Skin and Beauty Influencers Worth Following

Wayne Goss is a professional makeup artist with over fifteen years of experience in the beauty industry. He began posting on YouTube in 2009 under the username “gossmakeupartist,” and his channel has grown to over 3.7 million subscribers with more than 300 million views. He is one of the original UK beauty YouTubers, and his influence on makeup technique in this country is significant.

What sets Wayne apart is his focus on technique over product promotion. His most famous contributions to the beauty community include the “502 setting method” and the “sandwich” technique for long-wear makeup, both of which have been widely adopted by professional makeup artists and beauty enthusiasts alike. He trained as a makeup artist in London after developing an interest in cosmetics in his twenties, partly prompted by his own experience with acne.

He runs a makeup brush line under his own name, with brushes manufactured in Japan by master brushmakers. The quality is consistently high, and the range is focused on professional-grade tools rather than a sprawling product line.

His content is largely product focused in the sense that he reviews and demonstrates products, but he approaches them from a technique perspective rather than a sales one. His reviews tend to be direct and evaluative, which is useful when you are trying to decide whether a product is worth purchasing.

Lisa Eldridge is one of the most respected professional makeup artists working in the UK today. She has served as Creative Director at both Lancome and Shiseido, is the author of the New York Times bestselling book Face Paint: The Story of Makeup, and has presented a BBC history documentary series on the evolution of cosmetics. She has been awarded an MBE for her services to the beauty industry.

Her YouTube channel and Instagram presence offer a different perspective from most beauty influencers: her content is rooted in professional editorial and celebrity makeup rather than product first content creation. She shares technique led tutorials, campaign breakdowns, and historical context for beauty trends that most influencers do not have the background to offer.

Her approach to beauty is elevated and accessible simultaneously. She has a talent for explaining why a particular technique works and how it relates to the broader principles of makeup application. Her product recommendations tend to be curated rather than voluminous, which makes them more considered than the constant stream of new releases that most beauty channels push.

She has also built a successful eponymous brand, with her velvet matte lipstick range earning consistent praise and a spot in the ELLE UK Best of Beauty Awards 2026.

Alexandra Anele is a UK-based beauty YouTuber who celebrated ten years on the platform in October 2025. Her channel focuses on technique-driven makeup tutorials, honest product reviews, and practical beauty advice that works in real-world contexts rather than studio lighting.

Her content covers the full spectrum of makeup application, from base preparation and foundation matching to feature-specific tutorials covering eyes, lips, and complexion. What makes her stand out is the consistency of her production quality and the directness of her recommendations. She does not pad her content with lengthy personal stories before getting to the useful information.

Her “skincare dupes saving my patients thousands” series, which features collaborations with skincare professionals, is one of the more useful formats in the UK beauty YouTube space. She applies the same evaluative approach to skincare as she does to makeup, which is useful for UK shoppers trying to navigate the vast array of products on the market.

She is also known for her analysis of viral makeup trends and her willingness to say clearly when a technique or product does not work, regardless of how popular it is.

Leanne Page is a UK-based skincare and beauty creator who has built a substantial following on TikTok with practical, non-nonsense content about skincare routines, product recommendations, and the realities of building a considered skincare regimen. Her approach is particularly strong on the practical side of skincare: what actually works in a daily routine, what to prioritise, and how to avoid the common pitfalls of overcomplicated multi-product regimens.

She runs the Regimes Beauty Box, a curated subscription box that delivers over GBP 200 worth of skincare products for GBP 49.99 per quarter. The box is designed around the concept of building a cohesive routine rather than accumulating individual products, which aligns well with the approach we take on this site.

Her content is particularly useful for younger audiences navigating skincare for the first time, and she has a talent for explaining ingredient function and routine logic in straightforward terms without overcomplicating things.

Alicia Archer is a UK-based content creator who focuses on sustainable habit modifications, realistic lifestyle content, and practical beauty advice. She was formerly known as “kinkysweat” and has built her following on content that combines movement, wellbeing, and beauty in a way that feels grounded rather than aspirational.

Her beauty content tends to focus on realistic routines, honest product reviews, and an approach to beauty that is integrated into a broader lifestyle rather than treated as a separate pursuit. She is known for long-form content that goes deep on individual products and techniques rather than rapid fire hauls or trend driven content.

Her “best of beauty” annual roundup videos are particularly well-regarded in the community, offering considered recommendations across skincare and makeup rather than chasing every new release. The consistency and depth of her content has built a loyal audience who appreciate her measured approach.

Robert Welsh is a professional makeup artist with over twenty-one years of experience in the industry and a YouTube following of over one million subscribers. He is known for his “Worst Reviewed” series, in which he evaluates viral beauty trends and viral products from a professional perspective, and his “debunking” content that cuts through misinformation in the beauty space.

His content sits at the intersection of professional makeup artistry and consumer education. He is particularly strong on the practical realities of makeup application: what works in real-world conditions versus what looks impressive in a tutorial but does not translate to everyday use. His foundation comparison series and his ongoing analysis of viral beauty trends are consistently useful.

He frequently collaborates with his partner in content that offers multiple professional perspectives on beauty trends and techniques, which adds depth to the analysis beyond what a single creator can offer.

Katie Jane Hughes is an editorial and celebrity makeup artist who brings a professional perspective to her social media content. Born in England and raised in New York, she has developed a following of over 800,000 on Instagram through her creative approach to makeup artistry, which emphasises elegant, wearable technique rather than trend driven content.

She is known for her eye makeup expertise in particular, with step-by-step tutorials that focus on placement, blending, and the principles that make eye looks work rather than product-specific instructions that become outdated quickly. Her “3 steps to soft elegant eyes” approach has become one of her signature formats.

She is the founder of KJH Brand, a makeup and beauty accessories line. Her approach to product recommendation is selective and considered, which means that when she does recommend something, it tends to be genuinely useful rather than a passing sponsorship.

Nicola Londors is a London based beauty content creator and blogger whose work sits at the intersection of honest product review and practical beauty advice. Her platform covers skincare, makeup, and the full spectrum of beauty purchasing decisions with an approach that prioritises genuine value over trend.

She has built her following on content that reads like a trusted friend rather than a promotion. Her reviews tend to cover both the product and the broader context — whether it is worth the price, how it compares to alternatives, and who it actually works for. That approach has earned her a place in Feedspot's UK Beauty Influencer rankings and a loyal audience that trusts her recommendations precisely because she does not hedge them.

Beyond her own content, Nicola has partnered with major retailers including Lookfantastic, Sephora UK, and Charlotte Tilbury, where she shares exclusive discount codes for her audience. Those codes are available on her Instagram bio and on her blog. For UK shoppers buying from any of those retailers, it is worth checking her current codes before placing an order.