Bustle’s 2025 Beauty Icon Awards: The Creators Of The Year

BeautyTok didn’t just tell us what to buy this year — it told us who to listen to. At a time when the platform has never been more saturated, it takes far more than good hairstyling tips and makeup recommendations to stand out. Now, influence hinges on authenticity, expertise, careful technique, and, above all, a distinct POV.

Amid the noise of the FYP, these creators commanded attention through their hyperspecific content. Rather than trying to do it all, the year’s most notable influencers carved out their own niches. They never chased the algorithm — their videos racked up the views by offering genuinely fun, engaging, informative content that kept us coming back.

From a mirrorless makeup guru to a curly hair savant, a perfume aficionado, and a special-effects wiz, these creators stand out for redefining what it means to be influential in beauty today. Once you hit follow, they become more than just TikTokers — they’re teachers, trendsetters, and your new BFFs in the world of glam. Ahead, meet the creators of 2025 who earned Bustle Beauty Icon status.

The Red-Lip Expert: Paloma Sanchez

Follow: @whor3chata_

Followers: 1.1 million

In today’s world, the joy of getting ready with your friends before a night out is a lost art — unless you’re following Paloma Sanchez. The TikToker, who goes by @whor3chata_ on the platform, brings that same energy to her videos. Whether she’s doing a GRWM, trying ’90s-era frosty lipsticks, or reviewing the latest makeup launch, her relatability and candid commentary make you feel like you’re her BFF sitting with her on the floor, eyeliner and wine glass in hand. And the throughline of the Mexican-born creator’s content? Her flawless red-tinted lip combo. (Don’t worry, she doesn’t gatekeep it.)

The Mirrorless Makeup Guru: Emily Wood

Follow: @emilywoodmakeup

Followers: 148,500

Makeup tutorials can sometimes make glam feel meticulous, tedious, and out of your league — but not Emily Wood’s. The makeup artist — who’s famous for applying products on the go, sans any tools or mirror (besides her phone’s selfie camera) — is living proof that beauty is accessible to everyone, regardless of skill level. She’s also a go-to source for actually useful hacks, like using a lip pencil as blush and contour. With her imperfect smudges, rainbow-colored pigment, and fast-as-a-flash swipe and dab technique, Wood brings a sense of whimsy back to makeup.

The Older-Sister Beauty Guide: Toni Bravo

Follow: @bonitravo

Followers: 859,000

Regardless of what shows up on your FYP, chances are it’s someone you don’t actually know. That’s what makes creator Toni Bravo’s content so refreshing: Her videos radiate warm, let’s-chitchat vibes, with a feed filled with GRWMs, blush combos, and her “Beat or Bust” series, in which she tries buzzy new makeup products. Her older-sister aura shines through them all. Bravo has a grounded, no-nonsense approach that makes beauty feel approachable — and her no-B.S. reviews have cemented her as an authority viewers trust and keep coming back to.

The Real-Life Glinda: Aurora De Godzinsky

Follow: @zitacherrry

Followers: 339,800

Whether you’re still riding the Barbiecore wave or simply appreciate the color pink, Aurora de Godzinsky’s TikTok is a bubblegum-tinted beauty paradise. The Dutch creator has a penchant for pastel hues, which shows up in her many pink-themed makeup tutorials — including her everyday “cold bronzy pinky” glam — and beauty videos, like her sparkly ballet slipper-colored nail vlog. With her ASMR-worthy voice, white-blond hair (yes, she has tutorials on styling it), and signature frosty pink aesthetic, de Godzinsky’s feed feels like a sanctuary for both beauty inspiration and self-care.

The Special-Effects Wiz: Paige Cole

Follow: @paigecolemakeup

Followers: 782,000

You never know what sort of visual adventure you’ll find on a special effects makeup artist’s TikTok page — and Paige Cole, the queen of this niche, always delivers. Her videos take her followers on hilarious, hypercreative journeys, from GRWMs for first dates or weddings that involve everything from prosthetics and horns to contact lenses (“I decided to go with something kind of natural,” she quips in one), to satisfying clips of her removing special effects, to full Grinch costume antics like riding the train. If you like your beauty content with a dose of surreal humor — not to mention serious skill — she’s a must-follow.

The Makeup Reporter: Christie X

Follow: @christxiee

Followers: 1.4 million

If anyone’s going to tell you what’s what in the makeup world, it’s Christie X. The TikToker is a diehard glam devotee — and she has the industry savvy and the curiosity to dig deeper than the average review. Her videos range from dissecting viral dupes and hunting down the perfect milky-pink lip gloss to testing discontinued or canceled products to see whether they actually deserved the hype. Consider her your unfiltered beauty guru: a shopping savant/makeup historian who’s always ready to share the kind of insider intel most creators keep to themselves.

The Curl Routine Queen: Joy Burnett

Follow: @thatgirlwiththecurlyhair

Followers: 691,000

Meet the influencer who convinced a huge chunk of the Internet to participate in “no slickback November.” Joy Burnett is a beauty-loving creator with a genuine passion for caring for her curls — and sharing her best tips and tricks along the way. While her feed is packed with curly hair routine videos, you’ll also find makeup tutorials, vlogs, and skin care content, all delivered with her signature BFF energy that keeps followers coming back — proof that curl care advice hits different when it comes from someone who actually gets it.

The Internet’s Perfume BFF: Kathleen Fuentes

Follow: @kathleensmells

Followers: 138,200

Kathleen Fuentes is the founder of nail care brand Lights Lacquer — and a bona fide fragrance aficionado. She has two TikTok accounts: one dedicated to general beauty and lifestyle content and another where she goes all in on perfume. (People contain multitudes, OK?) On @kathleensmells, Fuentes shares everything from fragrance-layering advice to how to smell like a Cabbage Patch Kid circa 1999, plus the perfume drops worth buying. If you’re ever unsure before buying a new scent, her page is the first place to check.

The Master Of Whimsy: Lindsey Rowley

Follow: @linsmakeuplooks

Followers: 3.2 million

Lindsey Rowley’s hot-pink hair will stop you mid-scroll, and her charmingly wry humor — and undeniable beauty expertise — will make you hit the follow button. Whether she’s matching her makeup to her outfit (think sherbet-colored polka dots around the eyes), replicating Zara Larsson’s rhinestone-studded stage glam, or creating an eyeshadow look that complements her reindeer earrings just because, Rowley’s content is the truest representation of a beauty-for-fun philosophy. It’s refreshing, playful, and genuinely hard to stop watching — in a good way.