Last Updated on November 29, 2021
Grace Gillespie describes herself as a simple girl that loves makeup, beauty, fashion and lifestyle topics. Based in Houston, Grace runs a YouTube channel that features makeup tutorials, beauty products, reviews, fashion and more. You can check out Beauty and Style by Grace to learn more.
Can you briefly describe your approach to the makeup tutorials on your YouTube channel as well as your beauty blog?
Well I guess my approach it was – I realized I was like obsessed with makeup since high school and so I have a little sister and I would doll her up every time. Even if it was dyeing her hair it would turn orange and that’s how much I enjoyed it and she would freak out but I’ve always had, you know, a passion for it. So I just recently started doing my videos more consistent just because I’ve watched the YouTube beauty channels growing up and I just never thought to make my own videos because I was like man I would say things like I wish there was a video that I couldn’t find out there and then I could be like man I could have made it myself and, you know, because I know there’s people out there.
Like I know for me when I’m like searching a video and I never find it and I’m like darn it, you know, maybe I should make a video like that or something. So I guess just growing up I’ve always enjoyed it and that’s, you know, within last year I stared really doing it, I enjoy it. I’m a stay-at-home mom so it’s literally my job, my stay-at-home job I do besides watching the kids but, yeah.
When did you branch out into influencer marketing and at what point did you decide it was a viable revenue stream?
Yeah, well I didn’t really – I have a friend she’s actually a blogger and when I moved in the area I want to say about six years ago I met her through like a mommy group. So we were just kind of like connected through an online mommy area where we all met up and kind of like had brunch, coffee and she kind of like inspired me because, you know, we would, you know, talk and she started her blog and I just got like so interested in it and I was like man I really, you know, I really want to do like what she’s doing. Like her platform’s a little bit more different it’s more like fashion mine’s more like beauty and makeup. And I just – I just enjoy it so much and I would love to like work with like different, you know, brands and, you know, people, you know, especially like upcoming people like myself. Like there’s a couple of brands that I contacted personally just because I didn’t know how to start.
I’ve never taken any like courses or classes on ho to like do or be an influencer so I just kind of like pitched it up as I went. I would go on social media and kind of like go in some’s DM and message that brand and say “hey I’m an upcoming, you know, YouTuber influncer I would love to work with your brand or try it and do a review online” and I got so many like ignores or “no thank you we need a bigger following”. And so it had to be about six months ago where I started getting the yeses and I was like super excited and I’m like oh my gosh like this shampoo company called me like I’m excited. So I don’t know it doesn’t – I’m not going to say it doesn’t like pay bills. Like it’s not going to pay me bills because I feel like I’m still up-and-coming right now. But I feel like I do it because I love doing it and I love getting like the feedback from people when, you know, like even if it’s just like one person watching the video they comment and say “oh my god I was looking, you know, for a video and I couldn’t find it and I came across your little channel” and I’m like oh good, you know, as long as it helped somebody. I just love doing it but yeah I mean I just don’t do it for the money just because it obviously doesn’t pay my bills but I just do it because I love doing it.
You’re on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram in addition to your blog. What is your favorite social platform to use and what strategies are you employing to grow your personal brand?
Yeah. Well at first I started on the Instagram platform just because it seemed like it was so much easier. I didn’t have to really edit video or doing anything like that it was just a snap picture and then you just edit the picture, you know, or put a certain, you know, filter on that picture and then just upload it but for me now I feel like my major platform that is my to go is would be YouTube. And I just – there’s been a couple of people that I’ve been following from the beginning on YouTube and I just I see them and I’m like – I honestly had this conversation with my husband the other day and I was so frustrated because I feel like sometimes people don’t get it, you know, like when you’re like doing videos and trying to come up with different, you know, video themes and stuff like that.
So it’s, you know, for me it’s like I’m try to get my -I guess what I do is I go to these, I’m sorry I’m confused, I go to these people I’ve been following for a long time and I kind of get my ideas from them like, you know, like if there’s like a certain like a face wash or a mask or something that I’m like really into I’ll definitely like, you know, look at like four or five videos and kind of like compare and be like how can I one up that video or how can I, you know, like change the title to where I’d be up there as well. And I’ve kind of, you know, been on that where I’ll like do like background studies on YouTube like I’ll go to like the this search bar and I’ll be like okay mask Monday or something and I’ll see the other videos and see what tags they’re using or hat titles they’re using or what hashtags just to like be up there and I feel like I’ve kind of like am messing with the algorithm because I feel like when I put certain tags or certain titles in there that go with my video I’m actually up on the top, you know, ten list and I’m like oh my gosh that’s great, that’s a good thing you know. So I don’t know I just get my inspiration from like other beauty gurus and YouTubers and influencers and stuff like that.
Can you think of a brand partnership (or two) that stands out as your favorite?
Yeah there’s a few. I actually started working with Yes To, it’s a beauty – I guess they do kind of like face washes and masks they have a whole like at like Walmart. And it’s – I’m kind of – I know there’s certain brands out there that are more of like higher-end and I have some but through like beauty boxes. But I’m trying to like focus more on like the drugstore brands just because that’s more real to me because I could like, you know, run across the street and go pick up a certain thing that just came out that was under twenty dollars and then shoot a video. It’s because, you know, I feel like it would be real for me because I’m not going to sit there and go and get some expensive brand that I can’t afford and then kind of like, you know, do a video that way. But yeah so I’ve really been working with them a lot and then a lot and then I’ve had another shampoo company contact me. It’s Brilliant Blonde and I just – I don’t know I, you know, I’m excited to be working with them. I honestly get like package on my front step and I’m just thrilled to like work with these brands and see where it goes from there.
As a blogger, vlogger and mother of four, how do you structure your average day so you can create compelling content while taking care of everything else that needs to get done?
Yeah, oh my gosh. Okay so I literally have – I mean my life is hectic. I do have four children, I’m married, and I have a sixteen year old, six, year, and a one-year-old so it’s kind of like, you know. One’s in high school and two are in elementary so it’s like tough for me but I mean I get it done. I wake up at five in the morning. My little one that’s one she still stays up to one or two o’clock in the morning so I, you know, get up at five, send my oldest one off, I tank tons of coffee, and I have like a planner that I normally plan stuff. Sometimes I kind of like if I have like a video idea in my head I’ll be like oh my gosh I have everything set up let me go ahead and just shoot it or most of the time I like to plan just because my life is so hectic with, you know, I have my oldest teenager in the swim team and then my youngest is in baseball so it’s like between cooking, cleaning, and, you know, taking them to school, practices, and stuff like that. Like I try to keep organized as much as I can just because I want to have like, you know, like a structure schedule for me.
But, yeah I just – like I was before the interview I was just writing – I normally just kind of like write all of my videos down, the month, and then on the side I have like for every month I do like my planner like thirty days in advance just so I can have everything set up. And I do have a planner here so when do set it up it’s like, you know, I have – I write all my videos in there and just kind of like, you know, edit it and, you know, erase things if I need to or if I have any videos that, you know, that come into mind I write them down, kind of tweak them in there, and if I don’t end up doing a video that month I’ll kind of like, you know, roll it over to the next month or, you know, put it in the, you know, category where it’s, you know, it’s my go to or get to list or whatnot but yeah I try to keep everything organized as much as I can. Sometimes life does get crazy especially with games and practices and, you know, having to cook and stuff like that but I get it, you know, I get it done and, you know, it’s I don’t know you’re only given one life so I feel like, you know, make it last and do as much as you can, you know, but that’s it. Yeah.
What are some of your goals for the next year or so as it pertains to influencer marketing and growing your brand?
Yes I actually do. Because it’s a new planner my other one is like already old and has been but yeah there’s like a section in here where I have like my reading goals, what my notes are just for that month, and I – let me see what I have, you know, it says I haven’t been reading much but I need to start reading more like time for myself like especially like even it it’s ten minutes in my room I need to like do something by myself. My goals are to be a better mom and wife I don’t know why I wrote that down. I guess, you know, more time like spread out my time better, you know, instead of kind of like, you know, not giving the time I feel like needs to be done, make more money, and then also be more consistent with work videos. Just because I feel like, you know, my planner it has been crazy, you know, I did have a baby so it’s kind of like I fell off and not I’m back on it and I’m kind of like getting my schedule, you know, where I’m like okay my little one goes to school at twelve and then my daughter goes down at twelve so from twelve to two I have like a gap where I can be like okay where are my videos.
And I can set everything up the night before so I can have everything planned out in a little tote so if I have like an eye tutorial or a hair tutorial then I’ll have everything up. And I like to do I don’t know if you all know about this but it’s like cluster videoing so it’s like I have from a morning makeup routine to an eye makeup routine and then the foundation and then the hair and then the nails and then the night routine so literally I recorded seven videos within an hour. So I try to get as much done but keep it together as much as I can. I’m not perfect so sometimes it doesn’t work out that way because I’ll have a baby that just wakes up and she’s screaming so it’s like oh well, you know, well it’ll happen if it happens if not, you know, I’m kind of like more easy go lucky. If it doesn’t plan out the way I want it to there’s always tomorrow. Well there’s really not but you know what I mean.
Andrew is the Head of Client Services for Intellifluence and has a background in communications. He is committed to helping brands get the most out of their campaigns and is the co-host of the Influencer Spotlight series.
