SUPERSTARS YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF
THE stars of the advertising photoshoot are, without doubt, exquisitely made up and expertly groomed. But for all their polish and poise, one question remains: who on earth are they?
Cosmetics company L’Oreal released this photograph recently to launch a new celebrity-led charity campaign in partnership with The Prince’s Trust. Yet the celebrity turn-out is conspicuous only in its absence. To anyone over the age of 25, that is.
Granted, Helen Mirren and Cheryl Fernandez-Versini are in there (Cheryl, of course, seizing the moment to ‘launch’ that long-concealed bump), and at a push readers might recognise reality-television-starturned-pop-singer Louisa Johnson and models Katie Piper, Neelam Gill and Jada Sezer. But everyone else? You’ll be showing your age if you admit to not having a clue.
But this is, of course, all a very deliberate and clever marketing ploy. For these unknowns are, in fact, what constitutes ‘famous’ nowadays.
The younger generation are less likely to identify with TV, sport and music stars (or, indeed, the A-list ambassadors at L’Oreal’s disposal) than they are with fashion, beauty and lifestyle bloggers, video bloggers and ‘influencers’.
All of these ‘stars’ have enormous followings on social media — a cumulative 10.2million followers, which equates to more than double the Irish population — making them an instant lure to the generation L’Oreal has in its sight.
The dramatic shift in the celebrity landscape owes much to YouTube. Little over a decade since its launch in 2005, it is said that less than a quarter of 15 to 16-year-olds now watch conventional TV as it is broadcast.
Instead, they prefer to watch online, spending up to five hours a day on the internet, with YouTube the most popular destination.
By SIGNING up a selection of diverse youngsters, L’Oreal immediately appears inclusive and empowering — helpful when you’re trying to sell make-up with the message that it boosts a woman’s confidence.
L’Oreal also knows the importance of using youth to sell its products.
While mainly middle-aged women buy its reasonably priced offerings, marketing experts say that being seen to have captured the zeitgeist has the subliminal effect of making products seem more glamorous, and therefore desirable, to women of all ages.
So who are the very modern role models taking over from the A-list? Here’s Femail’s guide, starting from the left . . .
1. GARY THOMPSON
SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS: 30,000 A MAN whose unique selling point is wearing make-up, Gary produced wildly popular YouTube beauty videos inspired by his own tortured adolescence.
‘I felt different when I was growing up because I loved beauty, and my friends all loved football,’ says Gary, 26, who started experimenting with cosmetics as a teenager.
‘I would always carry make-up wipes in my bag because I was scared of people judging me.’
2. CHEZ RUST
SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS: 240,000 CHEZ, 25, launched his fashion blog last February after strangers on social media site Instagram asked where his clothes came from. ‘With my passion for dressing well, general wellbeing and creative ideas, I believe this blog is the perfect way for me to bring inspiration to anyone looking to transform or tweak themselves,’ says Chez, who boasts a tattoo saying ‘dream’ on his forearm.
‘From breaking down outfits to tips on maintaining a beard to diet and nutrition, together we can create something special.’
He exists on a ‘strict’ diet of chicken, rice, vegetables and water and updates followers on his jaunts to luxury hotels around the world.
3. KAUSHAL
SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS: 1.6 MILLION OF INDIAN descent but brought up in England, Kaushal, 28, (seemingly too famous for a surname) started blogging about beauty at university.
‘I thought I had nothing to lose,’ says Kaushal, engaged to a selfstyled mind coach called Vex King.
‘It wasn’t until a few years into blogging that I thought, why not start YouTube videos — and I haven’t looked back one bit!’ Kaushal, who quit her job in public relations after three years of blogging, attributes her success to her ‘genuine’ personality.
‘Always stay positive about your dreams,’ she advises.
4. LOUISA JOHNSON
SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS: 840,000 YOU may (just about) recognise 19-year-old Louisa Johnson as the 2015 winner of the X-Factor.
While she hasn’t yet released her debut album, she’s constantly posting on social media — whether it’s about Twitter trolls or how she’s shrugging off pressure to behave or look a certain way.
Latest posts include her experiments with purple hair dye and leggy shots of her larking about with friends.
5. JORDAN BONE
SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS: 185,000 AFTER a car crash left Jordan, 26, tetraplegic aged 15, she launched a beauty video diary in a bid to hang on to a part of her identity — ‘to be the girl in the wheelchair wasn’t my plan’.
Yet Jordan kept her tragic past secret from viewers until August 2015 when, in response to online trolls, she made a video called ‘My Beautiful Struggle’, which explained why she found it hard to use her hands to apply cosmetics.
The post went viral, with more than five million views.
Her refusal to kowtow to her disability struck a nerve with viewers, and her status as a role model was consolidated.
6. EMILY CANHAM
SOcial MEDIA FOLLOWERS: 600,000 FASHION and beauty video blogger Emily, 19, started posting pictures of her outfits online while still in school.
‘I gained an amazing audience of young girls on Instagram who then encouraged me to start a YouTube channel. And here we are!’
Her meteoric rise is due in part
to dating fellow vlogger Jake Boys, 21, for two-and-a-half years, making the pair the Posh and Becks of the teen digital world.
Fans were heartbroken when they split up earlier this year, sharing simultaneous blank images on their Instagram accounts to symbolise their sadness in a very modern manner.
Emily says she’s still in the process of ‘healing’.
7. AMENA KHAN
SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS: 521,000 BULLIED during adolescence on account of her acne, Muslim Amena, a 33-year-old mother of two, was a biology teacher with an uncovered head of bright pink and blue hair before she went on maternity leave in 2009.
During this time she ‘connected’ with her faith and decided she wanted to wear a head scarf after all, as well as post videos discussing the most creative ways to tie it.
Her YouTube tutorials have proved so popular that Amena now presents accompanying make-up tutorials as well as selling the hijab designs she creates.
8. MARCUS BUTLER
SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS: 5 MILLION THE Kingpin of vloggers, peroxide-blond Marcus, 25, posts videos of his comedy capers.
One of his most viewed creations involves singing pop songs after inhaling helium from balloons.
9. NEELAM GILL
SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS: 88,000 Neelam Gill, 21, is popular on YouTube and has modelled for Burberry after being discovered at just 15.
In candid posts, she has spoken about bullying, depression and body confidence.
10. AJ ODUDU
SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS: 27,000 FITNESS blogger AJ’s website is filled with information on how to master aerial yoga, perfect the art of looking good in leggings and enjoy time at boutique hotels.
Born in England to Nigerian parents and one of eight siblings, AJ, 29, first made a name for herself co-presenting a Channel 5 reality show, before discovering in 2013 that a blog would better boost her profile.
An English and politics university graduate, she admits hers isn’t the most intellectual of career choices. ‘If the rest [of her siblings] hadn’t got such responsible jobs, I think my parents would have wanted me to follow a more academic route.’
11. VICTORIA MAGRATH
SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS: 751,000 WITH a PhD in fashion from Manchester University and a career as a lecturer under her belt, Victoria — who launched fashion blog Inthefrow in 2012 — clearly isn’t short of a brain cell or two.
‘I felt I had something to offer the blogging community,’ the 27-year-old says.
12. KATIE PIPER
SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS: 432,000 THE other famous face a few might recognise, TV presenter Katie Piper, 33, came to public attention after being lauded for her bravery for appearing in a documentary on acid attacks.
She was a victim of such an attack in 2008, after a jealous boyfriend threw sulphuric acid in her face, leaving her needing extensive surgery and blinding her in one eye.
Today — between TV work — she uses social media to promote selfesteem causes.
13. JADA SEZER
SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS: 116,000 PLUS-SIZE model Jada, 27, runs a popular blog dealing with ‘curve’ issues, such as body confidence.
A curvy size 16 and a psychology graduate, she’s modelled for fashion site Asos, among others. She has said: ‘I don’t want to be a model — I want to be a role model. People associate plus-sized as frumpy, old, outdated.
‘But I want to get people thinking outside the box and portray plus-sized women in a certain light.’
Her Instagram account is awash with smouldering images of her wearing little but lingerie.