Phan started on YouTube in 2010. Her first video was of herself in Avatar makeup where she proved to be a self-taught makeup prodigy.
Her first video that she said really made her channel take off came in 2011. “My first big video was an Angelina Jolie transformation,” she told Tech Insider. “Seeing a normal Asian girl change her face to look like a popular Caucasian actress — they thought it was some sort of sorcery.”
Since then, Phan has channeled a wide array of characters, from Rihanna to Bruno Mars. But her favorite videos by far are her Disney transformations. Here she is as Ariel.
And here she is as an iconic Cinderella. It's not uncommon for her videos to reach between 5 million and 10 million views.
In addition to a Snow White costume, Phan even found a forest creature to pose with.
Phan said she has over 100 wigs, which goes a long way towards helping with the final looks. She gets most of them on eBay where she pays $10-$15 for each one. She says she orders them about a month in advance of her videos, like this one where she's Rapunzel from “Tangled.”
She also doesn’t just do makeup, but creates sets, costumes, and accessories to make her look really stand out. For “Mulan,” she did a series of looks, including Mulan before her transformation and after.
“Each of my videos are made with a lot of thought, time, and effort,” she told TI. “There are many great makeup videos on YouTube so to make mine stand out I do my best to create the perfect set, find the most accurate costumes and make fun mini skits to go along with the video. I get my inspirations mainly from movies.” Her early Jasmine from “Aladdin” was on point.
Her “Brave” Merida makeup tutorial has been viewed over 10 million times.
She even changed into sisters Anna and Elsa from the massive hit “Frozen.” Elsa is her most popular video to date with over 45 million views.
It’s not just princesses, either — Phan is interested in some of the more evil characters too, like Mother Gothel in “Tangled.”
Or Malificant from the Angelina Jolie-starring movie.
And her incredible "Minions" video has been viewed over 11 million times!
She also sometimes has guest stars like her husband Steve (the brother of YouTube makeup artist, Michele Phan), her sister Rose, and her cousin Prasanna. They were altogether for the “Inside Out” makeup tutorial.”
To see more of Phan’s amazing makeup tutorials, check out her YouTube page.
