Rachel Talbott on the Fascinating World of Beauty Vlogging

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

If you're a hardcore beauty buff that loves blogs and YouTube, then chances are that you know all about beauty vlogs. Tons of bloggers have taken on this new medium, but there are only a handful that have tens of thousands of subscribers tuning in daily. These are the YouTube beauty gurus and Rachel Talbott is one of them.

In 2010, Talbott created CheckInTheMirror as an outlet to share the insider beauty tips she picked up while working as a skincare specialist and cosmetics vendor in college. Her bubbly posts and photos quickly demanded the blogosphere's attention, allowing her to develop a steady fanbase. She followed up her blogging success by launching a CheckInTheMirror YouTube channel last year, which features beauty and health tips, how-tos, product hauls and career advice. The channel has more than 51,000 subscribers and over two million pageviews to date. Here, Talbott shares her key pointers on vlogging, her plans for the future and her most cherished beauty products.

When did you realize that your vlog was a hit?
"I noticed that I was doing well when I hit 10,000 subscribers. I feel like after that I really started to commit to it and make it more of a full time job."

What are your top three tips for aspiring beauty vloggers out there?
"Consistency, quality and relatability. Putting out consistent, quality videos is half the battle. Being yourself and being relatable to other girls is most imporant. For me, it's really all about sharing fun tips and bonding over girly things!"

What is your ultimate goal for beauty vlogging?
"I am transitioning at the moment and getting ready to work with a fabulous team. I have a music channel also, so that will be something I will continue doing along with the beauty and lifestyle videos. I would love to move to television one day. Honestly, I would never say never. I think things take time and a lot of work, so I'm excited to see where it all goes and will just enjoy the process."

If you could use only four beauty products for the rest of your life, which ones would they be?
"Kate Somerville Nourish Moisturizer, Skin 79 BB Cream, Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer and Loreal Voluminious Mascara in Carbon Black."

Which beauty bloggers/vloggers do you admire?
"I love HRH Collection and DulceCandy, and I do follow celebrity blogs for a bit of inspiration as well. I try not to read too much because I just like to go with my instinct—that's when I make the best decisions."
· Rachel Talbott [Official Site]
· Check In The Mirror [YouTube]