How One Woman Embraces Her Anxiety to Help Others Feel More Beautiful
- 8 years ago
Admittedly, I didn't know too much about Lauren Elizabeth when she was booked on Pretty Unfiltered, other than that she had over one million subscribers on YouTube and, according to our internal POPSUGAR trending emails, that one of her Coachella photos was a top trending picture during the festival.
So I had to do some digging. With YouTube stars, you don't have to look far - just go to their channel and watch a few videos; you'll end up learning everything from their astrological sign to their first kiss and even their most embarrassing moment. You might witness them partaking in insane challenges, like eating cinnamon, or learning their go-to makeup look. With Lauren, she does have the makings of a typical YouTube channel: she talks directly to the camera, she spills real-girl stories, and she has her trademark saying that she announces at the beginning of each video: "Hello, beautiful human beings of the internet, I'm Lauren Elizabeth, and . . . " then she launches into something charming or hilarious and her name flashes on the screen. Once that happens, you've entered the world of Lauren.
But what's different is that, plenty of times, YouTube doesn't feel as authentic as it claims to be. People might share "real" issues, but half the time, it appears that they're only oversharing for views or for sympathy, not because they want to help their viewers. YouTube is a community of regular people who can reach and relate to millions of other people and become stars because of it - which is pretty cool. But sometimes, it can feel really inauthentic.
Not with Lauren. She's a beautiful girl to start, but her good looks aren't why people love to follow her. She's self-deprecating, and you can tell she doesn't take herself too seriously, which is extremely charming, and she talks about issues that people can learn from. She's explained to her viewers about her struggles with depression and her anxiety, not only as a way to express herself but also to help them accept their own mental illnesses. At the same time, she'll teach you how to make a seasonal salad with more fervor than some people have toward their day job, and she can be seen walking down red carpets like she owns the place. She's your best friend who happens to do really cool things for a living, like attending the Billboard Awards, acting in movies, and creating her own lifestyle app. It's really not hard to understand why she's got legions of fans who want to know everything about her: she's just that likable.
I got to experience this all firsthand on the show; interviewing Lauren wasn't only easy, it was fun! She talked about a subject that's heavy and deserves attention, but she made it enjoyable to talk about and wrapped it up by delivering a beautiful message. It's not easy to talk to someone for a matter of 10 minutes and forget you're on camera for all of it, but she made it easy.
Check out Lauren's story in this week's Pretty Unfiltered, be sure to download her new app, and let me know in the comments who you want to see on the next episode!
Kirbie Wearing Rebecca Minkoff Dress
So I had to do some digging. With YouTube stars, you don't have to look far - just go to their channel and watch a few videos; you'll end up learning everything from their astrological sign to their first kiss and even their most embarrassing moment. You might witness them partaking in insane challenges, like eating cinnamon, or learning their go-to makeup look. With Lauren, she does have the makings of a typical YouTube channel: she talks directly to the camera, she spills real-girl stories, and she has her trademark saying that she announces at the beginning of each video: "Hello, beautiful human beings of the internet, I'm Lauren Elizabeth, and . . . " then she launches into something charming or hilarious and her name flashes on the screen. Once that happens, you've entered the world of Lauren.
But what's different is that, plenty of times, YouTube doesn't feel as authentic as it claims to be. People might share "real" issues, but half the time, it appears that they're only oversharing for views or for sympathy, not because they want to help their viewers. YouTube is a community of regular people who can reach and relate to millions of other people and become stars because of it - which is pretty cool. But sometimes, it can feel really inauthentic.
Not with Lauren. She's a beautiful girl to start, but her good looks aren't why people love to follow her. She's self-deprecating, and you can tell she doesn't take herself too seriously, which is extremely charming, and she talks about issues that people can learn from. She's explained to her viewers about her struggles with depression and her anxiety, not only as a way to express herself but also to help them accept their own mental illnesses. At the same time, she'll teach you how to make a seasonal salad with more fervor than some people have toward their day job, and she can be seen walking down red carpets like she owns the place. She's your best friend who happens to do really cool things for a living, like attending the Billboard Awards, acting in movies, and creating her own lifestyle app. It's really not hard to understand why she's got legions of fans who want to know everything about her: she's just that likable.
I got to experience this all firsthand on the show; interviewing Lauren wasn't only easy, it was fun! She talked about a subject that's heavy and deserves attention, but she made it enjoyable to talk about and wrapped it up by delivering a beautiful message. It's not easy to talk to someone for a matter of 10 minutes and forget you're on camera for all of it, but she made it easy.
Check out Lauren's story in this week's Pretty Unfiltered, be sure to download her new app, and let me know in the comments who you want to see on the next episode!
Kirbie Wearing Rebecca Minkoff Dress