Murder and Makeup… on a Monday?
Water and oil don’t mix, but true crime and makeup… might.
Bailey Sarian is a 33 year old American Youtuber who has managed to effectively combine two of popular culture’s current infatuations which happen to be two of her favorite things: true crime and makeup. Since joining Youtube in 2013, she has accumulated more than 5.8 million subscribers and 642 million views.
Sarian’s channel initially looked no different than any other beauty guru’s channel. However, it adapted a completely different look after she took a chance posting a video in which she delved into a popular murder mystery case while doing her makeup.
This video was a success to say the least.
Currently, the theme of her channel has changed drastically to a dark love for true crime and makeup. She has two ongoing series on her channel. The series “Murder, Mystery, & Makeup” has a new video every Monday and her podcast “Dark History” has a new video every Thursday.
The audience she reaches are people who share the love for murder mystery and makeup, whether they’re together and separate. This consists predominantly of older teens and young adults.
Although lengthy, her videos accumulate millions of views that show tremendous success. Intrigued by her great success in merging the best of both worlds, I was eager to watch the video that started it all.
Married To A Narcissist
Bailey’s first video in the murder makeup series is titled “Chris Watts - 2000 Page Discover Murder, Mystery, and Makeup.” Since being posted in January of 2019, this video has accumulated almost 10 million views. She chose to dive into the Chris Watts case where he murdered his wife and both of his kids.
After watching the video, it’s easy to see why her channel rose to fame so quickly. Although not a fan of true crime stories, I found myself intrigued and captivated till the end of the video. Sarian’s personality shines through the darkness of her tales as she portrays herself as one of us. She slides in comments and reactions that make her totally relatable.
Sarian’s focus in this series is on the story rather than the makeup. She just links the products used in the description. She doesn’t go into detail on her makeup routine. She just talks about the crime. There are moments where she pauses and engages with the audience by speaking into the camera to react like we would.
Crystal Abidin has done research focusing on communicative intimacies which is a crucial part of understanding the success of this unique series. “The allure of influencers is premised on the ways they engage with their followers to give the impression of exclusive, intimate exchange” (Abidin, 2015, para.22). There’s no doubt that a viewer would feel an intimate exchange with Sarian. It’s as if she’s just spilling the tea while getting ready. The videos are like a one on one conversation. Abidin emphasizes that this connection allows for success in advertorials that allow for profit beyond the screen.
You can clearly note her investment in the Chris Watt case as she includes many small details that help one put pieces together as if we were a detective. She takes us through her train of thought and explains evidence used in the case.
The style of the video is very informal yet informational. She has a quick intro, provides background information, and begins the story while doing her makeup. She puts a clear emphasis on the story she’s telling and establishes her makeup routine as the background.
The message I got from this video is to constantly be aware and alert as it goes deeply into cruel acts that can arise in one’s own home. Shocking? This is a message that most murder mystery stories share.
At the end of the video, she mentions that FBI investigator Brad Garrett reported people responsible for killing their families are typically white men in their 30s. The choice to include this information in the video allows those watching to put these situations into perspective. She even tells viewers jokingly to watch out and choose who they marry carefully.
Beyond the Screen
Since she’s a youtuber, Sarian would be considered a micro-celebrity in today’s world. Alice Marwick explains that micro-celebrities see themselves as a public persona and use strategic intimacy to appeal to the public (Marwick, 2015). As Sarian’s channel grew and took on this specific theme of beauty with darkness, she continued to uphold a feeling of intimacy that appealed to her followers. Marwick discusses how the connection with the audience is crucial and it’s interesting to see how Sarian does it consistently in her videos.
It’s not as if she’s just telling you information she knows… she’s literally living it with you. This is what makes her so successful which then creates this public character that’s so appealing.
Like many others who rise to fame, Sarian has begun to sell her own merch. She also has sponsors that give her codes for her audience to use that she profits from. Nonetheless, audiences never stop being consumers as discussed in Adorno and Horkheimer’s 1944 Dialectic of Enlightenment. “The triumph of advertising in the culture industry is that consumers feel compelled to buy and use its products even though they see through them” (Adorno & Horkheimer, 1944, p.12) She openly says that she profits from these things but viewers eagerly choose to purchase what’s being advertised by their favorite Youtuber. Once she built this platform, she has been able to market herself as a target for company sponsors.
Bailey Sarian has been able to make a name for herself using a platform that has more than 100 million daily users to combine her love for true crime and makeup. She carved out her own space that’s quickly growing and allowing her to profit from her authenticity on the internet.
Next time you get ready… Consider some Murder, Mystery, & Makeup.
References
Abidin, C. (2015). Communicative❤ intimacies: Influencers and perceived interconnectedness.
Ada: A Journal of Gender, New Media, and Technology. Retrieved December 1, 2021 from https://adanewmedia.org/2015/11/issue8-abidin/.
Adorno, T. & Horkheimer, M. (1944). The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception.
In T. Adorno and M. Horkheimer. Dialectics of Enlightenment
Chris Watts - 2000 Page Discovery Murder, Mystery & Makeup | Bailey Sarian. (2019).
YouTube. Retrieved November 30, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbnulKZg3L8.
Lecaro, L. (2021, July 2). How makeup, murder and dark history turned Bailey Sarian into a social media superstar. LA Weekly. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.laweekly.com/how-makeup-murder-and-dark-history-turned-bailey-sarian-into-a-social-media-superstar/.
Luby, L. (2020, July 16). Bailey Sarian’s murder, mystery, & makeup is well worth watching.
Freaked. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://freaked.com/bailey-sarians-murder-mystery-makeup-is-well-worth-watching/.
Marwick, A. E. (2015). You May Know Me from YouTube: (Micro-)Celebrity in Social Media.
In P. D. Marshall & S. Redmond (Eds.), A companion to celebrity (pp. 333-350). essay, John Wiley & Sons Inc.
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