From giving $10 makeovers to friends to gaining, and losing, millions of subscribers overnight, James Charles has had a wild ride over the past few years. Find out how this makeup guru rose to fame, and the twists and turns his career's taken along the way.
$10 For a Makeover
Before James became passionate about makeup, he loved to style his friends' hair. "At one of my best friend's hair appointments, she was late for her makeup appointment so she asked me to do it," said James. "I was like 'OK girl, I'll do it, but if it looks awful, do not tag me in that Instagram picture.'"
After that, James started charging friends $10 for a makeover, then created an Instagram page to debut his work. "People loved it, so I invested in a starter set of makeup to practice on friends and slowly began to build clientele. It wasn't until a few weeks after that I tried makeup on myself, and the rest was history!"
Giving YouTube a Try
After he got a lot of positive feedback on his makeovers on Instagram, some of his followers asked James to make full-length tutorials so they could learn how to recreate these looks themselves. So, he created his YouTube channel in 2015 with all sorts of makeup tutorials, and it took off instantly.
With every video that James uploaded, his fanbase slowly but surely grew. It only took a matter of days until he had thousands of followers. He couldn't believe it, but deep down he knew he was born for it. With little time to process, this teenager was becoming an internet sensation.
Making Friends in Hollywood
With complete support from his parents and a whole lot of fans subscribing to his videos, James was on the rise to fame, gaining more attention every day. He was beyond eager to make a name for himself in the makeup industry, so he reached out to countless influencers and celebrities to expand his network.
In early 2019, James was at the height of his career and had over 16 million subscribers to his YouTube channel. The more influencers he collaborated with, the more followers he gained, and the more his net worth grew. He developed relationships with Kylie Jenner, Katy Perry, Kim Kardashian, and other makeup icons.
Ignoring the Haters
James Charles made makeup history in 2016, becoming CoverGirl's first-ever 'CoverBoy' "This has been the coolest experience of my life, and I am so honored and thankful to be able to start this new era of CoverGirl! I hope to inspire others to be confident in their own skin and love themselves with makeup or without."
James had an incredible support system in the makeup industry, but he had to learn to cope with the negative commentary on social media, being the first male in a CoverGirl campaign. "I'm definitely not willing to let someone without anything better to do than hate on someone else behind a keyboard get into my head," he said.
Easy, Breezy, Beautiful
As the first male spokesperson for CoverGirl, James was a major selling point for a new product, So Lashy! "All of our COVERGIRLs are role models and boundary-breakers, fearlessly expressing themselves, standing up for what they believe, and redefining what it means to be beautiful," a CoverGirl representative told Seventeen Magazine.
"James Charles is no exception." Charles worked with other celebrities associated with the brand, such as Katy Perry, Sofia Vergara, Nura Afia, and Chloe and Halle Bailey. "I'm so excited to announce I'm the first-ever male Covergirl," said James. "The fact that I am the first boy is so cool."
Building a Brand
After his debut as the first-ever 'CoverBoy,' James decided it was time to create his own makeup line. He teamed up with the brand Morphe and launched the James Charles eyeshadow palette. His product was such a success that he built a second palette but still has much bigger future plans.
He had hoped to launch his own cosmetics line last year, but decided, "I didn't want to do it [before] because I didn't have a solid concept." With that being said, James has been mainly focused on maintaining his YouTube channel and showcasing celebrity makeovers, which is what he's best known for.
Sisters
"I call my followers sisters because y'all are my family," James tweeted. "It has no connotation to gender whatsoever, it's a word it's not that f***ing deep." So, that explains why James has a tendency to call just about everyone in his life "sister," no matter what gender or how old they are.
Because he said "sisters" so frequently, it only made sense to call his clothing line "sisters" as well. Sisters Apparel is James' very own clothing line that he built from the ground up. However, after his fight with Tati Westbrook, which you'll read about soon, his business took a hit.
Teaming Up With Tati
Before James gained celebrity status, he reached out to Tati Westbrook, another well-known beauty blogger, known for her channel, GlamLifeGuru. Tati was incredibly supportive of James and acted as his mentor while he was still trying to establish himself. They became so close that James even did Tati's makeup for her wedding.
This pair collaborated on countless videos and considered one another to be like family. When Tati launched her own brand of beauty vitamins, she expected James to help her promote the product, since she'd essentially helped him get on his feet in the first place.
The Drama with Tati Explained
Things took a turn for this beautiful duo when James started to promote SugarBearHair, a hair vitamin company that happened to be one of Tati's biggest competitors. Tati expressed her disappointment on social media, as she'd expected her friend to support her rather than another company with similar clientele.
After realizing that he'd hurt Tati's feelings, James publicly apologized, however, Westbrook wasn't ready to forgive him. "He had nine days after Coachella to talk to me," Tati said in one of her YouTube videos. "He could've come face-to-face and chatted with me because he knew that this would hurt me."
Supporting The Enemy
"I feel really used," Tati said after James supported a direct competitor of her brand, Halo Beauty. And then, the video that changed it all, "Bye Sisters," was published. She claimed that "fame, power, and a fat bank account" had influenced James' behavior, and he'd completely blindsided her with his actions.
"I don't think there's any getting through to you, and I don't want to be friends with you," Tati said. "I don't want to be associated with you, and I need to say that very publicly so that chapter can be closed." Tati was most disappointed about the fact that she'd loved and mentored James, and this was how he acted in return.
Unaccepted Apology
James responded to Tati's "Bye Sister" video with his own apology video, which reflected on his friendship with Tati and her husband, also named James. "I met Tati and James almost 3 years ago now, when I was first coming up into the industry and when I had no friends and nobody to talk to or look up to."
"Tati very quickly took on a parental role with me because she knew my parents were across the country," James added. "I hate knowing that I disappointed, not only them [the fans] but mostly two important people that have been role models to me."
Jeffree Takes a Jab
Jeffree Star, another YouTuber, and creator of Jeffree Star Cosmetics, was once a close friend of James, and they did quite a few collabs back in the day. However, once James and Tati parted ways, Jeffree sided with Westbrook and truly spoke his mind about the matter online.
"There is a reason that Nathan [Star's boyfriend] banned James Charles from ever coming to our home again," Star explained. "There's a reason why I haven't seen him since @GlamLifeGuru's birthday in February. He is a danger to society. Everything Tati said is 100% true."
Never Doing This Again
Later on, after James and Jeffree had completely cut ties both personally and professionally, Jeffree posted an apology video. This video was titled "Never Doing This Again," and Star sincerely apologized for getting involved in James and Tati's situation and making such harsh claims.
"There's a big part of the story that I don't think a lot of people know and that's behind the scenes," said Star. He explained that people were telling him information to sway his opinion on James, which "was making me feel a whole other way," Jeffree said. Ultimately, Star apologized for allowing other people to impact his friendship.
Likes Are Everything
"There are going to be a group of 13-year-old girls who go to school, and are like, 'Did you guys unsubscribe from James? Same!'' explained Logan Paul. "None of them would have a real answer. They'd repeat what they heard." The reality is, Gen Z arguably have a strong influence over their peers.
With that being said, once word spread about James' actions, more and more of his followers were quick to hit that unfollow button because of what they heard from Tati's videos. Social media has helped celebrities form "close" relationships with their fans, so Tati's followers were quick to turn on her newfound enemy.
Goodbye, Subscribers
James built up his network of followers and subscribers in record time, and once the world caught word of his blowout with Tati, his subscribers abandoned him faster than they'd once supported him. Within days of Tati's viral video explanation of their relationship, James lost two million subscribers on YouTube.
Did Tati post the video with the intention of James' fans turning on him? Well, we don't know, but that's certainly what happened. And the more subscribers that James lost, the more Tati gained, and it was evident that many viewers and celebrities were taking sides.
Putting Things Into Perspective
Considering likes are everything and the number of followers can make or break a business, James' brand certainly took a hit after his viral feud with Tati Westbrook. "The fight affected both [business and mental health] for sure - everybody was talking about the fact that I lost three million subscribers," James explained.
"This put into perspective what really mattered to me," he added. "But this was an important moment for me, as awful as it was, to take a step back and realize what was important for me, which is friends, family, and my own personal happiness." The negative experience helped James work harder than ever towards a successful future.
Unfollowed by Ariana
It seems as though Ariana Grande didn't make the best first impression on James, since he called her the "rudest celebrity" he'd ever met. He made this claim in a YouTube video in 2018 with Shane Dawson. Ariana had invited James backstage after one of her concerts, and clearly, he was not impressed with her.
He later realized Ariana no longer followed him on Instagram, so he asked if he'd done something wrong. She responded, "Hey babe, I saw a lot of angry tweets from my fans, and I would never want to disappoint them, so I unfollowed." He responded and expressed how disappointed he was, and Ariana supposedly never replied.
Major Misunderstanding
After watching one of Shawn Mendes' Instagram lives, James started commenting on many of his posts, and Mendes wasn't sure about the meaning behind the comments. "That dude is commenting some weird sh** on my posts," Shawn said to some friends at a listening party for one of his albums.
As soon as James heard about this, he immediately took to Twitter to share, "I've been supporting @shawnmendes since vine & am a fan like anyone else, & would never want to make anyone uncomfortable." Luckily, Shawn wasn't upset or uncomfortable and sent James a message to assure him of that.
Inspired by Kylie
While James has had his fair share of celebrity feuds over the past year, one icon who remained on his side for a while was Kylie Jenner. This friendship began in 2018 when Jenner tweeted at Charles to ask if they could shoot a video together since they're both young makeup gurus.
So, they created a video together, and James was starstruck by Kylie. "It was just really amazing to see someone else in this space working really hard and just making it at a young age," Charles explained. "She's just a huge inspiration to me." He and Kylie kept a professional yet friendly relationship until Kylie unfollowed him.
Unhappy Customer
While many people absolutely love James' products, a few people suggested that his makeup caused damage to their skin, and Charles didn't take well to that. For example, one Twitter user uploaded a video in November of 2018, showing that James' pink eye shadow stained her eyelids and made her break out in hives.
"You should never, ever, ever try to promote a product that does this to another human being," she said in the video. James responded: "You accusing me of lying to fans & not caring about people is a ridiculous cry for attention. If you have hives, consult your dermatologist, not me for likes on Twitter."
Katy Perry's No Longer a Proud Sponsor
At the beginning of James' career, one of his biggest celebrity supporters was Katy Perry, as she was also a CoverGirl spokesperson. She proudly welcomed Charles into the CoverGirl family and was extremely excited that this revolutionary brand finally had a 'CoverBoy.'
However, after James' major blowout with Tati, Katy hopped on the unfollow bandwagon, and without saying anything, showed that she could no longer support someone she was once so proud of. Perry hasn't commented on the matter, but realistically, an 'unfollow' speaks a million words in today's society.
Collab With Kesha
As Kesha was preparing to launch her very own beauty line in December of 2019, she teamed up with James to make a video that promoted Kesha's new brand and talked about makeup 101. "I am very, very excited. I literally grew up listening to your music," James said before giving the singer a makeover.
"There are so many different ways to use makeup that doesn't have to be this perfect, super-femme, societal-approved thing," Kesha explained. "It's more about expressing what I like, and what color I feel today." Kesha and James couldn't have been more on the same page about their views on makeup.
Bashed Zoe Kravitz, Then Copied Her Outfit
In one of Tana Mongeau's YouTube videos, she and James roasted celebrities on their fashion choices. When Zoe Kravitz's wardrobe from the 2019 Vanity Fair Oscar Party came up, they both said they didn't know who she was, and rated her outfit a zero out of 10.
He also said Zoe looked like "she didn't finish getting dressed." Meanwhile, James wore a similar outfit to the 2019 Met Gala, which many Twitter users pointed out, and deemed Charles hypocritical. "Tana Mongeau and James Charles deserve literal jail time for not knowing Zoe Kravitz and giving her a zero," said one Twitter user.
James Thought Charli Hated Him
Before James first met Tiktok star, Charli D'Amelio, the teen sensation admitted she was hesitant about responding to James' messages on Instagram. "I was scared of you," Charli revealed in a YouTube video. "I've been watching you since I was like... for a very long time."
"I was just really, really nervous and I didn't know what to say because you were one of the first people to reach out and be like 'Hey let's collab,'" D'Amelio added. James said he was uncomfortable and felt rejected when Charli didn't answer him initially. But, she eventually responded, and these two have done some incredible collabs.
Iggy Azalea Wasn't a Fan of James' Makeup
The Twitter user who had an allergic reaction wasn't the only one who had a bad experience with James' makeup. Iggy Azalea said she, "Tried to use the @jamescharles palette on live today and it almost ended in tragedy! Buuuuut everyone pulled thru & just like that - a beauty guru has been born?"
James later featured Iggy on his YouTube channel, after he "literally drove in a snowstorm seventeen million miles plus a flight... to do my makeup," she tweeted. But it didn't seem to be a lasting friendship, as Iggy eventually hit that unfollow button, just like many of her fellow celebs.
Expanding Kim's Casting Call
When Kim Kardashian's beauty brand, KKW Beauty, tweeted about an open casting call for women, James tweeted back, questioning why men weren't allowed to audition. "Kim is a legend and personally one of my role models... but I think it's only fair that other aspiring boys in beauty have the same opportunities," James explained.
Since standing up for men involved in the beauty industry, James and Kim have worked together multiple times. Kim was a part of one of James' Beauty Battles with makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic and enjoyed the collab. However, Kim no longer follows James on social media, so something must've changed here.
Slammed Lauren Conrad for Her Brand
Lauren Conrad, one of the first reality star turned influencers, recently launched her makeup brand, Lauren Conrad Beauty, and let's just say James was not impressed with the PR package he received from the company. "I just opened a PR package from a new makeup brand from somebody who has no business having a makeup brand," he shared.
"Did James Charles just say Lauren Conrad has no business starting a makeup brand? The woman who invented winged eyeliner?" one user tweeted. One of Conrad's employees sent a sample box of empty containers by mistake. Once James learned this, he apologized, claiming he'd tried to be funny, but his commentary came off "nasty."
JoJo's Makeover Stirred the Pot
JoJo Siwa's one of the brightest, most vibrant influencers on social media, and this former Dance Moms star is obsessed with the image she's created for herself. So, when James Charles first asked if he could give her a makeover, she declined multiple times. Eventually, though, JoJo agreed to the makeover, and fans were shocked.
"Obviously it's not me... I showed up here in sparkles and bright pink and neon and rainbow," she said afterward. Some fans were outraged and blamed James for taking away her signature look. "I said today's collab was with someone I waited two years to work with & I was so excited for and now I'm getting death threats," Charles shared.
James Charles' Net Worth is $22 Million
After learning a little bit more about James Charles' career, with all of its ups and downs, you can probably imagine that his net worth has fluctuated over time. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Charles is currently valued at approximately $22 million.
All of this comes from his involvement with CoverGirl, his makeup products, his "Sisters" clothing line, and of course, where it all began, his massive following on YouTube. As he lost millions of followers after his viral fight with Tati Westbrook, his reputation changed for many, but James has proven to be a successful entrepreneur.
7 Million Dollar Purchase
One of the perks of being an influencer is the steady income that usually comes with it, and for James Charles, he was able to purchase a $7 million home at age 20. After purchasing the mansion in November 2019, he spent nine months renovating it to create his absolute dream home.
"After renting for the past few years, I officially bought my first home almost a year ago and have been renovating it ever since. It's been such a huge journey, but today is moving day, and I can't WAIT to show you guys the new sister headquarters." And according to the photos, Charles did an impeccable job on his house!
His Brand's Originality Was Questioned
James was incredibly proud to launch his line, Sisters, but unfortunately, not everyone believed it was an entirely original brand. Ethan Klein, the co-founder of streetwear brand Teddy Fresh, tweeted, "I know we didn't invent color blocking [sic], but I'm having a hard time w the new James Charles merch."
"It's the same exact design as Hila's," Klein added. "Combined with the fact that his audience is so huge, many people will assume he designed it and start accusing us of plagiarism." Charles responded by saying, "I sent you the original photo that inspired my collection, explained I've never seen your brand."
Sisters Tour Gets Cancelled
With the rise of his brand, Sisters, James had planned the Sisters Tour, where he would visit 24 different cities to bring his fans "music and makeup and memories and games" in 2019. The tour was nearly sold out, and Jams couldn't wait to meet his fans in person. However, he made the tough decision to cancel it.
"The Sisters Tour is not being canceled because I was 'canceled,' Charles explained. "I made the decision for a lot of different personal reasons. Right now, I just don't feel like I can deliver what was promised." He said it was not because of his blowout with Tati Westbrook or other disagreements with celebrities.
Charges $500 For Meet & Greets
Although James didn't go through with the Sisters Tour in the end, fans still had to pay a hefty price to meet him. In order to attend a James Charles meet and greet, attendees must pay $500. Some fans were distraught over this price, tweeting things like "OMG, your 'tour' ticket prices are absurd."
"You're charging like you're a megastar like Lady Gaga or Beyonce. You do makeup on YouTube. You seem to be getting greedier every day. Another fan tweeted, "James Charles has the audacity to charge $250-$500 for VIP tickets. Which you now his 10-15-year-old fans can't afford on their own. Kinda gross."
Shaming Alicia Keys
Immediately after Alicia Keys announced that she was launching a beauty line, James and Manny Gutierrez, another vlogger, subtweeted about celebrities launching beauty lines. "Does anyone else get slightly irritated when celebs come out with entire makeup lines? Especially when those celebs don't even wear makeup," Manny posted.
"People who do not wear makeup should not be coming out with makeup brands, but that's just my opinion," James tweeted. Neither of the influencers tagged Alicia or mentioned her by name, but there was speculation that they were directly targeting her and giving her a hard time about her newest business venture.
Bothered By Celebs Launching Beauty Lines
After many followers called Charles out for subtweeting about Alicia Keys, he shared, "Yesterday I posted a subtweet about how I thought some celebrities shouldn't launch makeup lines. It was about @aliciakeys. A few years ago, she announced that she no longer would wear makeup, so I was bothered."
"Many celebrities come into the beauty space as a cash grab without any actual passion, then leave," he added. However, once Alicia shared that she was launching a skincare line, not a makeup line, both Charles and Gutierrez deleted their tweets and publicly apologized.
Fans Accused Him of Using New Products as a 'Cash Grab'
James is one of the most prominent beauty gurus on the internet, but just as he accused celebrities of creating beauty lines as a "cash grab," his fans said the same about his second product. "James Charles collaborated with Morphe again, and the new palette is basically his old one in slightly changed shades," one person claimed.
"Same sh-- with a mirror, how creative... #boybye," another follower tweeted. Charles responded by saying, "This collection isn't some 'crazy new launch that you guys HAVE to go buy.' It's for my fans and fellow artists who have supported me."
Logan Paul Dragged James Into His Own Drama
YouTuber Logan Paul never fails to surprise his viewers with his variety of content, but when a video surfaced on the internet with someone who looked just like him, it sparked a lot of commentaries. The video showed two men hanging out intimately, and Logan eventually involved James in the online conversation about it.
After tweeting and making jokes about the video, Logan tweeted, "James Charles ur next." James responded, "Sorry bro, I only go for straight guys." This came after Charles was accused of manipulating men into having romantic relations with him, so some thought Logan's tweet may not have been genuine.
Complained That YouTube Didn't Pay Him Enough
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Charles has a comfy net of about $22 million. However, even with that large number, he's made some complaints that he's not making an adequate income, compared to other celebrities. "If you think about it, what are the real differences between typical 'celebrities' and big YouTubers?" James tweeted.
"Both have talents, both have millions of people watching them, both do endorsement deals & can sell products, both get press," he explained. "Only major difference is the pay gap & respect. YouTubers bring the same assets to the table (if not more, because in most cases, we're more easily accessible to our followers)."
Breakdown of YouTube Profits
James explained the layout of his YouTube videos and where the money comes from. "6 ads on a 30 minute YouTube video equals roughly 4 minutes of ads (which you can usually skip, and which YouTube takes a HUGE % of), but a 30 minute TV show has 8 minutes of non-skippable ads and no one questions it," Charles tweeted.
Indeed, he did lose a few million followers after his public fight with Tati Westbrook, which might be part of the reason he felt that he deserved more money since subscribers lead to income at the end of the day. "Please stop complaining when YouTuber recognize their worth," James shared on Twitter.
Roasted By Cast of It
When the movie It first came out, James tweeted about how excited he was to see it. However, when he was finally in the theater watching the film, he wasn't impressed and wasn't shy about his thoughts. After five minutes, he tweeted that the movie was "awful."
Cast member Finn Wolfhard roasted his tweet by posting that it's "Rule 1" that everybody turns their phones off in a movie theater. Charles later tweeted again, "Why am I being attacked for saying I didn't like a movie LMFAO y'all need to find something better to do with your lives."
Still Created an It Inspired Makeup Tutorial
Viewers were shocked when James uploaded a tutorial of the iconic makeup from It. Before sharing the video, he wrote, "Most ironic makeup tutorial in history coming next week." His followers had mixed reactions, and many commented jabs like, "It's funny how you made fun of the movie when it wasn't even 10 minutes in but okay."
However, James wasn't phased by these comments, and posted, "I really love how half of the internet is angry over a makeup tutorial this is too funny." He stood by his opinion that he didn't like the film but said that the makeup was incredible, so he still wanted to use it as inspiration for one of his videos.
A Makeup Look That Rubbed Fans the Wrong Way
Charles is no stranger to controversy, but one tutorial, in particular, rubbed a lot of viewers the wrong way. His mugshot makeover caused a lot of viewers to tweet things like, "I don't understand why this would be a trend," one fan tweeted. 'I love James but it's not fun having your face bruised and not being able to cover them up."
"Maybe I'm being too sensitive, but this made me feel really uncomfortable, the Twitter user added." James responded to some concerns by saying, "I do understand that, but this dumb trend has nothing to do with domestic abuse. What about action movies… This is nothing new."
Rumors About Dating Noah Beck
After making some online appearances together over the last couple of months, rumors sparked that there was more than just a friendship between James and TikTok star, Noah Beck. Another TikToker, Bryce Hall, posted a video titled "Noah Beck is dating James Charles," so you can probably see where the rumors started.
"I love James," Noah said. But he confirmed they are "just two friends dancing and smiling." Some fans still think there's more to the relationship than what the stars are revealing; What do you think? Regardless, it appears that James and Noah have formed a strong friendship, and they make quite the dancing duo on TikTok.
Original Sister Squad
James has been calling his friends and followers 'sisters' for ages, but he also has an elite circle of friends called the 'Sister Squad.' Members include Emma Chamberlain, and Ethan, and Grayson Dolan. They met when James started commenting on the twins' Instagram posts, so they messaged him to ask if he could do their Halloween makeup.
"We hit it off really quickly once they realized I'm not crazy," explained Charles. "We just have a lot of the same values, and they've been truly amazing friends of mine." The squad was known for collaborating on YouTube and posting all sorts of fun photos together.
Dolan Twins Leave the Squad
Emma Chamberlain wasn't the only sister to unfollow James last year; Another pair of YouTubers, Ethan and Grayson Dolan, took a break from Charles amidst all the drama as well. After Jeffree Star accused Charles of having an inappropriate relationship with Grayson, rumors spread like wildfire.
"I have to admit, bringing up Grayson Dolan was pretty clever," said James. "In the height of all these allegations and stories going around, both of the twins unfollowed me, not wanting to be associated [with the scandal]... Nothing ever happened between us."
Putting Rumors To Rest
In July of 2020, the Dolan twins finally address the scenario that went down with Charles on their YouTube channel. "It wouldn't be fair for us to talk about it unless everybody in the said squad had their opportunity to speak on it," Ethan explained.
"We haven't actually talked to them in a while. I wouldn't say that I'm confident that everybody is comfortable speaking about it," Ethan added. However, Emma Chamberlain remained friends with the Dolan twins, and there was speculation that she even dated Ethan for a while.
Emma Chamberlain Befriends James Again
YouTuber Emma Chamberlain was an original member of the 'Sister Squad,' but at the beginning of 2019, she decided to do a social media cleanse, which meant unfollowing Charles. However, Emma and James weren't over forever, as they were spotted at the same birthday party nearly a year later, and refollowed each other on Instagram.
Chamberlain told a reporter that they did indeed rekindle their relationship, and said, "Yeah, he's great. I love him." And she'd right back by his side, supporting his newest butterfly-themed merchandise. So, could this mean the 'Sister Squad' is making a comeback?
Bringing Reality TV To YouTube
With the rising popularity of reality TV, especially shows that bring about competition, James decided to create his own reality show on his YouTube channel. This past April, Charles launched his latest series, Instant Influencer. The show is a competition to find YouTube's next biggest beauty vlogger.
There were only four episodes, but still, it reached an audience of over 65 million viewers, all loyal to the world of makeup and YouTube entertainment. The show featured six contestants who needed to prove their talent both as an artist and an influencer in order to succeed in the business.
Don't Blend In
Aside from determining who's best fit to become YouTube's next viral beauty vlogger, Charles' primary mission is to celebrate diversity among the contestants. Hence his catchphrase, "Blend, Don't Blend In," which he frequently emphasizes, encouraging everyone to be their true self.
While all competitors throughout the series impressed both James and the viewers, Kailin Chase was the first winner of Instant Influencer, and she's certainly on the rise to fame. "They are an incredibly talented individual," exclaimed Charles. Since then, her following has increased greatly, and she's become close friends with James.
"It's So Important for Everyone to Feel Included"
"It's amazing that this industry is going genderless, and I think it's so important for everyone to feel included and welcome," James explained. After being CoverGirl's first-ever 'CoverBoy' and creating a brand as a teenager from the ground up, Charles has proven to be fearless and determined.
While he's certainly butted heads with fans and colleagues over the years, his mission is to continue creating products and content that he feels confident about. "My biggest focus in creating my line is innovation and creating products that the beauty market hasn't seen yet," said James. Look out, he's got big plans for the future.