She Came, She Saw, She Contoured
By Derrick J Thomas, Jr, Managing Editor, The Campus
The beauty industry is an ever evolving landscape that combines the arts, sciences, and culture. This industry encompasses various products that range from skincare and cosmetics to haircare and wellness. In the current state of the beauty industry there is a push from the youth demographic and influences to have more diverse beauty standards that empower one’s personal identity and express uniqueness. Towards the push to creating more practical beauty standards social media influencers and content creators that have graced our screens such as have graced our screens such as Golloria, Cyrus Veyssi, and Huda Kattan– plus, a student within our undergraduate population.
Photo: Jessica Garcia
This past month The Campus had the opportunity to interview Jessica Garcia. She is currently a senior with a double major in Psychology & Public Relations. She is Mexican-American and is a small influencer on Instagram who focuses her content on beauty, clothing, wellness, and lifestyle. Outside of her academic endeavors she is heavily involved in the Undergraduate Student Government (USG), where she serves as Vice President of Public Affairs. The committee that she leads is dedicated to establishing a social media presence for the USG while also aiding in the planning of various on campus events. Garcia is also an intern at a public relations firm which provides her with real world experience in the field of media management.
She began to develop content about a year ago when she joined a community full of people that are interested in fashion, beauty, and the promotion of wellness. These communities are College Fashionista & Campus Trendsetters. Each of these organizations partner with college students across the United States to harness their love for all things related to beauty, fashion, and lifestyle. They aid career-oriented students in building their skill sets while they are on campus and helping students like herself gain access to industry experts in the fashion and digital media industries.
Photo: Jessica Garcia
When beginning her journey as an influencer, Garcia recalled that she struggled with pushing out content that would be appealing to the consumer. Garcia’s first experience with promoting a brand was with the perfume and skincare line Sol De Janeiro. She expressed to The Campus that hen making this video for this very popular brand she was afraid but had to remember that “there is a first time for everything”. Soon after collaborating with Sol De Janeiro, Garcia would go on to work with brands like Armani Beauty, YSL, and most recently Patrick Ta Beauty.
Even though content creation may lead to wonderful outcomes, they must be embraced with a balance with life at the same time. Garcia has said that “sometimes when you have all of these collabs with various deadlines, at points it begins to feel like homework…and you're putting out all of this work that it turns into quantity over quality.” This would have many lose passion in what they are working towards, but even with this hurdle she did not back down. In spite of the current standards of the beauty industry she rose above and continued to create content that appeased her. She is a firm believer that “if I would have put something out, I want it to be something that I'm proud of”.
Jessica with makeup artist and CEO Patrick Ta// Jessica Garcia
There is no handbook for developing content. As an influencer and a full-time college student, she has to constantly keep herself on a timeline to post while ensuring that she is providing time for her own self care and overall well being. To do this, Garcia has had to dig deep and see that there is no such thing as perfect content. As long as she is being herself and is developing a brand that properly reflects her values, then she is on the absolutely correct track.
In the distant future Garcia hopes to collaborate with bigger companies such as Haus Labs. She also hopes to provide much more representation in beauty especially as many brands lack diversity in terms of shade range. Garcia wants to see change in the beauty industry– change that properly represents people of color, including people with darker shade ranges.
So, as we mention products that enhance one's natural beauty, here is a list of products that are not only inclusive, but have been tested by Jess herself!
Glossyjessyuh Top 10
Glossier Lash Slick
Patrick Ta Major Skin Hydra-Luxe Luminous Foundation
Eva NYC Kween Silver Glitter Spray
Maison Margiela Afternoon Delight
Mane 1.25”Jumbo Waver
Eos Vanilla Cashmere Lotion
The Inkey List Oat Cleansing Balm
Huda Beauty Blush Filter
Kosas BB Burst
Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm
If you want to see more content that revolves around beauty, lifestyle, fashion and much more, follow Jess on Instagram at @glossyjessyuh. You can also reach her by email at glossyjessyuh@gmail.com. As Jess says, remember “that as you do anything, if it is in a class or at work but with your full personality and the understanding that it meets your moral standards”.