4 minute read

SARAH PALMYRA VIRAL BEAUTY

from QP - June 2023

from QP - June 2023, page 4

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Interview by QP STAFF WRITER

We sat down with the lovely Sarah Palmyra, a TikTok sensation and beauty blogger, who has captured the hearts of millions with her stunning makeup looks and relatable personality. With over a million followers on social media, Sarah has quickly become a household name in the beauty industry, sharing her passion for all things makeup and skincare with her loyal fanbase. In this interview, we get to know the woman behind the camera and dive into her journey to becoming a successful content creator.

pr agency: PERSONA PR @personapr an you tell us a bit about yourself and how you got started on TikTok?

Sure! I’m a former Sephora Beauty Advisor who worked in the makeup and skincare department. I LOVED my job because I loved seeing the impact beauty had on people’s selfesteem. When I was working at Sephora I was also completing my master’s degree in opera singing. When the pandemic happened, I wasn’t able to work at Sephora due to the store shut down and I wasn’t able to sing publicly so I started sharing my beauty tips on TikTok and my videos went viral. From there, I’ve been lucky enough to build an online community where I share product reviews and educational skincare content. You've gained a large following on TikTok. What do you think sets your content apart and keeps people coming back for more?

My goal is to share helpful tips and make beauty and skincare feel fun and approachable. It can be overwhelming to create a skincare routine, there are SO many products out there! And that’s where I hope to come in—to help people feel inspired and empowered to find products that they love. Ultimately, I hope that people watch my videos and feel uplifted and excited about beauty.

Your videos often have a positive and uplifting tone. Is there a particular message or theme that you try to convey through your content?

The main message is that beauty and self-care is fun and can turn you into the most confident version of yourself. I’m very aware that lots of young people are watching and following what I do which is why I am very vocal about my dislike of beauty filters on the internet and why I’m passionate about showing my real unfiltered skin in my videos.

Also regularly try to remind my audience that the internet is curated and I will film my videos in the best lighting possible which can make my skin look smoother and more even than it actually is!

Can you walk us through your creative process for making a TikTok video?

I have a list of ideas on my notes page on my phone that’s about a mile long. Whenever a random idea pops into my head throughout the day I write it there. Then I can usually visualize the video in my head before I even film it so I already have an idea of exactly what I want my video to be like. I usually film my videos on my back camera on my iPhone and after filming lots of my “notes app” ideas I take time to edit them so that they match the video I had playing in my head. You often incorporate humor into your videos. How do you come up with ideas for comedic content?

Usually, I’ll see a new trending original sound on TikTok that’s hilarious and think to myself, “hmm…how can this be used for relatable beauty content?” But sometimes it’s directly inspired by real-life events too like the time my boyfriend walked in on me shaving my big toe when we first started living together. I made a comedic video about that and I genuinely think it went viral because so many women could relate. Body hair is still a taboo topic but knowing that everyone has it is one of the comforting things about being on Beauty TikTok.

Your videos have been featured on several popular TikTok accounts. How does it feel to receive recognition from other creators and brands? It honestly feels so surreal and amazing to know I’ve created and started my own trends on TikTok. Being able to connect with other creators and people who feel the same way is such an incredible experience. One of my favorite trends I started was showcasing all the skincare mistakes I made to a trending remix of “It’s a hard knock life.” Seeing other people tag me in their videos was so much fun and that’s what TikTok is all about, building that sense of community. Can you tell us about a time when you faced a challenge in your TikTok career, and how you overcame it?

One of my biggest challenges so far has been dealing with creators taking credit for my own original content. The wildest instance was when I had created my own original sound for a trend I created that showcased what it felt like to have ADHD. Another user used my sound and accused other people who had joined in on my trend of copying her video. It was really infuriating at the time because constantly creating new ideas is challenging but it was an important lesson for me. I decided to let it go and continue focusing on my own content. You can’t feed into negativity and let things like that take up your time and energy when they can be better used elsewhere. What advice would you give to someone who wants to grow their following on TikTok?

IThe biggest piece of advice I have is to make your content valuable! Whether that means your videos are entertaining, funny, relatable, or educational it’s important to remember as you are starting out that no one knows who you are (or cares really) so you have to offer your audience value in some way to build a community. I would also say that staying in your lane and not comparing yourself to other creators is important because everyone has their own style and what works best for them. Lastly, can you give us a sneak peek into any upcoming projects or collaborations that you have in the works?

I can’t reveal much at the moment but be sure to follow me @sarahpalmyra on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube because there will be a lot more exciting things happening in 2023! And stay tuned for longer-form content coming your way on my YouTube channel this year.