#SoYouWantMyJob: Kaushal — Beauty Vlogger, Kaushal Beauty
Many professions look fun, glamorous, and almost easy from the outside, mostly because we have NO idea about what goes on behind the scenes. A universal truth is that to be successful in any job, in any field, takes a ton of hard work that a lot of people don’t see.
To bust some myths, we introduce our new series So You Want My Job? — where we get young, successful, influential women to tell us what it actually takes to do what they do. I think we all stand a chance to learn a thing or two from them!
If you’re looking for some makeup tips and tricks, where’s the first place you’d head to? Unless you’ve got a makeup artist on hand, we’d confidently say YouTube. And in this makeup space, Kaushal Beauty is one such channel that really needs no introduction.
With around 1.7 million subscribers, it’s safe to say that Kaushal is one of the most popular beauty and makeup vloggers we’ve come across.
Of Indian descent, Kaushal was raised in England and that’s what makes her work stand out from the rest. The fact that she effortlessly combines the two cultures together through her makeup routines, gives an interesting spin to the tutorials.
Plus her bubbly nature and pleasant smile make her videos a pleasure to watch!
Capturing a worldwide audience, Kaushal’s fan base not only extends not to people who love makeup, but also to makeup noobs, wanting to learn more.
We caught up with Kaushal to find out about her exciting life, what the aunties and uncles think of her career choice, and the exciting industry that is beauty vlogging!
What does a typical day in your life look like?
To be honest, no day is ever the same. I try and put structure into my weeks, but because my days are all so different. I never really have that schedule of ‘Mondays I do this, Tuesdays I do that’, and I think that’s the beauty of what I do.
I can film whenever I want and can work my schedule around errands I have to do for the day. I think that’s what makes it really fun. Every single morning I ask myself, ‘What am I going to do today?’.
What I love about my job is that no day is ever the same and I wouldn’t want it any other way! Even though I am doing it, it just feels so right.
What did you do to become a beauty blogger? When did you know that this was your calling?
I really never knew that this was my calling and I certainly didn’t know that I wanted to do it as a job. Prior to this, I was in fashion PR and I would stress myself out thinking about the next day’s work — it was that demanding.
On a Sunday night, I would get that dreadful Monday morning feeling, which isn’t good. At that time, I wasn’t in a good place mentally and I knew I couldn’t continue to live like that. And that’s when my fiancé suggested that I start my YouTube videos.
Blogging was something I did ever since my final year of university, but I never really took it on as a career because I never thought it would turn it into anything more. And then I ventured into YouTube videos…
Initially, I used my videos as a form of therapy — an outlet for me to put my energy into. It literally just happened out of nowhere, I didn’t plan for it – it just kind of happened.
To be honest, I feel like I have only been doing this for 6 months, but it has actually been around 4 years since I’ve started. It’s a wonderful feeling to not feel like you’re doing a ‘job’ – I just love how when something is right for you, it just falls into place and that’s what happened with me. It was meant to be!
What’s the most fun part of what you do?
I love editing! For me, when I am editing a video I zone out completely — I don’t get stressed out and I am so chilled.
Secondly, meeting my subscribers and followers in real life. I feel like we’re friends. It’s funny actually, the first time it happened I was very awkward and didn’t know what to say. But I eventually realised that they share a love for makeup just like I do, and that’s what makes it fun – that’s what makes it so rewarding.
And lastly, it is doing things like travelling and being able to work with brands like NYX Cosmetics – again never did I think that I’d be doing something like that!
And the hardest?
I am a people pleaser and sometimes I find it hard to not be able to please every single person. For me, I am always wanting to please my followers and sometimes that just gets the better of me. But, it’s not like the worse thing in the world!
What’s the job market like in your industry?
I think it is a very exciting industry to be in at the moment!
A few years ago, when I didn’t have as many subscribers as I do now, aunties and uncles would ask what I am up to, and I would tell them that I film YouTube videos and put them on the Internet. They used to find it weird, as compared with a lawyer, or pharmacist – they’d be more interested in that. But now, that mind-set is changing.
Secondly, since it is relatively new, you never know who you’re going to appeal to.
No one knows where it’s going and that’s actually what’s exciting. Every day is different, every month something new is happening and there are so many brands who are working with people like myself, and doing things that they wouldn’t have necessarily done 10 years ago.
That’s the beauty of having platforms such as YouTube and Instagram – it’s open to everyone. I mean, I have such a big following here in India and it’s great that I get to reach so many different people from across the world!
What’s the biggest misconception people have about what you do?
People think I only sit at home and film videos, edit, and upload them. People don’t see what goes on behind the scenes. Even on social media, you only see a small snippet, which is literally like a couple of minutes of an entire day.
What I am putting out there is the tiniest bit of my life online. But, if you were to spend an hour with me, you’d know EVERYTHING I do in that hour and not just snippets.
It’s quite interesting how people think that you’re showing everything, when IRL you’re not!
What’s the single-most important quality you need to possess to do your job?
Be a 110% yourself! If you’re trying to be someone else, it’s not going to fly. Your audience can sense these things — there’s only one of you in the whole world. If you want to standout, you need to be yourself!
I think sometimes people assume they can’t do something like this because there are so many people doing it already. Imagine, if we all thought like that – the landscape would be so different.
The fact that you yourself are the brand and you are that one person that people are going to connect with, makes things unique. They want that because you’re different!
Secondly, if you want to go down a field that may not necessarily be the norm in your family, I’d say take the leap of faith and go for it.
If you love doing it, don’t worry about it.
Career advice to a confused 20-something on how to choose a job/profession that’s right for them?
Start it off as a hobby, just the way I did. Honestly, if I hadn’t, I would have looked back when I turned 40 and wished that I had at least given it a shot.
Find what works for you, fine tune it, and tweak it to a way that it suits you and see where it takes you. Your passion and energy plays a massive role in what you do as a career.
It’s all about having that right frame of mind and that faith in yourself. As humans we tend to be very hard on ourselves and we compare ourselves to a lot of people — so push that aside and focus on what you love, and power through!
