Within the last few years or so, you've probably only heard about BirchBox being the #1 beauty and makeup subscription service. That all changed when a beauty/makeup YouTuber named Michelle Phan created Ipsy, a beauty and makeup subscription service that cost only $10/month. By doing YouTube for almost a decade, Phan was able to tap into her networks to give her subscribers products that she felt was lacking attention in the makeup industry. Jan H. Kietzmann who wrote "Social media? Get serious! Understanding the functional building blocks of social media" explains how a lot of social media sites, regardless of their usage, is categorized within 7 sections: sharing, presence, relationships, reputation, groups, conversations, and identity. Since YouTube is classified as more of a sharing site, people across the world either send videos to their friends or upload their own to have a voice, Phan used her 8 million subscribers and her relationships with other makeup YouTubers to hone in on branding Ipsy every month with each new bag. Kietzmann says "that in Twitter and YouTube, relationships hardly matter" and that the general rule is "since social media communities which don't value identity highly, also don't value relationships highly." (Kietzmann, 246). With Phan and Ipsy, it's quite the opposite because, without these relationships, Ipsy wouldn't have been able to gain the momentum it has now. Phan, along with the makeup community on YouTube, has been able to give small and unheard makeup companies to compete with name brand products. This is in the same sense of how YouTube has been able to give these women a chance to express themselves and have a voice collectively within the masses. The success of Ipsy has let Phan create a studio called Ipsy OS (Open Studios) where people who don't have the means of production resources like camera equipment and products can come in and film for their YouTube channel without any strings attached.
When subscribing to Ipsy, you receive 4-5 products from makeup to makeup brushes, skin care, hair, etc. You also receive a card that has the YouTubers like IAMKARENO (1.3 million subscribers), Jalessa Moses (1 million subscribers), LaMadelynn (895,000 subscribers) among many others to tell you to post a picture on Instagram and tag them, which gives you the possibility to win a 1-year subscription from Ipsy.
Ipsy has been able to gain 1.5 million subscribers and has conferences called Generation Beauty by Ipsy in Los Angeles and New York, to connect fans with makeup brands and makeup/beauty YouTubers. Works Cited
"Be a Bombshell Submissive on." Bethy's beauty spot. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.
"Empowering Creators ... No Strings Attached." Ipsy Open Studios. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.
Henry, Zoë. "How Michelle Phan Cracked the Code for Free Marketing on YouTube." Inc.com. Inc., 30 Mar. 2016. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.
Ipsydotcom. "Generation Beauty LA 2015." YouTube. YouTube, 16 July 2015. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.
"Ipsy Bags: A Makeup Lover's Dream." Odyssey. N.p., 02 Sept. 2016. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.
Kietzmann J.H. et al., “Social media? Get Serious! Understanding the Functional Building Blocks of Social Media,” Business Horizons (2011) 54, 241-251
LaPorte, Nicole. "How Ipsy Founder Michelle Phan Is Using Influencers To Reinvent The Cosmetics Industry | Fast Company | The Future Of Business." Fast Company. Fast Company, 26 Feb. 2016. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.
Phan, Michelle. "Follow Me to Work at Ipsy." YouTube. YouTube, 13 Nov. 2012. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.
Weiss, Geoff. "How Ipsy, Michelle Phan's Million-Member Sampling Service, Is Giving Birchbox a Run for Its Money." Entrepreneur. Entrepreneur Media, Inc., 31 Mar. 2015. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.
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