Michelle Phan has urged beauty influencers on YouTube to be honest about when they use filters.
The 34-year-old makeup artist – who amassed a following of almost 9 million by sharing beauty tutorial videos before founding the multimillion dollar cosmetics line EM Cosmetics – thinks that YouTubers should notify viewers that their appearance has been altered by a filter.
She said: “I’ve been trying to get back on YouTube, but I’m not using any beauty filters on my recent videos. I even have a disclaimer saying I don’t use it. I would say 100% of beauty YouTubers [use filters], unless they make a disclaimer. I know Katie Jane Hughes doesn’t use any beauty filters, which is great. It’s super refreshing. But most, if not all of them, use beauty filters. It’s subtle, but you can see it. I know the ones who are using them, which can look really natural.
“We can try to at least normalize, or even let people know, Hey, I’m using a beauty filter.”
The businesswoman then went on to claim that using a disclaimer could make the “biggest difference” for anyone feeling self-conscious when they watch a beauty video, reminding fans that how someone looks in a video is not true to life.
