Mini Watchlist: Female YouTubers who exude beauty, brains, and girl power
From time to time, you’ll find personalities that become your virtual mentors (youtubers) and best friends. In my case, being the eldest of my siblings, I fortunately found my ate (big sister) figures on the net. They’ll mentor you on current events, history, fashion, cuisine and other topics to equip you as you face the world.
Cleo Abram
I’ve been an avid spectator of Vox’s video essays and Cleo Abram is one of my favorite journalists. When I noticed her absence in their latest videos, I wonder where she went, and you best believe my joy as she appeared once again in my feed. Cleo explained why she left the company in one of her videos, to venture on creating content which sparks optimistic Journalism. She covers stories that has an enormous potential and impact in the years to come. In the future, she also hopes to collaborate with her previous affiliation.
Her channel, which I only recently discovered, introduced me to news revolving around tech and advancements, a field which I am interested in but daunted to dive into. Her excellently written videos are digestible, truly inspiring, and fulfilling to watch, staying true to her advocacy.
Kaiti Yoo
I discovered Kaiti Yoo as I was aimlessly scrolling through my YouTube feed. Trying to escape the pile of workload I accumulated the previous semester. Her first video that reached me was a fashion look-book guide, particularly on ‘what the 16 MBTI personalities would wear if they had decent fashion sense‘ and I thought it was really brilliant and original.
Despite that I am not a big person in fashion, I found myself enjoying listening to her commentary. All the while she builds a coherent everyday outfit. She then showcases her final looks with energetic dance moves narrated with her voiceover, occasionally inserting natural wit. Her innovative takes on modern fashion inspired me to envision a style of my own with clothes already in my possession.
Marvelling at her creativity and laughing at her punchlines took turns. I finished one look-book after another until I unearthed more of her content. Kaiti recently graduated from Brown University. Before this momentous event, I witnessed her journey as a senior with her honest testimonials in her vlogs. For instance, a video “writing a paper in 12 hours UGHHH I KNOW THIS IS MY FAULT | Brown University Midterms” gives us a glimpse of her authentic self and gave me a pat on the shoulder as well. I commend her bravery for having to put out a video like so. As if to say to her growing half a million following that “Your gurl is human too.”
The Korean-American content creator harmonically balances intellect and comical language. With an understanding of today’s generation’s funny bones. Eventually in less than two years, she garnered more than 600k subscribers in her YouTube channel.
She moved to New York City and starts to share her first encounters as a new resident in the enormous city. And of course we can expect more fun.
Other content of hers include trips to her home country Korea, life as a student in Brown University. And just a few months ago, she posted a video on her experience as a YouTube delegate for Coachella. You may check out more content from her here.
Mina Le
A few more scrolls introduced me to the lovely Mina Le. While I previously liked to fly to YouTube leisurely, her longform content spanning from half to almost an hour made me stay longer, for good reasons of course.
Despite the very brief introduction in the about section in her YouTube page, “I’m just a gal who likes fashion and movies,” her commentary emanates her brilliance and passion for reading. Laid off from her previous work, a door opened up for her as a content creator. The Vietnamese-American content creator posted her very first video on May 24, 2020 and now her YouTube channel is strong with over 1 million subscribers.
Mina Le is an old soul who dwells in the modern day era. Recognizable as she dons her iconic 1930s look, crowned by her strawberry-blonde bob, combed up in lush marcel waves. Extensive research on historical events and topics shines in her video essays. Also a young blood, her natural wit shines in her meticulously written script.
Through her content I have discovered my fascination for fashion and its long and winding history. She narrates to us trends and its renaissance in today’s pop culture in a fresh, relaxed, and youthful presentation. Being a lover of films, Mina also explains in detail the cultural significance and lasting impact of select motion pictures. She also reviews them costume-wise, in creative ways such as unpacking, restyling and dissecting.
Her previous trip to Paris served a new format in her usual roster of content. In her video “48 hours with Dior in Paris” she takes us in her two-day venture in last year’s season of the Paris Fashion Week. The next 24 hours takes us on a tour in the La Galerie Dior which boasts an archival collection of the brand. Earnestly she showcased the items a la Mina’s style, abounding in historical education, in which we truly adore.
Doobydobap
Her pensive YouTube shorts firstly arrived on my feed and I consumed them like slices of kimbap. I watched and listened to her share fragments of her stories and insights in life while she cuts green onions for her ramen. After a series of shorts popping on my feed, I went to her channel to discover more, being a new follower of hers.
Her longer videos exhibits her effortless humor, wit, and skill in cooking diverse cuisines. You can also check out her lovely journey of her establishing her own homey restaurant.
The lovely ladies featured here are only just a few among the many stellar content creators out there! You can find inspiration by watching their content, and soon discover more personalities, cultivate your own creativity, or even unleash the creator in you.
