Being a beauty influencer - 6 Minute English

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC

Learning English. I’m Neil.

And I’m Sam. In the UK there’s a well-known

children’s game called, Happy Families.

Players have to collect all the cards

belonging to one family - there’s a butcher,

a baker, a carpenter, a doctor, and

a tailor - some of the traditional jobs that

people in the UK have been doing for centuries.

But since the invention of the internet

and social media, a more up-to-date list of jobs

in 21st century would be very different.

It would include modern jobs which didn’t exist

before, online jobs like

web designer and YouTuber.

One of the most unusual of these new digital jobs

is the influencer – someone who is paid by

a company to promote

their brand on social media,

encouraging people to buy their products.

In this programme, we’ll meet two

beauty influencers from different parts

of the world: Nigeria and Pakistan.

We’ll discover how these women are using

their online influence to change attitudes

towards female beauty, and as usual, we’ll learn

some related vocabulary too.

But first, I have a question for you, Sam.

YouTube make-up tutorials are very modern,

but make-up has been around for a long time.

So, when was lipstick first used? Was it:

a) around 3000 years ago by the ancient Celts?

b) around 4000 years ago by  the ancient Egyptians? or

c) around 5000 years ago by the ancient Sumerians?

I’ll say it was being used 5000 years ago

by the ancient Sumerians.

OK, Sam, we’ll find out if you’re right later on.

Dimma Umeh is a beauty influencer from Nigeria.

She’s been creating make-up video tutorials for

women of colour for eight years and

has hundreds of thousands of followers.

Her videos go from eyebrow-shaping tips to

shopping trips in Nigeria’s biggest city, Lagos.

Here’s Dimma telling BBC World Service

programme, The Conversation, how her life as

an influencer got started.

So, I did a make-up dos and don’ts video in 2017.

I had seen a couple of people doing it prior

to that but then, you know,  I kind of did it in a way

that was a bit funny, maybe cracked a couple

of jokes around the ways - or maybe not so

great ways - some people were doing things

at the time and that video just took off.

In 2017, Dimma made a YouTube video of

make-up dos and don’ts - rules about what to do

and what not to do in a certain situation, or

when doing a certain activity.

Dimma wasn’t the first Nigerian influencer to post

videos on YouTube, but the difference was

her humour - the way she laughed and cracked,

or told, jokes. More and more people started

watching Dimma’s make-up videos and they

soon took off, meaning they suddenly became

successful and popular.

Our next beauty influencer is Rammal Mehmud, a

photographer turned make-up  artist based in Islamabad,

Pakistan. As well make-up tips, Rammal creates

colourful face painting designs which, she says,

helped her through a period of depression.

She has popular Instagram and YouTube

accounts on which she shares content to help

other women with their confidence and mental health.

Like Dimma, Rammal now has Instagram

followers numbering in the hundreds of thousands.

So, how does she decide what to share in her blogs

and videos? What boundaries does she

set for her followers? Here’s what Rammal told

BBC World Service programme, The Conversation.

Well, people are very intrigued about your

personal life as a blogger – that’s a given,

but you need to have strong boundaries.

I do fear about my family and friends.

You actually have to ask people if they are

comfortable being on your platform or not.

Rammal says her followers are intrigued about

her personal life. If you’re  intrigued, you are very

interested in someone, often because of

something unusual or unexpected about them.

Rammal accepts that her followers’ interest

in her personal life is a given –  something that is considered

to be a fact, or that is certain to happen.

For example, you could say,  ‘it’s a given that there

will be champagne at a typical British wedding’,

meaning, it’s certain - it’s a fact – there

will be champagne.

But just because her  followers’ interest in her life

is a given, that doesn’t mean Rammal shares

everything with them. She has to set boundaries.

Both Dimma and Rammal make money as

beauty influencers, but what’s amazing is how

they’re using social media to start conversations

about what beauty means to women in their country.

And sharing some great lipstick tips as well!

And speaking of lipstick, let’s reveal the answer

to my question, Sam. I asked you when lipstick

was first used.

I said it was around 5000 years ago by

the ancient Sumerians.

Which was the correct answer! Ancient Sumerians,

both men and women, painted their faces,

eyes and lips – a very early kind of lipstick.

OK, let’s recap the vocabulary  from this programme on

influencers – people who  influence their social media

followers to try different products.

Dos and don’ts are rules about what you

should and shouldn’t do in certain situations.

To crack a joke, means to tell a joke.

The phrasal verb take off means to suddenly

become popular or successful.

If you are intrigued, you’re  interested in someone,

often because of something unusual about them.

And finally, a given describes something that

is considered to be a fact,  or that is certain to happen.

Once again, our six minutes are up!

Goodbye for now!

Bye bye!