Influencer Marketing is a Scheme to Push Aesthetics to Keep You Broke 

What do ya''ll think about influencer marking and aesthetics ? Don't be shy in the comments!😉Also what % is your phone 🔋on? It's 3 a.m. for me and I'm on 34% 😫

"don't be rich girl aesthetic, be a rich girl" is exactly what I needed to hear today

I’m a HUGE fan of the “Don’t go Broke” aesthetic. 👌🏾

I'm in my "anything goes" era. I'm averagemaxxing and boringcore. You could never pick me out of a crowd.

i miss when "aesthetics" were actual genuine fashion subcultures and communities. ive been paying attention to things like cottagecore, emo/scene, goth, punk, etc for years since i became sentient and knowledgeable that i COULD look how i wanted. i think its a shame that people arent searching for what they truly love to wear and dopamine dressing. the way fast fashion, influencer marketing and social selling has rotted the consumer mindset is painful.

Was it just me or did anybody else hated the ads on television? And now,because they use our favourite influencers we sit and watch willingly.

I became suspicious of mob wife aesthetic when they said cheetah print was coming back…

Preach! I am so tired of words like "aesthetic" and "iconic" too.

Yes girl! " You can't cosplay personality" is the realest thing I've heard about this topic from anyone 👏👏👏

Subscribed ✅ I am an older millennial (36). I realized that at my income level, I can either look rich or retire with dignity but not both.

Anyone else also notice that what ever is “trending” you never actually see people out in the wild dressing like that? These companies convince us we should be wearing all these certain kinds of clothes yet you actually step outside your house and 99% of people are dressed… normal. Like even a lot of very to do celebrities don’t even wear these kinds of clothes unless it’s for a certain event/promo 😂

"It's soooo free to be yourself!" 😂 I love this

Idk if y'all have noticed but marketing is getting sneakier. They're trashing/criticizing brands then the brand 'responds' to them and ends up the hero for 'listening and learning'. It evolved from the Kardashians who trigger bw for advertising but now brand want to sem 'down to earth'. I'm talking about the 🐝 guy who went viral for critiquing kourtney k etc. Mlms are also marketing on that app. Also, someone pointed out how weird it is that influencers live in bare minimalist houses but do target/ designer hauls every week. So whenever you hear a brand mentioned its an ad. Doesn't matter if its positive or negative. *Youthforia or w/e

All these brands promoting more watste on landfills.

Im getting anxiety just by watching these influencers unpack all that crap

“You can’t cosplay personality.” I’m a gen x (not sure how I got here, honestly) and cheered internally when you said that. Figure out what you love and what works for you. Then when the new trends come along, you can say, no, not for me, or pick out one or two things and ignore the rest. Oh, and I’m old enough to remember seeing real mob wives on the news. They were terrifying. Married to men who could murder in cold blood and didn’t care. They were hard as nails and looked it.

I am clinging to my witchy victorian aesthetic and consumerism can pry it from my cold deceased hands

Ooo girl! I’ve realized this. Had to unfollow some accounts, realizing they’re all glamorized commercials.

I like how you give folks suggestions to the overconsumption issue and not just talk about the issue

The audio “broke people should never laugh” is just playing on repeat in my brain while I watch this.

12:02 a point about budgets: it’s the maximum you CAN spend; not the max you SHOULD OR WILL SPEND. If the grocery budget is $100 and you spend $50; you’re within your budget. Hold on to the other $50 for other situational grocery needs (ran out of eggs, need more flour). If you don’t spend the other $50 doesn’t mean next week’s budget is now $150. It’s still $100. If you continue to stay within budget, you’re saving money.

I think poor people are likely to overspend on influencer products because the link often comes with a discount, and a $10 lipstick or $40 pair of pants is easier to acquire than a car, or house, or even a family.

I stopped wanting to “fit in” in high school. It’s made my life much easier.

so glad someone is finally talking about this. we’re going broke and they’re literally making money off of us and we’re paying for them to have the luxurious life we will always dream of but most will not actually achieve. im over it.

My ascetic is "Mom at the playground," 😂 and I'm sticking to it!

Some people think consumerism is a personality trait

I love that you talk about this, I feel like it’s so normalized to over-consume online!

I feel like the infomercial world disappeared specifically because every day people wanted to become walking billboards, they don’t realize they are the infomercials in human form. It’s so cringe to me. But I guess it’s a genius move on the corporations part because they got a bunch of free advertisers to do the hard work for them now.

9:10 this hits so hard. It is so free to be you without needing to buy a new personality every time a new trend is pushed on you. There's nothing wrong with liking certain styles but you know yourself better than anyone else. Think about why you're buying what you are. Taking advice is fine but take it with a grain of salt and with critical thought. Another common tactic is influencers buying shit they can't actually afford at places like Sephora and returning the products, all to push a certain image/lifestyle. Pay attention to if there is someone you like, whether they keep using the products they're showing and let you know which products they have found trustworthy over YEARS, or jump to pushing the next thing in a heart beat.

I recently learned that PR sometimes isn’t even free. The companies can write it as a gift or tax write off under that person in terms of “self-employment”, thus the person receiving it would have to PAY taxes on it!

Dang she said buying your Tik Tok personality on Amazon! Wow 🔥

First off, your aesthetic is refreshing. Love your ponytails with the black satin scrunchies, clean glowy skin and clear lippie and sparkling teeth. Everyday fresh + clean beauty accessorized with intelligence and critical thinking.

“a lot of people want to look the part, but they don’t want to BE the part in real life” THANK. YOU. this is something i feel is especially prevalent when it comes to different alternative fashions being deemed “”trendy”” by tiktok. they don’t actually care about what the subculture stands for, or it’s history or anything like that. they just see the clothes and that’s it. i’ve called these types of people out on their “participation” being non genuine multiple times, and each time i get attacked by (non alternative !) people saying “they’re just clothes” or “it’s just clothes” which is honestly infuriating because they are NOT “just clothes”. subcultures have purpose and a lot of history and meaning, the fashion aspect of them is the surface level. the fact that people don’t actually care to go beyond that surface level, speaks at volumes they definitely can’t hear

Influencers are nothing more than the next iteration of sales people and a lot of times I'm seeing people be pretty confused about that. Even older media will show you back in the day. People would go to the stores they wanted to go to and generally if they went to that store somewhat frequently they had a preferred salesperson just like if you go to a diner back in the day. You might have a preferred waitress or waiter and you would trust their recommendations. They sure were friendly you like them. They provided you useful information but they were not your friend. They were a salesperson was their job to make commission to make tips from selling people. Things from upselling pie from upselling hardware equipment. Back in the day you would go to the mall you'd go to the beauty counter. They would put together makeup for you that was complementary to you and show you how to use it. They would upsell you on maybe a higher-end version of the product that was already working well for you where they would show you the newest thing that had just come in and almost nobody in town had seen it or had access to it yet. Back in the day manufacturers would have sales parties, seminars, conferences where their sales people would show up where the affiliates they participated in connection with to sell their products would come for several days and they would be educated on these new products. These innovations these remarkable opportunities to increase their commission and there was a lull in that from the mid '90s to the late 2010s. But now they figured out how to shift gears. They have their new sales people. They have their new beauty counter called RU-vid. They have their new hardware store called Facebook. They have their new fashion department called Instagram. They have their new soft and hard goods department called tick tok. Even people who were obsessed with celebrities back in the day would watch their favorite celebrity sell cigarettes or alcohol. Their current favorite celebrity selling perfume or highlighter or the next amazing medical procedure. Influencers are just your local sales people Hocking their wares on the corner of Internet, Street and social media boulevard. 💸💸💸💸

the emphasis on" let them sink by themselves...LET THEM SINK BY THEMSELVES!" 😂so good.

You are so real for this. As a gen z, I have no idea how aesthetics/trends could change so quick. It's like none of the trends have much staying power. Idk maybe because I'm slightly older gen z so I do remember when trend cycle weren't really short. I think the hypebeast trend is a good example. Being a hypebeast was basically "the dream life" for a lot of people, especially dudes back in 2010s. Good ol' times.

I’m a part time worker with a shopping addiction. This video popped out right after I bought 60$ worth of lipstick when I already own a lot. I know I have a problem with spending my parents never really showed me how to save money. They still don’t have any savings so whenever there is an emergency it’s on me to give them money. I guess shopping and spending money on myself is a way of feeling control. I have a lot of medical debt bcs of chronic illness that no matter how much I try and pay off constantly grows to the point I just gave up trying to pay it off entirely. My medication also takes a lot of my money so at the end of the month I stay with practically nothing so when I have some extra I spend it without thinking. Like finally I can buy myself something. Like a lil treat to forget all the bad feeling and anxiety around money and how doomed and poor my family is.

Mismanaging or just living above their means. And I can’t even afford to live above my means so I definitely can’t mismanage the few coins that I do get as a 43 year old widow. 😢

“It’s free to be yourself” yessssss!! Great quote

This had me by the ovaries!!! I would want so much that an influencer would suggest. It happened in the natural hair community and then beauty community. I had to step back back

I like being froufrou and feminine looking most of the time. Cottagecore and princess core work super well for me, and I like to wear Chinese traditional dress too because it’s gorgeous and comfortable. I don’t know why we stopped dressing in ways that make us feel good. I really don’t know and it’s so so sad.

I can’t tell you how much I hate when influencers tap their nails against the product. I might just hate everything about influencer content, but that’s at the top lol

If I feel stress decluttering my house and cleaning, how the heck those gyals manage boxes and boxes! Let’s be aware and save those coins, life is something greater ❤ thank you for this video! Need more messages like this

She said, your new personality has been posted on tiktok 😂 I must subscribe right now. I love this girl I thought I was the one who thought like this I'm soooo sick of the "follow the trends or be cancelled or be called basic" because your the only one who doesn't want a BBL, claw nails, big unnecessary standby until the next trendy cup is made Stanley cup. And it used to be just teenagers who did this mes but now it's full grown toddlers running around, "I went it because everyone else has it" gurl bye

my disabled and unemployed ass living on government benefits listening to you talk about investments: 👁️👄👁️ all jokes aside, awesome video and a very important message! to quote an amazing artist: "if what you are is just what you own, what have you become when they take from you almost everything?"

Aesthetics have washed out sub-cultures. Anyone remember Cottagecore from 2020? Yeah, that was around since at least 2017, and there was subculture around it. Before 2020 I could look up cottagecore and find baking tutorials, people's art work, DIY stuff in general. There would be clothing or pretty posts too but they were not the majority. And now when I look up cottagecore? "Buy this! Buy that!" It p's me off so much. Same with kawaiicore, it was a specific subset of the anime fandom and now it's just "buy this! Buy that!"

3 years ago I was definitely one of those people who would argue “I’m not broke” meanwhile I was living paycheck to paycheck. Had no savings, no emergency fund if something were to happen I’d have to borrow money or use credit cards to survive. Just because you have income doesn’t mean you’re not broke.

"You can't pay bills with compliments!" I am SO HAPPY the algorithm suggested your channel.

I earn a less than a minimum wage in my country, which is 650 USD a month. I also have disability benefits, but overall I don´t get more than 900USD per month. Half of that is for rent. I still managed to build up savings. I don´t have children and live on my own. I sometimes work on the side to get extra 200 USD when I need to buy clothes or other necessities. But I shop in second hands, only buy things on sale and never even visit expensive brands or online shops. I don´t own much, only a few pieces of furniture I found by the bins or got second-hand, 3 skincare products and only a basic make-up. I have never been to a salon to get my hair dyed, nails done or let alone some skincare procedure. I cut and dye my hair at home with a 3 USD hair dye from a supermarket. Yet I get complimented on how I dress and look. No one knows how cheap all the things I onw are. The only more expensive things I buy are grocceries, food for my pet bunnies and I ocassionally go to a cheap techno party or a few beers. You can absolutely make yourself look like you take care of yourself well, nobody will ever know if you learn to do it right. I am not ashamed, I am happy I have more money in my account than most of my friends who earn 5 times more than me.

Another good video and a good message for all of us. And what happens to all that stuff when they are onto the next thing? Have you ever seen those huge trash dumps in the movie Idiocracy? Whew! Thank you for the vid! ✌🏾💜

I got off social media, this one of the main reasons. I’m tired of feeling like I’m always being sold something. I used to impulsively spend and I’m sick of it lmao. I don’t even have an aesthetic. I just like to be comfy and cute.

I watched a breakdown of how mobwife started. Tbh, i think the og lady was just wishing it into being but the way she talked about it made me sad. It very much sounded like someone who felt they can't dress that way unless its "in". As someone whos been doing 50s type stuff for a decade, it doesn't matter whats in. You can buy any wardrobe you desire and you're gonna let trends tell you what you like? No. Get some taste and enough stuff that you're ready for aesthetics. A blazer, a few bottoms, a few tops, some one piece dresses, and then accessorize. Honestly, if you change your accessories every season, thats a totally fine way to do fast fashion. Slow fashion is better but i get its fun to look trendy.

I’m so glad you touched on this because influencers are not this transparent. And it needs to be talked about because people don’t even realize this is happening.

I know a few people when I was in college that were pursuing being influencers, they did get big followings over social media but it’s different when you see them everyday on campus and actually know them. Mountains of fast fashion new “hauls” every week, designer , vacation vlogs etc as a college student or young adult without family wealth is wild to me. Some of them didn’t even have a car and I just know they were in debt to their eyeballs.

“What the heck is a vanilla girl?” 😭 RIGHT! Thank you!!! I can’t keep up with all of the goofy aesthetics. Loved the way you broke this down, new sub here 🫶🏾

Girl!!!! I'm sipping on a matcha latte right now while I'm at work watching your video!!! Thank you so much for all you do!!! Please keep em coming. 🙏🏾The more truth is exposed, THE BETTER!!!! KEEP GOING!❤

Influencers aren't our friends, they're salespeople. It would be like walking into a clothing store, having their employee recommend a pair of shorts and hyping them up for us to buy them by saying they're the best fabric ever and look fabulous on us (as is their job), and for us to think they're our besties. They're literally doing their job, and that is to make us buy stuff. No difference! 🤷‍♀️ and exactly as you explained, it's our responsibility to take care of our own wallets. I'd never blame a Zara worker for me spending money, and I also don't blame an influencer for trying to get me to buy their newest useless product 😂

Hoping this video blows up, this is definitely something that I think everyone needs to hear.

Thank you! These unboxing videos feel like unintentional rage-bait ugh I love your channel.. your voice is so calming!

I hate all this aesthetic crap. Just wear what you wanna wear when you wanna wear it and don’t try to fit into any “aesthetic!” Just be you!💚

I discovered your channel today and I love your honesty and your figure of speech. ‘Why look rich when you could just be rich’. It is refreshing that you point out the problem today culturally, in our society. You don’t talk only about finances, you talk about external and internal drivers. I also love that you consider yourself one of the influencer and “who am I to talk” cracked me up. I am a fan. I wish you great success with your content and reach.

You are so needed in this crazy world, open these people's eyes please

The way people use the word "aesthetic" these days drives me crazy, mostly because I can see the intention. 20 years ago it was considered a pretty formal word that would be used in art or music classes in college to describe certain creative styles, or types of beauty. The marketing and influencer world has essentially taken a fancy word to make themselves and what they're trying to sell people seem more important. I also think that the promoting of "aesthetics" makes people feel a need to put themselves into some kind of category, when I don't think anyone can do that without losing some of their own personality.

They use a combination tactic. They use the influencers audience that idolizes the influencer, then they couple it with a discount code. It’s the perfect “Spaving” storm!

Insightful take on the dynamics of influencer marketing! It's important for consumers to remain critical and financially savvy, recognizing the influence of marketing in their purchasing decisions. Awareness can empower us to make choices that genuinely benefit our interests and budget. 👍

Thank you for calling it out! Because I been noticing that lately too people do NOT want to admit they are bad with money. But you know what? Just like everything else people in general don’t take accountability for anything. 🧐 Just like addiction, the first step to becoming better at whatever it is is realizing you have a PROBLEM.

I hate the fact I have to search 'grunge aesthetic' or 'scenecore' or 'kawaii aesthetic' in order to find the clothes I like to wear because it makes me feel like I don't fit anywhere like I used to :/ If anything I would classify myself as alternative because its not anything that fits anywhere but when I look it up on places I like to shop it shows me like E-girl clothes?? it's just do confusing now :(((

This is good! Thank you! I broke the cycle and started a HYS account.

I got this from my recommendations on my work computer and I had to hop on my phone to subscribe and say how much I loved this video. You perfectly described and deconstructed the bs behind this without rehashing the same points a lot of other videos have. Keep up the good work!

I’ve been watching your channel for a week now and I loveeeee. Your voice reminds me of “Daisha’s Digest”. I’m glad I have found both of you on RU-vid.

Gen X here and you’ve told 0 lies!!! Excellent job and new subscriber! ❤

I couldn't even finish watching this because the influencer videos pissed me off too much :( Sending you a like because your message is so good but I just can't with these people anymore.

this reminds me of how i was on threads and i was saying how much i hate shein for exploiting labor, for creating fomo, for making it seem like you HAVE to constantly buy trendy look how affordable it is to be trendy now, for the lead in their clothes, for the constant stealing from indie designers (esp designers of color who have spent YEARS facing systemic racism to perfect their craft only to have some fuckin company steal their labor), for polluting our earth... and the shein girlies were in my comments FIGHTING FOR THEIR LIFE to defend a company that only sees profit off them. like. in the time they spent defending shein, they could've been doing ANYTHING ELSE. cause i'm not gonna change my mind on shein and temu's business practices and i certainly don't throw away my hard earned money on cheap clothes i know will only be trendy for a week or two at most. so yeah: influencer marketing IS a scam.

A great video 👍 What gets me is the "bullying" of those who call out the foolishness. These influencers have fans and supporters who will defend them to the death no matter how toxic the content is.

Your voice is nice to listen to. 😄 Thank you for standing for morals over materials. Morals are always more important. YOU as a person are you. You are not your clothes or the opinions of others.

You said this so well. Saving this vid for when my kids are older. Feel like im going to need it with where things are heading

Thank you! Finally, someone brave enough to speak facts. I watch a lot of organizational videos and influencers would push these clear containers to put more stuff!!!!!!!

I am doing a financial literacy course through a local resource. Research if there is anything like that in your area. Its 2 hours once a week and its qualified me for a school grant and other benefits but main reason i joined is i am 32 and starting my life over i am in recovery from substance use so i only knew the hustle not responsibility and honest work. Its really helpful i am also learning my tenant landlord rights and the laws around leasing and how to try to buy property some day.

Hi so I’m easily influenced but I don’t chase esthetics I just hoard products like an idiot and finding your channel is kind of life saving I’m trying to get out of the continuous circle of buying constantly

The thing is that we NEED only a few things in our life, anything else is a burden in our life, mind and mostly our soul!

literally, why is everything an aesthetic.... its like you can't find what your personal style is because you're being bombarded with micro-trends

I used to work in influencer marketing for a large beauty retailer - thank god I don't work there anymore. The influencers treating me like a free store when they finish or loose (!) some products still haunt me in my dreams

the mob wife aesthetic got me bc why do you wanna look like a member of the mafia😭

Sooo true! Especially the new self care trend for kids. The face care routine for 4 year olds and 10-12 year olds lol is crazy

Saving this so i can watch it whenever i want to buy $100 worth of crap from shein💁🏾‍♀️

This is gooood. 👏🏽 I'm an influencer-myself and have been trying to talk on my channel about all this mess from the 'inside'. On the topic of PR, I always feel SO CONFLICTED, and I say no to a ton (but still get sent a lot). I'm so incredibly grateful, but I'm also hyper aware of the fact that as I grow and could hypothetically afford some of these products myself now, the chances I'll just get them for free also increase--SO MESSED UP. I think as creators, we need to be more discerning about accepting things, and also use receiving them as an opportunity to make REAL helpful and balanced reviews vs mindlessly hyping...but too many people are scared to miss out on receiving more if they are not "OBSESSED WITH IT". 🙃

These last two videos have been HITS 👏🏾🌟

7:37 it is not a conspiracy theory unfortunately. The "Old Money" and "Silent Money" trend emerged after LVMH bought the Loro Piana brand. No other old brands took off, only a couple of brands benefited from that “Old Money aesthetic”, and Loro Piana the most: a bunch of teenagers bought themselves expensive caps from Loro Piana on credit, and those who were richer bought a sweater and slippers. So yes, esthetic is not estheticing itself. There are some brands that make it happen. If you track the business processes of large corporations that sell clothing, you can predict a new fashion “aesthetic” with 99% accuracy.

As an artist, the substitution of the word "trend" with "aesthetic", is the most annoying shit.

When you said, "What the heck is a Vanilla Girl?" and burst out laughing, made me laugh haha 😂 Newly subscribed and I love your videos

i've been eating up all your videos, thank you for the honest commentary

Your videos are so smart and insightful. I hope young people watch them and take note.

The outburst of giggles in between sentences is sending me 😂

This is why i stick to watching my brown sisters tell me stories while they do their makeup or if i already have a product or anticipate a product ill research it. Thanks for sharing luvbug❤ also your locs are absolutely gorgeous!

You are right. Not a lot of people are seeing things the way you are. But what you are saying is the right way. So, keep going. You are doing a great job!

Thank you for your content, I feel like your videos are helping keeping me in check. Over the past year I’ve been trying to change my behavior in general about finances, these videos are a good reminder to keep it up

Very very solid video. I’ve recently seen how much garbage some YT influencers have been purging and I’m like, all that money spent could have gone in the bank, but here you are pretending to be a naive person who didn’t go out and buy thousands of dollars worth of stuff only to donate it later. Makes 0 sense.

Love you promoting personal responsibility!!! Subbed

I really needed this video! thank you so much for sharing this message ❤

I loved this video! I laughed out loud so many times ❤