How Makeup, Murder and Dark History Turned Bailey Sarian Into a Social Media Superstar

There’s a YouTube present for each curiosity and fandom nowadays, however one of the best are usually much less in regards to the idea and extra in regards to the creator. A charismatic star/host could make nearly something attention-grabbing and once they discover the precise area of interest and all of it clicks, followings develop, generally into the hundreds of thousands. For Bailey Sarian it was not one, however two niches that helped her do exactly that – make-up and homicide!
With 5 million subscribers on YouTube and 2.4 million Instagram followers, Sarian has melded two seemingly unlikely sorts of content material – magnificence tutorials and true crime tales – into a very profitable collection and model. The California-based skilled make-up artist has all the time cherished studying and speaking about crime investigations and in the future she merely determined to do each directly on her YouTube channel.
After working with Santa Monica-based IPSY as a social media creator, Sarian began additionally experimenting along with her personal YouTube output. “Then 2018 got here alongside and the Christopher Watts story got here round; it was this man who killed his two youngsters and his spouse and then put them in oil bins at his work,” she tells us by telephone interview. “I used to be following the story, and I used to be staying up til like 4 a.m. studying articles about it, attempting to resolve the thriller. I used to be like, ‘I don’t have anyone to speak about this story with, so I’m simply gonna sit in entrance of my digicam and speak about it and do my make-up.’ I didn’t know the way it’d be acquired, however determined to only attempt it. In January of 2019 I lastly put it up and as quickly because it was posted I used to be getting view counts like I had by no means gotten earlier than, and inside 24 hours I had gotten 60,000 views. To me that was fame. Then I used to be like, ‘possibly this isn’t a one-off, let me attempt it once more with a totally different story.’ I’ve simply saved going and I’ve not stopped rising since that first video.”

Copycats attempting comparable content material melds however, Sarian’s collection “Makeup, Mystery and Murder,” feels totally different from most make-up information reveals. She’s dishy however refreshingly right down to earth, and watching her looks like spilling the tea with an previous gal pal when you’re each preparing for a evening in town. She makes essentially the most macabre homicide tales go down simple, presenting a compelling narrative rollout with subtly comedian commentary and attractive cosmetics work.
Sarian’s eye for coloration and contour are highlighted every week through edgy purposes, and she makes use of seems and transformations that tout her favourite merchandise for lids, lips and pores and skin, illustrating methods anybody can comply with together with. Still, it’s the tales that maintain you engaged. And although her movies really feel freeform and easy, she tells us she does do some pre-planning.
“I write a script for myself which has the entire story begin to end and then after I begin filming, I simply begin explaining,” she shares. “I attempt to not overwhelm the viewers with too many names or too many addresses and I strip the story right down to what occurred. I simply maintain it true to myself and make it like a dialog.”
Though she doesn’t essentially join make-up seems to the tales she tells, her movies all the time really feel symbiotic between topic and visible. Sarian’s allure is sufficient of a connection. “Once I sit down, I type of simply resolve what I need to do this day,” she says. “I don’t take into consideration the make-up an excessive amount of as a result of I need to be snug. I’m so consumed with the story, the make-up is all the time an afterthought.”

With topics coated together with everybody from Jeffrey Dahmer (her most watched at 14 million views) and “The Nightstalker” Richard Ramirez to lesser recognized criminals like “The Scream Killers” (the Cassie Jo Stoddart case) and the “chocolate killer” (Cordelia Botkins), her YouTube present is a bonafide hit. Now Sarian is able to conquer new codecs.
Joining forces with Wheelhouse DNA and Audioboom, the social media star simply launched a new podcast known as “Dark History,” on which she’ll transcend true crime to discover other forms of unusual and menacing real-life tales from U.S. and world historical past. The present may even have a video element that will likely be launched after every podcasted episode, filmed on a particular set in Los Angeles.
No cosmetics classes are featured on the Monday weekly podcast however a video companion debuts each Thursday, and Sarian, whose colourful tattoos and facial piercing complement her dramatic facial artwork, nonetheless offers face, and in some methods extra persona minus the makeup-minded distraction. So far she has aired episodes on the DuPont Chemical scandal and the Zoot Suit Riots, and future topics will embody the Armenian Genocide and the Birth Control Trials of Puerto Rico.

Chatting on the telephone with Sarian isn’t any totally different from watching her on the pc display screen – she’s heat, humorous and expressive each methods. We found “Makeup, Mystery and Murder” organically whereas scrolling movies on Facebook and we’ve been hooked on Sarian’s stuff ever since. With two fan teams on FB for her work, we’re clearly not alone. Podcasting is a pure development that ought to additional her success and worth as a social media determine.
“I’m doing one thing I’m actually captivated with. I get to analysis true crime and do make-up that are my two favourite issues,” Sarian says, gratefully, noting the draw back and upside of on-line notoriety. “There are some occasions the place you’re searching for constructive criticism and folks don’t know the distinction between that and being an asshole. Of course there’s an inflow with trolls as you get larger. But I’ve discovered an viewers that’s tremendous into every thing I’m into and I like partaking with my followers. I’ve discovered how one can discover a stability to all of it.”
Bailey Sarian’s “Murder, Mystery & Makeup” is on YouTube and Audible.  
“Dark History” is on the market on Apple Podcasts, and different podcast platforms. 
More information on Bailey at linktr.ee/baileysarian.