A couple of years back, beauty was only limited to parlours and a few products which were usually found lying around on a lady's vanity. Now, a woman possibly has more makeup items than her favourite outfits.
Globally, the makeup industry is said to be growing at the rate of 7 per cent per year, more than double than that of a developed nation's GDP. Even though Bangladesh was a late bloomer in this industry, it is slowly catching up. A significant contribution has been by the increasingly growing number of beauty influencers of the country.
Beauty influencers can be defined as an independent social media figure, with an engaged fan base, who is an artist or a reviewer of beauty products and processes. Beauty influencers build relationships with the viewers as well as the brands. Bangladesh has seen an increase in number of beauty bloggers since 2014, and while numerous factors can be accounted for an upsurge as such, some of these seem to be the notable ones:
YouTube - The knowledge of appropriate application or products were limited to parlours earlier. Now more Bangladeshi women are exposed to many world-class mavens of makeup online who can disseminate their knowledge through a platform. More often than not, the undeniable fascination with beauty has inspired many to start their channel or blog to showcase their talents.
Online cosmetic stores - Online cosmetic shops and beauty influencers can be said to be mutually dependent. As influencers endorse products, more stores import them from abroad. As more products are available, women trying out the products are further inspired to start their blog with more products to work on. Many cosmetic stores have managed to become authorised sellers of various US and UK-based brands which are not widely available in conventional departmental stores.
Communities - Various online communities have propelled this increase to a great extent. Communities, especially on Facebook, are an excellent way of interacting with vast audiences without any need for advertisement and a unique platform for knowledge sharing other than YouTube. Audiences' demand for Bangla-based videos for better understanding and recommendation of products and stores in Bangladesh have paved the way for a career of a beauty influencer.
— YouTube career and brand endorsements - While many start out their channel as a hobby, it quickly turns to a significant income source for women. Besides getting paid for views on YouTube, many are sponsored by established and new brands alike, for their products making the job as a beauty influencer, all the more lucrative.
All these factors are mutually dependent and cause a ripple effect throughout. However, beauty influencers in Bangladesh have not limited themselves to their blogs and beauty channels only as they start their ventures. Some have started their businesses as makeup artists where they professionally do a makeover on customers. Each artist, depending on the service provided, can earn anywhere between Taka 5000-Taka 20,000 per customer. Customers are becoming less interested in parlours for makeovers as they expect better value for money and usage of quality products on their face, which can be found in a makeup artist's studio. Some even start their online cosmetic store with a precise knowledge of in-demand products
With the right resources and proper investment, an influencer can even successfully launch her own line of cosmetics or related products and services. In all of these cases, having an established and engaged viewer base helps them to reach their target segments with minimum operating costs and allows them to have a competitive advantage over other stores.
Of course, managing a business being an influencer serving the same audience can have a few drawbacks. Consumers expect next-to-perfect services from them, and any form of disappointment can end up adversely affecting their career as an influencer.
With opportunities for having a stable career and running a business, a job as an influencer has attracted a lot of women- some having the right knowledge, and some, not so much.
Bangladeshi consumers are now more conscious and aware of what goes onto their face. They are concerned with not only the price and application but also their sources and ingredients. This requires an influencer to be responsible and cautious in a volatile environment where word-of-mouth spreads like wildfire. Any wrong recommendation can result in negatively for the influencers themselves as their knowledge is what they preach and faulty understanding is not well received by the viewers.
At times, the influencers being sponsored by companies might not give their complete honest opinion, losing the very factors for which viewers watched them from the beginning - the credibility and relatedness. Therefore, transparency as a blogger to the viewers is one of the growing challenges in this industry. Lastly, the concept of a beauty influencer as a career and a position to the companies, is not widely understood and thus, is often subjected to numerous misconceptions.
However, despite the negative sides these beauty influencers have overcome many of the challenges. Many with the help of the online communities, can aware the consumers about companies and adverse effects of beauty products. They are the influential voices against counterfeit products sold widely in Bangladesh. These fake products, which are made as a replica of popular products and brands with ingredients that are not US Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approved, are the most bought cosmetic products from the store. This is due to their unbelievable lower prices and the stamp of an original brand name on the packaging. While most consumers are oblivious to this, influencers are working against this and continue to raise awareness.
Above all, they are helping to raise consciousness on many social issues and continuing to build and maintain communities, which are facilitating entrepreneurial spirit and women empowerment through networking and constant support.
The writer is a final year student of BBA programme at Institute of Business Administration (IBA), University of Dhaka. She can be reached at
tasnimfarahzaman01@gmail.com