Your Vote Could Help Us Win $10,000!
Q&A with beauty influencer ThaTaylaa
Genesis has been selected as one of five nonprofits from across the nation to participate in #BeautyWishes2019, an annual campaign benefiting women and families overcoming abuse, addiction, homelessness and poverty. Through the campaign, we have already received thousands of new beauty products to distribute to our clients who have experienced domestic violence, and we also have the opportunity to win $10,000 through a two-week voting competition taking place now through March 1. Viewers can vote for the shelter of their choice every day through March 1 by visiting www.projectbeautyshare.org/beautywishes. (If you take one minute to vote now, you could help us win $10,000 for women and children who have experienced abuse!)
Beauty Wishes is a co-creation of Project Beauty Share®, a nonprofit that provides personal hygiene, cosmetics, and beauty products to women’s shelters, and YouTube beauty influencer ThaTaylaa (Taylor). ThaTaylaa uses her social influence of nearly one million fans to bring awareness to the mission of Project Beauty Share and the critical work of organizations across the country that are helping marginalized women get back on their feet. To help our audience understand a little more about ThaTaylaa and her involvement with Project Beauty Share, she was kind enough to participate in a Q&A session with us!
1) How did you first get involved with Project Beauty Share?
I first found Project Beauty Share through the comments on my YouTube channel when I was looking for local non-profits to get involved with. I started researching them and loved what they stood for, and ended up getting on the phone with Julie Farley, the founder of Project Beauty Share, all within about 24 hours. I could hear Julie’s passion through the phone, and was instantly drawn to her and their mission, and wanted to get involved.
2) From starting your YouTube channel seven years ago, through exploding in popularity with your 15 Days of Foundation, to now, can you share a little bit about how your life has changed?
My channel has had pretty steady growth over the past 7 years (in comparison to some channels that kind of “blow up” overnight), and it’s been a lot of consistency and dedication. When I launched 15 Days of Foundation, I thought it would be a fun one-time thing to try out since I love trying new foundations, but viewers got so invested in the series and excited about it that I turned it into an ongoing series. I launched the series when I had cystic acne, so I think a lot of people with skin issues could relate, and liked tuning in everyday to learn about a new product.
I think around the second or third series, I realized that I could take the energy and excitement surrounding the series and turn it into something impactful, which is where Project Beauty Share came in. When you’re given a platform and a community who is watching and listening, I think it’s incredibly important to use that for positivity and change. Project Beauty Share’s mission was a perfect fit for my beauty-centric audience, and I realized that there are so many people who want to give back — they just don’t know where to start.
Partnering with Project Beauty Share for 15 Days of Foundation has also given me a sense of purpose, and has been a good added challenge in my career. This campaign takes about 6 months to plan and there are so many different moving parts, so it’s definitely a commitment and so many amazing people volunteer their time and skills to make it happen. We’re so grateful for everyone’s support and are so excited to see where it can go from here!
3) It is obvious how much your #Baerrito fam loves and adores you! Can you tell me a little bit about how the support and love of your fans keeps you going through hard times? Are there any positive or interesting stories you can share about interacting with or getting to know your fans?
I get the most amazing messages from the #baerritofam every day, but I don’t think people understand that the love and support truly goes both ways. Even though I don’t personally know each subscriber, I depend on their words and encouragement to keep going, especially dealing with chronic pain. I’ve had the opportunity to talk with so many people with similar health struggles who can relate and make me feel not as alone. YouTube has been such a blessing in disguise for so many different reasons, and I never could have imaged some of the ways it has positively impacted my life when I started making videos while in college 7 years ago. My favorite stories are actually when subscribers actually recognize my dad… he loves the attention and I usually get a photo like this one: https://twitter.com/MickiMChef/status/990372749280358400