For mass communication junior Loreal Johnson, the best part of beauty YouTubing is not filming, but editing the video itself. Her true creativity kicks in after she powers off the camera and opens up iMovie to give the video an extra nudge of watch-ability.
Johnson not only posts beauty tutorials on YouTube under the name Leaux Johnson, but also leads peer education group Street Squad at the University. She said balancing work and YouTube has been challenging, and the sudden demand for programs makes it even harder to post regularly. Currently, her focus is on work.
“It’s a lot, but it’s what I want to do,” Johnson said. “That’s everything right now.”
Johnson started posting videos during the second semester of her sophomore year at the University after she built up the comfort to do so. She said YouTube gave her the opportunity to transition out of her shyness and into the light.
“I feel like it’s helped me come out of my shell because I was really shy, like really-really shy, and I didn’t really talk to people,” Johnson said.
Johnson said she discovered her interest in makeup from her best friend who inspired her to try it for herself.
“I would come by her sometimes, and she would be doing it,” Johnson said. “Then I would go back and get some stuff to where I could do the same stuff, but then I got way ahead of her.”
Johnson said her best friend and peers have often asked her how to achieve certain looks. YouTuber Aaliyah Jay, among others, furthered her interest in beauty videos and creating similar looks in her daily life.
“Having to explain it every time gets old. So whenever I started doing videos, if they would ask me something, I would make a video about that,” Johnson said.
Johnson said she hopes to venture out in her videos, and eventually she would like to do other people’s makeup for a service. So far, she has done the makeup of large groups for her stepmother’s wedding, and the Zulu Ball, a Mardi Gras event.
“I ended up doing makeup that whole day, which was exhausting, but it was really, really fun,” Johnson said.
Johnson said her life goals include acting as a creative director to the Los Angeles Lakers or being a digital content director, something she was unaware of until LSU’s creative director described the job in one of her advertising classes.  Johnson said she gets the most enjoyment from the editing process of making her videos, which is why she hopes to build a career based on creativity.
“There’s this quote where it’s like, ‘The most creative people are the people that don’t have anything,’” Johnson said. “A lot of people don’t feel like they can do a lot with iMovie, but you can really do a lot with iMovie. And I think that’s what made me like doing it.”
Johnson said she has a pragmatic outlook on her YouTube career – she did not start for fame or popularity and doesn’t expect it.
“Whenever people tell me that they want to join or start I say, ‘Start, but don’t think you’re just going to blow up overnight because nine times out of 10, you’re not,’” Johnson said. “On the other hand, I know people that are scared, so to them I would say, ‘Just start. It’s really not that bad.’”
Johnson’s current goal for the channel is equivalent to her work with Street Squad.
“I just want people to come to my channel or come to my Instagram page and be able to see something and then be able to do it themselves,” Johnson said. “All I really want to do is help.”