YouTube star is made-up to be famous

Mar 23 2008 by Sarah Robertson, Sunday Sun

LADY “Look” is smiling on North make-up artist Lauren Luke, whose cosmetics skills have made her a huge hit on the internet.

Lauren, 26, began giving demonstrations from her bedroom eight months ago and posting them on the video sharing website YouTube.

Since then, she has had around five million hits worldwide, and now top cosmetics companies Mac and Barry M are clamouring for her services. She has even had requests from women as far away as Australia and India asking her to recreate their favourite celebrity’s latest look so they can see how it is done.

One clip based on the look sported by singer Leona Lewis in her video for the song Bleeding Love got more than one million viewers alone.

Lauren, of South Shields, South Tyneside, said: “It has been absolutely tremendous.

“I cannot believe it at all. The feedback I have had from people has been overwhelmingly positive.

“I’ve always liked make- up and being arty.

“When I was a teenager I started practising how to put on make-up as I wanted to make myself look a bit prettier.

“Then I started getting people asking how I did my make up and I got the idea to put it on YouTube as it made perfect sense to let everybody see.

“When I was asked to create the Leona Lewis look it was really hard, but so many people asked me that I had to give it a go, and what has happened is tremendous.

“I didn’t know at all what was going to happen . . . not just the hits, but the amount of people from around the world who tune in to see me. I’m not your typical-looking girl. It is just fantastic.”

And it’s not just ordinary punters who have been logging on to see Lauren’s skills.

She said: “Barry M, Stila and Mac have been watching the videos and have been in touch. They asked if I will come to London and have offered to put me up in a hotel and take me out for lunch.

“I do not know what to expect as they are just wanting to hold talks at the moment, but I’m excited . . . especially as one day I would love my own make-up brand.”