Finding beauty YouTubers who suit your brand

Beauty is several audiences that share a vocabulary. A viewer learning a cut crease and a viewer reading up on retinol want different things, and trust different kinds of creator.

Makeup tutorials and looks

Step-by-step looks, technique videos and "get ready with me". Suits colour cosmetics and tools, where seeing the product applied matters.

Skincare and routines

Routines, ingredient explainers and reviews. Suits skincare, especially where the creator's skin type matches your buyer's.

Hair

Styling, colour and care for a particular hair type. Suits hair care and heated tools; hair type matters as much as shade does in makeup.

Nails

Nail art, at-home gel and press-on tutorials. Suits polish, lamps, tools and kits.

Affordable beauty and dupes

Budget routines, cheaper alternatives and "is it worth the hype" tests. Suits brands that compete on value.

Sensitive skin and minimal routines

Short routines, fragrance-free products, reactions. Suits brands with a clear ingredient story they can support.

Men's grooming

Shaving, beard care and simple routines. Suits grooming brands and skincare sold to men.

Fragrance

Reviews, collections and blind-buy advice. Suits perfume houses and discovery sets; viewers want to hear how a scent smells and lasts.

Search in the words of a buyer with a particular face, skin or hair in mind. Mix in your own product type:

• foundation for oily skin
• makeup for hooded eyes
• skincare routine for acne prone skin
• spf with no white cast
• curly hair routine
• concealer for dark circles
• retinol for beginners
• fragrance free moisturiser
• gel nails at home
• makeup for mature skin
• everyday makeup tutorial
• affordable dupes
• foundation shade match deep skin
• is it worth the hype

Searches that name a skin type, hair type or concern return creators who share it or teach to it, with viewers asking whether something would work for them. Brand and product names return brand channels and retailers instead.

Monthly favourites and empties videos (products the creator used up) carry weight because the creator chose them. Product seeding is how a brand ends up in one. Wear tests and skincare reviews need time, so send product weeks before you need the video. YouTube sponsorship formats compares them in more depth.

• Shade range. If you sell base makeup, check your range includes the creator's shade, and send the right one. A creator who can't wear the product can't show it.
• Skin and hair type. A creator with dry skin reviewing a mattifying primer is a mismatch for both of you. Watch a few routines to see what they're working with.
• Claims. A sponsored video is your advertising, so the creator should only say what your own ads could say about wrinkles, spots or hair growth. Give them claims you can support, and check the brief with whoever signs off your marketing. The disclosure rules guide covers labelling.
• Filters and editing. Ask that results shown on camera aren't filtered or retouched. A filtered result misleads viewers about what the product does.
• Reactions. For skincare, mention ingredients and patch testing up front, and accept that an honest negative review is possible.
• Past sponsored videos. Does the creator keep their usual critical voice, or switch to reading a script? Beauty viewers notice the difference.

Run the usual checks as well, from engagement to past sponsors: they're in how to vet a YouTube creator.

Advent calendar and gift set videos start in early autumn and run to December. Party-season looks fill late November and December, and summer brings SPF, long-wear and heat-proof makeup. Skincare is steadier, though routines change with the weather. Creators plan seasonal videos well ahead, so pitch a gift guide in late summer.

Nakodo reads your website and writes a brief with search keywords drawn from your products, so a fragrance-free skincare brand searches for sensitive-skin routines rather than "beauty". You can edit the keywords, markets and subscriber range first. For each creator it samples recent comments and sorts them into questions, discussion, praise, spam and self-promotion. In beauty, questions such as "would this work on oily skin" show that viewers come to the creator for buying advice. How it works explains the scores.