Emma Chamberlain on Her Acne Journey, TikTok Makeup, and the One Product That Gives Her Supersoft Skin

The YouTube star walks “Vogue” through her beauty routine, from how she keeps her blemish-prone skin healthy to her go-to makeup products.

Emma Chamberlain on Her Acne Journey, TikTok Makeup, and the One Product That Gives Her Supersoft Skin

“Let’s do it!” Emma Chamberlain exclaims. Today, the 19-year-old YouTube sensation is walking Vogue through her above-the-neck routine, beginning with how she takes care of her blemish-prone skin. “I have a really love-hate relationship with my acne journey,” says Chamberlain, who has contended with spots since hitting puberty. Thanks to a seven-month stint with Accutane last year, however, her complexion is almost entirely clear. “It actually made me fall in love with skin care in a whole new way,” explains Chamberlain, who now swears by a combination of masks, serums, and tea tree oil—the last of which she picked up not from any celebrity makeup artist or aesthetician, but rather her father. “[Acne] runs in the family, so I felt like I had this support system of parents that were like, ‘We get it,’” she recalls. But even Chamberlain is quick to point out that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to cosmetics: “The crazy thing about skin care that I’ve realized is it is so different for everybody.”

Chamberlain first experimented with makeup (and lots of it) as a cheerleader in high school, but these days she has a lighter touch when it comes to her face. “The thing I’ve learned is less is more and that’s because you watch a tutorial and you realize you don’t need to put the whole bottle of foundation on your hand to make your skin look good,” she notes, reaching for just a handful of products, including Kosas’s tinted oil and creamy concealer—although she may even give that up soon too. “It’s funny,” she says. “I’m starting to see people on TikTok draw on undereye bags, and I’m like, ‘Wait a minute! Undereye bags are trendy now?’ Count me in!” A dusting of bronzer, a coat of Twiggy-esque mascara, and a layer of plumping lip gloss come next—as does a spritz of dry shampoo and hairspray on her new brunette lengths. Ultimately, though, even the greatest blushes and brow gels aren’t enough to stop the social media star from the occasional creeping sense of self-doubt: “When I start to get too in my head, the phone’s off and I’m playing drums, I’m hanging out with my one friend, talking to my parents…” she muses. “That fixes everything.”

Below, shop Emma Chamberlain’s Beauty Secrets.