Jaclyn Hill has revolutionized the makeup game on YouTube! Standing at a little over 4 million followers on Instagram, Hill has worked hard to become an empowering woman and role model to younger girls. Hill is commonly considered one of the YouTube originals, the YouTubers who started the beauty vlogging movement before it truly took off a few years ago. One glance at the channel, and it’s easy to see why her social media platform of choice has continued to grow each year.

Hill has plenty of experience with makeup, she is a longtime YouTuber, former MAC employee, and the brains behind some of the makeup game’s favorite products. Beyond beauty, she encourages her subscribers to love themselves and often talks about dealing with depression, abusive relationships, and her values as a business owner.

At age 25, she collaborated with BECCA Cosmetics to create a highlighter called Champagne Pop, which had great success and sold out immediately. This caused the company to make it a permanent part of their collection. Now, she has released a full Champagne Pop collection with the company, and she’s working toward the release of her own makeup line later this year. Jaclyn relates to her viewers by discussing previous financial struggles and pledging total honesty with her subscribers.

“We were so poor, our electricity kept shutting off, and I remember crying in front of my fridge because there was nothing in it and we didn’t have any money to buy food,” she relates in one vlog. “But I kept thinking, ‘We just have to hold on and things will get better.'”

Alysa Auriemma mentions in her Bustle article that in addition to bomb makeup tutorials Jaclyn also has been very public about her struggles with anxiety, agoraphobia, panic disorder, and depression—in one video, she discusses visiting a therapist three times a week while also posting makeup videos. “I have worked my ass off to be a happy person,” she says in one video titled “Trying to Make a Change,” in which a makeup-free Jaclyn addresses comment in-fighting on her channel. Jaclyn’s efforts to make her channel about more than just makeup, and her public persona about more than just appearance make her a valuable addition to my subscription box.

                        

Hill has no problem opening up about her former relationships or issues with anxiety on her YouTube channel, but she also commonly opens up about some of her everyday struggles with online hate and personal anxieties via Snapchat. When she does, Hill makes sure to encourage self-care to her #snapchatfam because she loves and appreciates all the support she receives. All in all, Jaclyn Hill is an inspiration to many and is brave for sharing her story with all her followers.