Image credit: @yarki9

Beauty creator Leilani Green spent four years creating content before earning her first dollar. Today, at 23, she has secured partnerships with Sephora Collection, MAC, and CoverGirl through a decade-long strategy centered on genuine connection rather than viral growth hacking. 

Leilani presents herself as an “online big sister” to her followers across Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube—a role that has proven effective as a business development tool.

“I want them to feel like they can do their makeup however they want,” says Leilani. “Not to feel judged. I’m sure my audience doesn’t feel judged by me, and they feel comfortable just being their true selves.”

Leilani’s approach to content creation is deeply rooted in her personal childhood experiences. “I do have an older sister, and I would wake up every single morning before she went to school and watch her do her makeup,” she reveals. 

This early habit shaped how she presents herself online, further strengthened by her own experiences watching content.

“I grew up watching YouTube vloggers like Bethany Mota and Zoe Sugg. Whenever I watched them, I felt like I was watching my friend or big sister on FaceTime,” Leilani explains. “I didn’t feel judged. I felt free.”

This understanding of both sides of the creator-viewer relationship gave Leilani insight into building real connection. “The YouTubers I watched showed me how it would feel as an audience member, how they feel watching my content. All of that has just poured into me, and I feel like that’s what I reflect to my audience.”

Content Process and Strategy

Leilani describes her content approach in specific terms: “I would describe my content as inspirational and informative, but beauty-centered. So people can come to my page when they need that extra creative spark if they don’t know what makeup look they want to wear.”

Her content falls into two main categories that she creates at different times of day:

“I typically like to start off my days reviewing products because I want to show my audience the new drops, because there are so many new makeup and skincare products coming out. I like to review during the daytime and at night. People know my videos for the transition videos, where I start with no makeup and then I transform into a full face.”

These transformation videos fulfill what she sees as the “inspirational part” of her content, providing fresh makeup looks and creative ideas.

The ‘Saves’ Metric

While many creators focus on views and likes, Leilani uses a different method to evaluate her content’s impact. “I pay attention a lot to ‘Saves’ because I want people to save my content, especially if it’s a makeup look to come back to later,” she explains.

She recognizes her audience’s behavior patterns: “A lot of people will save my colorful makeup look specifically for that time when they need it, because it’s rare that someone will need the makeup look I’m showing in that moment.”

This focus on “saves” shows she knows her content works as a resource rather than just entertainment. “The fact that they’re saving it shows that they remember me as someone to come to. And if it has a lot of saves, it most likely has a lot of engagement elsewhere.”

From Beauty to Self-Image 

Leilani shares how a brand collaboration based on an authentic product experience can lead to strong partnerships. Unlike typical beauty partnerships, this one extended into the broader self-image category.

“Although I do love beauty and skincare, I feel like your smile is a part of how you feel about yourself as well. It’s a big part of it,” Leilani explains. The partnership started from her real product experience: “I ended up just saving up and getting it done. And I messaged my manager, ‘I love Invisalign. We have to message them and let them know how much I love them.’”

This proactive, usage-based outreach led to a major deal: “They ended up doing a year-long partnership with me. It was just cool to see how much more confident I’ve become with the smile I have now. So it was just a different avenue of beauty that I’m used to showcasing.”

Image credit: @maxbronner

Platform-Specific Content Approach

Leilani keeps her genuine style across platforms but adjusts content for each platform’s specific features.

“Instagram is where I put my most polished content, and I’m trying to get more and more out of that, but Instagram will always be that perfect content, perfect pictures and videos.

“TikTok is where I’ll make videos that are more silly, more personality showing, but still some of that perfection as well.”

“Snapchat? I vlog every day on Snapchat from the time I wake up to nighttime. Right now, they are aware that I’m in an interview. So it’s every single day, 24/7, all days a week, from the time I wake up and go to sleep, and I show everything I’m going through, whether I’m sad, mad, or happy.”

“YouTube vlogs [are for] the memorable moments in my life that I want to personally remember and show my audience as well.”

Creative Freedom: Key to Partnership Success

Leilani highlights a key factor in successful brand collaborations: creative control. “Sometimes they don’t understand that we know best what works for our content,” she explains. “They try to put their input in a lot, where they’re telling us what to film sometimes and what creative direction they want to go in. But if you ask any creator, that’s what they hate.”

The problem is simple: “We know exactly what our audience wants to see, but some brands want to give us the idea and it doesn’t perform well, and then they’re wondering why.”

When asked about her “must-haves” for successful collaborations, Leilani stressed creative freedom: “How creative they let us be as a creator. It shows they know your worth when they let you just freely do whatever you want with the content.”

Creating Strong Brand Relationships

Leilani’s work with Sephora Collection shows how real partnerships can grow into lasting team-ups. “I’ve worked with Sephora Collection for three years now,” she shares, noting an interesting pattern in their relationship.

“There was a moment when they didn’t work with me again. And then a few months passed. They’re like, ‘Actually, we’re going to work with her.’ So I feel like that moment really showed how strong our connection was because we couldn’t even stay away from each other for a few months.”

The partnership works because it fits with what she truly values. “I love Sephora Collection because it’s just a way more affordable version of what Sephora already has. And I love both sides. I love luxury, and I love drugstores. So I feel like that brand really hits true to me.”

Their work together has grown from basic reviews to product creation: “They did perform well. So I feel like that’s why they felt super comfortable with coming up to me to collab on a cream lip.”

Patience and Creative Drive

An eye-opening fact about Leilani is the timing of her first paycheck as a creator: “I didn’t make my first dollar until four years after I started.”

As she shares, this patience was possible because earning wasn’t her main goal. “When I started this, I didn’t have money in my head as a motive. And I feel like it is almost impossible to achieve something that takes this long with a motive behind what you’re doing besides creativity.”

Instead, what kept her going was real passion: “Creativity, love, and passion are the only things that will take you through it. And it will take time as well.”

Growing and Expanding

Leilani sees her growth as a creator as a positive confirmation of her career choice: “It was so reassuring that I’m doing everything that I could be doing and I’m doing the right thing,” she says. “It’s such a different career and a different job, so it’s like, I’m getting older. Should I go back to school, or should I figure this out? So it’s just [reassurance] that you’re doing great, you’re doing amazing.”

Her next steps include stepping outside her usual routine: “I want to start saying yes to more things, traveling more, and meeting these brands around the world.”

Leilani also wants to work more with other creators: “I just want to extend my content beyond my filming room and maybe explore more collaborations, as it’s always just been me.”

Her big goal remains making her mark in beauty: “I would love to see my face in the Sephora store. Aim high. That’s what I always say.”