I know. I already know I am going to get a lot of flack for my statement, but just, hear me out. None of what I have to say is personally against Alix herself, but more about, in my opinion, the unnecessary hype surrounding her. Although I will praise Earle for her entertaining and pleasing demeanor in her videos, as well as her transparency regarding plastic surgery and her breakup, ultimately, her content is mediocre, and her fame is excessive.
Alix Earle rose to Tik Tok stardom over the last few months, and her follower and recognition growth pattern mirrors that of Charli D'Amelio and Addison Rae back in 2019-20. My thoughts concerning the ridiculous popularity of D'Amelio and Rae do not carry over into my feelings about Earle. In fact, I like Earle and her demeanor in her videos, and she really is a girl's girl. However, I do think that her popularity was too much too soon and her content is nothing special. At least D'Amelio and Rae hopped on the Tik Tok fame train just when dances were becoming popular, and led the way for dancing to become a major part of the platform. Contrastingly, Earle has followed the GRWM vlog-style videos trend, and unlike Rae and D'Amelio, did not lead the way for new, revolutionary types of content, but rather followed the path of Tik Tokkers like Monet McMichael.
There are many arguments and theories surrounding Earle's rise to fame, and here are the main points of why I think she, and her fame, is unnecessary and overrated.
If you take a look at the videos on Alix Earle's Tik Tok page, you'll find that her content looks like many beauty and fashion influencers, such as Hannah Harrell and Vivacious Honey. Her makeup routine has taken the internet by storm, but personally, there is nothing special or revolutionary about her routine or the products she uses.
For example, I have been using the Drunk Elephant tanning drops since they first dropped and have been telling anyone and everyone who asks, to use the drops. Now, since Alix Earle uses them, everyone uses them. It's giving "I saw Regina George wearing camo pants and flip flops, so I wear camo pants and flip flops". It irritates me because the "hacks" she shares on her platform are not hacks, but common techniques that makeup influencers like Meredith Duxbury and NikkiTutorials have been using since the Golden Age of YouTube. I mean, Bite Beauty mascara was a STAPLE in early 2000s celebrity makeup artist's bags, and now has only been recognized due to Earle's usage of the fabulous mascara.
Now, I am not shaming Alix for promoting these products. I mean she's just sharing her routine with her followers, which I respect. My issue is rather with the over-the-top praise we give her for doing, quite literally, the bare minimum. Bite Beauty, Drunk Elephant, and Rare Beauty are not some "rare finds", but rather products and companies that have been relevant for years and years. Her GRWM videos are just one of the millions of search results that come up when you search GRWM on Tik Tok. Why is she hailed the "Queen of GRWM" when literally thousands of smaller creators have been making GRWM videos for years (shoutout to Kayli Boyle, whose nail and makeup videos are severely underrated)?
Her product promotion, although completely normal for a creator, comes with some flaws.
Many of the products Earle popularized are specifically made for people of color. Girls like to use the darker shades of concealer as contour, then there’s nothing left for the people who actually need the dark shade. And I feel like it’s kind of insensitive. I don’t blame Alix … but it’s more on the viewers that are idolizing her. In addition to concealer, Earle shared that she uses hair oil from Mielle Organics, a company largely known to sell products for Black women’s textured hair. Subsequently, the oil – and similar hair products – has been sold out in many department stores.
Although I do not think that race should be a factor in whether or not you follow or like a certain influencer, however, it’s kind of odd how every few months, there’s one white TikTok girl who blows up out of nowhere. I never had even heard of her prior to a few weeks ago and it’s weird because I’m seeing some of my favorite Black and POC lifestyle creators' posts not pushed in the algorithm. TikTok tends to amplify creators like Earle – white, blonde girls.
Though Earle gained most of her popularity recently, she has received numerous brand deals and PR packages with companies like Tarte, and interactions with celebrities like Hailey Bieber and Miley Cyrus.
Creators that are doing the same thing as Alix who are people of color have been doing it forever, and they don’t get the same recognition. I feel like people are more exposed to blonde white girls, that they overlook the creators that are people of color, which is so disturbing. Black creators with verification checkmarks and paid partnerships are less frequently shown on the "For You Page" than white creators.
Creators like Earle also feed into the “vanilla girl” and “clean girl” aesthetics that have become notorious across social media. These aesthetics are typically characterized by clear skin, slicked-back and blonde hairstyles, pale color palettes, and expensive clothes. The trends exclude minority groups and perpetuate colorism – as the characteristics of these aesthetics are not easily accessible to people of color. If you look up the trend on TikTok, it’s probably mostly white people dressed up in that style. The trend can exclude Black and Brown girls because their hair in its natural state can not always be slicked back.
I definitely think it is called the 'vanilla girl trend' for a reason. It can be harmful to all young girls because it teaches them they need to look a certain way, have light makeup to look pretty, and have a certain type of style. It pushes pressure on young women to always look perfect. The internet’s obsession with Earle can be connected to this trend because she “ticks all the boxes” of the aesthetic.
People try to play off instances like these as social media outrage, but the circulation of solely influencers and trends like Alix Earle and the vanilla girl aesthetics, respectively, is problematic. I don’t want people to feel like I'm trying to make it a race thing, or pulling it out of thin air, but when you take a second to sit back and look at how things are and what’s going on here, you can see how these issues are deeply rooted in racism and white supremacy.
As a 17-year-old woman of color from Northern New Jersey, Earle's content is not relatable to me and a lot of my classmates. She comes from a position of privilege, both economically and racially. Her platform promotes a lot of expensive and luxury products and clothing that are not accessible to the majority of the population. I think that many creators, like Monet McMichael, recognize their monetary privilege and provide cheaper options for clothing, makeup, and even the nights out that they are always getting ready for. Earle boasts a "party girl" lifestyle at UMiami, but for many students, this is not an option, especially for those on financial aid and scholarships.
Earle's content is nothing special or revolutionary, and may even be a little too problematic. I think that we are too quick to hype up and give praise to mediocrity, especially when it comes in the form of a tan, thin, tall, pretty, rich, blonde college party girl.
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