2016 Beauty Vlogger of the Year Laura Sanchez
Los Angeles, CA (LA ELEMENTS) 8/24/2016 – “Just appreciate your emotions and everything you have in every moment in your life because some aliens out there don’t have any emotions,” says Laura Sanchez, in her award winning video that captured the top prize at the Fifth Annual NYX FACE Awards with its science fiction theme.
Thousands of makeup artistry tutorials were submitted to the contest which commenced on April 4th of this year. Several elimination rounds followed leading up to the final night of competition, which was hosted by YouTube beauty maven Kandee Johnson, emceed by 2012 winner Charisma Star and held at The Novo LA LIVE in downtown Los Angeles on August 20th, 2016. Sanchez’s video earned her the title of Beauty Vlogger of the Year as well as $50,000 and a year’s supply of NYX makeup.
Admitting that when her name was announced as the winner of the 2016 NYX FACE Awards she was so stunned a few seconds were needed to process the news, Sanchez found the victory especially meaningful for personal reasons. “I don’t know…when I heard them call my name I was like, ‘Wait, is that me?’ I feel so happy and today was my great grandfather’s birthday and he died not too long ago so I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is for him!’
Any advice for future contestants? ““I would say just be yourself. Your followers will love you because of your videos, because of you.”
LOS ANGELES, CA – AUGUST 20: (L-R) Finalists Alexa Poletti, CosmoByHaley, PompBerry, Brianna Fox and RawBeautyKristi
Also winning cash prizes of $15,000 each were semi-finalists: Alexa Poletti, Brianna Fox, RawBeautyKristi, CosmoByHaley and Pompberry. Go to YouTube to check out all of the finalists’ official submissions to the 2016 NYX Face Awards.
LOS ANGELES, CA – AUGUST 20: (L-R) Judges Ve Neill, Megan McIntyre and Melissa Giannini attend the 5th Annual NYX FACE Awards
Influencer Ingrid Nilsen speaks onstage at the 5th Annual NYX FACE Awards
Judging the final night of competition at the NYX FACE Awards were editor-in-chief of NYLON, Melissa Giannini, Beauty Features Director at Refinery 29 Megan McIntire, Academy Award winning makeup artist Ve Neill (Ed Wood, Mrs. Doubtfire and Beetlejuice) and lifestyle expert, Ingrid Nilsen.
Recording artists Chloe Bailey (L) and Halle Bailey of Chloe x Halle perform onstage.
A musical highlight of this event was the stellar performance by musicians Chloe x Halle. These talented sisters are signed to Beyonce’s management company, Parkwood Entertainment.
We caught up with the acclaimed attendees of the this event on the red carpet and at the after party to discover, among other things, their definition of beauty.
How do you define beauty?
Megan McIntyre
“I think beauty for me being a beauty editor is about how you define yourself. It really is an expression of who you are. This is your style, this is your lifestyle choices, that shows what’s important to you what it is that you think you want the world to see about you. And that could be, I want to go natural today and I want everybody to see just how awesome I feel about myself, you know what, I really want to rock that cat eye, and I think it’s just something that you’ve got to own. You’ve got to have that confidence and if you don’t have that confidence, sometimes makeup or hair or one of those things can make you feel better and I think that’s a really powerful thing.”
(L.-R.) Larla Lee and Christine Dominique Photo: Elva Zevallos for LA ELEMENTS
Larla Lee
“Well, I just think it’s so funny because you see someone at first and you may see their outside shell and be like, ‘they’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen’ and then you meet them and their attitude is a little bit rotten so then they’re not so pretty to you anymore. I think real beauty is defined whenever you really meet someone and through the kindness of their heart you’ll start seeing them as a really beautiful person.”
Christine Dominique
“Beauty starts from the inside and then out. You can only just enhance it.”
Kandee Johnson
“I think beauty is something more that you feel than something more that you wear. And when you shine that beauty from your heart, it doesn’t matter how perfect your face is, when you make people feel beautiful, I think that’s truly a beautiful person that makes you feel loved..that’s beauty that you feel in your heart.”
Halle Bailey
“I definitely define beauty as being something and somebody so wonderful on the inside first and once it starts within I think it will come out so naturally.”
Chloe Bailey
“It’s all about your confidence and how you strut whatever you have and that’s definitely the most beautiful thing you can ever have.”
Going back to when you made your first video what is the one thing that you know now that you wished you had known then?
LOS ANGELES, CA – Finalist RawBeautyKristi attends the 5th Annual NYX FACE Awards on August 20, 2016
RawBeautyKrysti
“That’s a tough one. I would say, I wish I could have enjoyed the ride. I’m a stress case. Oh I’m a stress case! I wish that I could have calmed down a little bit, enjoyed the ride. Honestly, I’ve learned to just do my best and not take things too seriously. It’s been an amazing couple years.”
Alex Poletti
“The best you can be is being you. As long as you don’t stray from who you are in your videos. It is the best that you can be.”
Pompberry
“I’d say, following up on that just follow your instincts and your gut feeling. Just be creative. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. Definitely don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone.”
Brianna Fox
“I think definitely, living in the moment because it goes by so fast and just enjoy it while it happens. Like Krysti, I stress out too. We all stress out. Go with the flow and enjoy every minute of it.”
CosmobyHaley
“Seriously, don’t stress too much and enjoy the ride because this is like a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
Kandee Johnson hosts the Fifth Annual NYX FACE Awards
Kandee Johnson
I don’t know what I wish I would have known because I think learning things was part of the journey. Those are invaluable things that you can’t get without stumbling along the way. I guess I wasn’t afraid back then but I would tell other people to not be afraid. Start with what you have, where you’re at….good camera, good lighting and then do it! Start whatever you want to do now, where you are. Don’t wait for a perfect time.
If you could collaborate with anyone in the studio who would it be?
Chloe
“I would say Frank Ocean and Andre 3000.”
Hailey
“Definitely our mentor Beyoncé. Frank Ocean we love and I also love Lenny Kravitz.”
How did you get your start and why did you decide to do what you’re doing?
Larla Lee
“So I got my start when I was living back in Alabama and I started watching other girls on YouTube and I was like, ‘I could totally do that!’ It definitely took a lot of courage to actually put myself out there on the Internet because there’s a lot of criticism out there. But, it’s a lot scarier in your head than what it actually is.”
Award winning makeup artistry from Laura Sanchez
For more information on the NYX FACE (Fine Artistry of Cosmetic Elites) Awards please visit their official site.
Cover photo of Sarah El-Annan, Charisma Star, NYX Cosmetics CEO Scott Friedman, Laura Sanchez, Kandee Johnson and Senior Vice President of Marketing & Global Business Development Nathalie Kristo and all other photography courtesy of Getty Images unless otherwise noted.
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