I’m the kind of person who finds a great youtuber and keeps watching them for years and years. Not much of my subscriptions has changed in the last few years. I’ll occasionally follow new people but soon, I’ll forget to keep track of them. However, in the last couple of months I’ve discovered some new beauty and lifestyle youtubers who are unique, have amazing content and make me want to come back to their channel every time to catch up. I thought I’d share a list of these beauties who not only deserve more followers but also, if you are a fan of channels that are different and don’t just fit into the generic ‘beauty guru’ mould then I think you’d love watching these. Grab a cup of coffee, a snack and settle in because you may have to binge watch after this post!

#1 Violette_Fr

My ultimate girl crush, tbh! She is sweet, sophisticated, a talented MUA, has a beautiful French accent and lives in NYC- the city of dreams. What’s not to love right? Well, I’m not done yet. Her content is very beautifully curated and photographed. She usually takes us to different locations in the city, does certain looks there that are inspired by the place or fit the occasion. She has a unique, artistic touch to her videos and they are filmed from many new angles that is so different from the usual camera, ring light, in your room filming videos kind of setup. I like those too but this channel genuinely gets me excited to watch it like art. Although she uses mostly luxe brands to create effortless looks, when she does use an affordable product, you know it’s a good one! She’s bringing minimal, beautifully done makeup with no instagram brows or instagram anything. Makeup that is done to only enhance our features. In this world of plastic surgery, lip fillers and crazy contouring, this girl inspires women to love their self and love makeup at the same time.

#2 Freya Haley

Those of you who like 70's style and lifestyle, her channel is for you.  Not only does she have impeccable 70’s inspired style which is quite like warm colours, bohemian prints, flared pants, vintage pieces, lot of cool hats etc but she also has a good range of personal and self growth content. I find her a very artistic person as well and always pick up little style tips from her videos. She is also vegan and does a lot of veganism related videos if you’re into that as well. She is from Australia and does pretty inspiring travel videos too. It’s a good mix of everything I like and her editing is so reminiscent of the 70's as well.

#3 Rachel Maksy

She is also known as ‘The Pinup Companion’ which is dedicated to all things vintage. She wears vintage clothes everyday which is so inspiring to see someone following their passion and doing something out of the norm to find pieces from thrift stores to put together looks that remind you of an era. Her beautifully decorated house, her fashion looks, pin curled hair and a dash of red lipstick will remind you of scenes from a 50’s movie and she has the perfect music to go with it too.  I have always been a fan of old Hollywood movies. Even the black and white ones! I watch this channel because I find it so fascinating and inspiring. She’s also quite funny and casual so watching her videos are a breeze.

#4 Gothamista

If you’re interested in skincare or want to get into it but the scientific terms, ingredients such as acids and stuff make zero sense to you then you need to watch her channel. She also uses a lot of Korean beauty and is based in New York so I find it quite helpful to discover new products or just keep track of what’s good and worth getting in the Kbeauty market. Her videos are always short, to the point and there’s no rambling. She has a good mix of western and Korean products in her routines but her beautiful, glowing skin is proof that she knows what she’s doing. I find her voice and videos quite relaxing so it’s something I find myself watching at the end of the day.

#5 Sarah Nourse

Sarah Nourse is a sweet, bubbly, American girl who moved to Europe and her videos are centered around travelling, minimalism, ethical, saving money etc. Her Swiss husband Mathieus is also part of most of the videos and I think he is very intelligent and funny and has some great tips. Although she has just moved back to USA, she has had some great adventures all over Europe. It’s such an amazing channel to inspire you to save money, build capsule wardrobes, fit your life in a suitcase if you want to travel the world and many other interesting topics like that instead of pushing you to buy a lot of things. I know the youtube and blogging industry is so much about consumerism but the fact that they have taken a different direction is wonderful to see and they’ve inspired me to view ‘saving money’ in a different light.

There are a top 5 favourite ladies on youtube and although I say they’re new youtubers, they’re quite well established and what I mean is I’ve just discovered them and have been obsessed with them.  I’ve linked my favourite videos by them as well so I hope you check them out and I hope you fall in love as well x

These days it’s not rare to spot someone with a DSLR camera or an iPhone, snapping away their food, coffee, anything cute and trying to capture a day spent with friends/family or significant other. A few years back, people would have given you funny looks if you spent 5 whole minutes trying to get a picture instead of digging into your delicious meal but these days, it’s more accepted and more often than not people are too busy clicking their own food to notice.

Thanks to social media, it’s bringing out the photographer in everyone while without it a lot of people wouldn’t have even considered having it as a hobby. I like that though. I like that more and more people are getting artistic in their everyday lives and for others, it’s a way to remind them of a nice day. I am no stranger to this phenomenon and I do all of the above. However, I’ve been recently thinking about how much to capture and how much to soak up.

It’s a constant struggle trying to decide whether I want to document a memory that I can enjoy for the rest of my life or do I want to live in the moment and risk not having any pictures to share? I think the question I should be asking is which one of the two makes me happy? When you spend so much time trying to please others – whether it is friends, family or the social media algorithm, I feel like you forget to spend as much time on yourself. Capturing memories shouldn’t only have to be for others, but it can totally be something personal. I can’t help but wonder if I overshare which can take the joy out of it sometimes.

When we usually tell someone about a recent holiday, we immediately reach for our phones and show them pictures. They appreciate them and then move on to the next topic. How about you describe a place that you didn’t capture, share a little experience you had at that spot and leave the rest to their imagination? I feel it’s more engaging and a bit more personal. I want to have more conversations of that kind which inspires someone to travel to that exact place and see what unique experience it brings them. Conversations that leave people wondering about that place long after the catch-up.

Sometimes I just want to feel the breeze on my face, smell the ocean air, listen to the rustling of leaves, watch the sky go bright pink and not feel guilty about not having captured it. I want to wear a very pretty dress and remember how it made me feel instead of how many likes it got. I want to celebrate the little milestones without everyone’s approval because I am proud of myself and sometimes that is enough. I want to cherish these little things and not have anything else on my mind. I’m sure you’re thinking some people can absolutely do both – I have to agree but personally, I’m looking for a slower approach to life. I will still attempt to capture my life - the important and beautiful bits but also let myself be completely involved with experiences instead of thinking ahead all the time.

Here’s to enjoying more ice creams over letting them melt until I’ve got a perfect shot of them and to being spontaneous and recognizing moments that are meant to be just mine.

A gap year is quite common for someone who has just finished high school and has not started college however it’s  a taboo when it comes to mid college or post college gap years. Once you’re in the game, you’re expected to become a career focused person without much thought given to what you actually want.  In some societies, taking a gap year in the middle of college is considered a blunder, like you’re going to screw up the rest of your life if that gets on your academic records. I grew up in a society like that.

Taking a gap year in the middle of a course was unimaginable even when I felt overwhelmed or needed to rethink some parts of my life.  A part of me wanted to get over with it but a part of me also wanted to slow down. Although I am happy to have finally finished my undergraduate study this April, I think I’ll give the gap year a chance now.