- Storyclash AI Influencer search
You can find influencers and creators for free by searching for what you need in simple language with Storyclash AI.
To get started, just open the tool and type in the kind of content you’re looking for. Like “skincare routine” or “hair tutorial.” Or you can search for the kind of creator you’d like to work with. Such as “skincare influencer with freckles.” Or even both:
You’ll find a bunch of influencers matching the description you type in.
To combine this AI-powered search functionality with other features, like filters, check out the full Storyclash platform.
- Free Instagram influencer Search Tool
Use the free Instagram influencer search tool to find the influencers a particular brand works with.
You can type in your own brand to find loyal customers who are already talking about you online. Or you can see who your competitors are collaborating with.
To get started, just enter any brand’s name. Like this:
You’ll see a list of creators, and how many times they mentioned the brand.
4. Storyclash Influencer Discovery
With Storyclash, you can search for beauty influencers across Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.
Let’s say you want to find beauty influencers in the U.S who have at least 100k followers. You’re interested in partnering with creators who share tutorials and educational content.
Type in “makeup tutorial” and use the relevant filters:
Then, you’ll see a list of influencers related to your search. Along with KPIs and a relevance score:
Check out an influencer’s profile to learn more about them. It’s a good idea to consider key performance metrics like follower count, follower growth, engagement rate, and the % of branded content.
You can also check out all their content (including Instagram stories):
And their collabs with other brands:
Then, click “Save” to add the influencer to your shortlist. Or shoot them an email straight away via Storyclash - no need to search for their email address.
6. Product URL Search
If you’re looking to promote a specific product, you can search based on its URL.
Let’s say you’re running a campaign for Fenty Beauty’s concealer.
Just type the URL into Storyclash’s Smart Product Search.
You’ll see a list of influencers suited to promoting that product (generally because they’ve talked about similar products in the past).
5. Lookalike search
Already running successful campaigns? Wish you could find influencers similar to your top performers? With Storyclash, you can.
Let’s say you work with Kendall Jenner. And you want to find creators just like her. Just enter the creator’s name into Storyclash’s Lookalike search. And you’ll see a list of similar creators:
Tips for collaborating with beauty influencers
Here’s how to ensure your collaborations sparkle:
- Think outside the box
Expanding your search beyond the obvious can help you discover new creators. For example, male beauty influencers and creators in the 35-54 age range often have unexpectedly high engagement rates, offering fresh perspectives and tapping into wider markets.
- Don’t fall for vanity metrics
Look beyond just the numbers. A huge follower count doesn’t guarantee engagement or sales. It’s crucial to analyze deeper metrics like engagement rates and audience interaction to truly gauge an influencer's impact.
- Focus on brand fit
An influencer whose content and values naturally align with your brand’s aesthetic and messaging is much more likely to resonate with your target audience, and their followers. So pay attention to their content quality and style (especially the content they have created for other brands).
- Develop a comprehensive brief
A well-crafted brief is your roadmap to a successful collaboration. It should detail your campaign goals, expected deliverables, content guidelines, and any relevant deadlines. Download our free brief template to get a head start.
- Set up a contract
A contract sets clear expectations when it comes to compensation, content ownership, and usage rights. This legal agreement avoids any nasty surprises later and protects both parties’ interests. To get started, use our influencer contract template.
- Use an influencer search tool to find the best influencers
Storyclash can help you find and vet creators, so you can be confident that the creators you partner with are a good fit for your brand.
Take your beauty influencer marketing to the next level with Storyclash
Book a demo today to see how Storyclash can help you find brand-fit creators in your niche.