In Praise of Sailor J: The Woke AF Beauty Vlogger We’ve Been Waiting For

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tmN4QzuUBk Sailor J thinks she knows my life. My entire insecure, aggressively honest (or just aggressive), disorganized and easily distracted Aries life. Suggested Reading After Customer Got Caught In A Hilarious Braid Shop Brawl, She Recorded The Whole Thing Heartfelt Twist for “The Wire’s” Tray Chaney After Son’s Tornado Scare Meghan Markle Breaks Her Silence…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tmN4QzuUBk

Sailor J thinks she knows my life. My entire insecure, aggressively honest (or just aggressive), disorganized and easily distracted Aries life.

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She also does one hell of a bronzed cat eye.

The increasingly popular YouTuber—more than 120,000 subscribers and rising—first hit my radar in October with “Getting a Man 101”— a hilarious yet poignant take on how women often contort (and distort) ourselves for male approval. In the less-than-five-minute clip, she also manages to address colorism, “pick me” culture, and the beauty industry’s continued dismissal and undervaluing of black women.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEaeJJQDGfc

Contouring 101” swiftly followed, a bitingly feminist tutorial that used one of makeup’s most overused trends to address unrealistic beauty standards—while actually demonstrating it. At more than a half-million views to date, it’s obviously resonating with viewers, as is Sailor J’s recent holiday-themed video, “How to Do Thanksgiving Makeup That Has Nothing to Do With the 566 Federally Recognized Tribes.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYWt2mnalP8

In a space overrun with beauty tutorials that all seem to result in the same version of contoured, strong-arched and highlighted beauty (albeit in different hues), Sailor J’s irreverent approach is a welcome departure. With each beauty-fueled rant, she simultaneously reminds us to stay woke and to stop taking ourselves so damned seriously. And though things are definitely serious out here, that’s a reminder we could all use.

Her latest series—which I’m affectionately calling “Astrology for Assholes”—is less social commentary, more insane reading of the not-so-ideal traits of each sign. It’s also eerily accurate. I mean, I’m not saying that my eye shadow game is more organized than my leadership skills, but ...

I’m just saying. Do you wanna fight?

Straight From The Root

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