Patrick StarrrandPatrick Taare products of Instagram beauty’s golden age.
Like many influencers, both have promoted other brands for years.
Amid cutthroat competition, the Patricks have forged an enduring friendship and support system.
Peter Simondac
And it’s a friendship that pays.
ALLURE: Where did you first meet?
PATRICK STARRR:At a makeup convention in 2014.
We knew each other through social media.
I basically invited myself to lunch.
PS:We had met a couple of times, but then this quarantine got us together.
We see each other exercising in Los Angeles.
ALLURE: What bonds do you share besides being members of this huge beauty community?
PT:We both started our careers in L.A. We came here with the hopes of becoming makeup artists.
Patrick decided to go the route ofa YouTuber, and I went the route of being acelebrity makeup artist.
We both have experienced such different journeys, but they are still very [much] the same.
[Ta’s parents emigrated from Vietnam.]
We share that bond.
PT:I feel so connected to you because ofour backgrounds.
Being a makeup artist or wearing makeup isn’t the norm in Asian-American families.
ALLURE: Did your perspective on the beauty industry change when you began making products?
PT:I didn’t realize how long it took tocreate a product.
I think I took that all for granted.
The hardest thing is the commentary that you get after.
Basically, you’re carrying this child for over nine months.
And when it’s born, people say that your child is ugly, or other horrible things.
[Starrr’s beauty brand,One/ Size,] just launched in Southeast Asia.
For the person who doesn’t understand how big a deal that is… That’s a huge deal.
PS:There’s a lot more pressure because of who we are as public-facing people.
But at the same time, it’s my responsibility to remain honest to my viewers.
I’m supposed to be this agnostic creature in the land of beauty.
Now I sympathize with brands and how much capital and strategy it takes to execute a launch.
ALLURE: Do you feel competitive with other people in the space?
I can speak to certain examples, like Kim Kardashian West; she’s ona YouTube video with me.
I’m cross-promoting her products on my platform.
Same with Naomi Campbell or Ashley Tisdale or Paris Hilton.
We are cross-pollinating our businesses for a better business.
And I’m an LGBTQ+ advocate and cake-loving man in makeup.
We stand for different things, but again, were able to coexist in the beauty world.
It’s not part of my scope of work.
PT:I am not social-first because I’m a working makeup artist.
COVID [provided] time where I was able to be home and create content.
I really realized the power of content and education.
ALLURE: Did you have a significant moment in your career that took you to the next level?
PT:I think it was the launch week ofmy brandand the support that I got.
It just made me realize that the last six years of my career in Los Angeles were for something.
The fact that people showed up for me, people supported me…
PS:He means celebrities.
I had never seen that many.
His was the biggest.
I think that’s why we both started doing makeup.
ALLURE: What would your advice be to nascent beauty founders?
Be a heavy observer in this industry.
There’s always something that’s gonna change.
But what did I do?
Read more about the Patricks:
Now, watch Patrick Starrr’s five-minute master class: