The Philippine Online Chronicles

Lauren Luke never went to makeup school, nor did she expect to become a celebrated makeup artist. But 18 months after she uploaded her first makeup tutorial on YouTube, the 29-year-old single mom became an Internet sensation and award-winning newcomer to the beauty industry.  She has a 300,000-strong cult following in her YouTube channel as well as her own makeup manual, video game avatar, and makeup line named after her.  Available in all Sephora stores and through her website, By Lauren Luke makeup palettes are designed to replicate the color-coordinated makeup looks her YouTube tutorials are famous for.

Humble beginnings

Life wasn’t always this glamorous for the self-taught makeup artist.  When she was a young girl, Lauren was bullied mercilessly because of her looks. To boost her self-esteem, she turned to makeup and learned to recreate various looks she saw on music videos, TV shows, and magazines. Although her makeup skills did not do much to help her fit in, her love affair with color awakened a passion that would eventually grab the attention of a New York-based company called Zorbit. But this was to come several years later.

Lauren dropped out of school at the age of 15 when she became pregnant with her son, Jordan.  To make ends meet, she took a job as a taxi dispatcher but soon grew tired of its antisocial hours and the overall nature of her work.  Lauren quit her job and set up an eBay store where she sold makeup and posted photos of her own looks to entice customers.  After amassing a small customer base, she received several requests asking her to demonstrate how she created the looks she would post.

On July 22, 2007, her first tutorial went live on YouTube.  She chose the username Panacea81 because of her affinity with the Greek goddess of the same name, and because she was born in the year 1981. Lauren was worried about what people would say and think after seeing her videos but to her amazement, she received hundreds of encouraging comments and thanks. More tutorials soon followed, and each amasses thousands of views and hundreds of comments.  Today, her YouTube channel has around 300,000 followers.

By Lauren Luke Cosmetics

In 2008, barely a year and a half after Lauren uploaded her first tutorial, the American company Zorbit offered to fly her to New York for an all-expense-paid business trip to discuss the possibility of launching her own cosmetic line.  This makeup line was called By Lauren Luke and launched on the Internet and Sephora on April 2009.  The debut collection features five color-coordinated palettes:  My Smokey Classics, My Vintage Glams, My Fierce Violets, My Sultry Blues, and My Luscious Greens. Each palette costs $37 and includes three eye shadow colors, two shadow primers, two lip colors, one blush, and black eyeliner – all hand-picked and put together by Lauren herself.  When purchased, each palette comes with a My Glossy Lips lip gloss, which is only available in a single color at the moment.  And just like in her old eBay days, Lauren created looks to inspire her customers. Only this time, each look comes with a complete makeup tutorial.

By Lauren Luke cosmetics is available at Sephora stores in the United States, and can be purchased at http://www.bylaurenluke.com. As of this writing, however, only residents in the United States and Canada can order the palettes online. Lauren recently concluded a road tour to meet her fans, promote her makeup line, and encourage girls to experiment with color and use the transformative power of makeup.  Despite its commercial success, By Lauren Luke continues to be an affordable makeup line spearheaded by an approachable woman whose only dream was to reach out to other girls just like herself.

Screen cap of By Lauren Luke Cosmetics taken from bylaurenluke.com.