Avani Gregg is a force to be reckoned with. The stats speak for themselves: 17.7 million Instagram followers, 35.5 million TikTok followers, and over two and a half billion likes on her TikTok page alone.
Since the content creator and makeup artist first started posting playful and unconventional beauty looks she’s built up a mammoth loyal following… and it all started with #clowncheck – a creepy clown makeup look that the teen (now aged 18) posted back in June 2019. Overnight, she started to get recognised in shops and at work as a lifeguard.
These days, Avani regularly serves up alt-makeup videos that get recreated hundreds of times. She’s found her tribe among like-minded creators, like Charli D’Amelio, who often appears in her videos, and she’s got her own makeup collection under her belt, thanks to a smash-hit collaboration with Morphe.
We asked the social media star to spill the tea on her current fave makeup look, her TikTok tips and her hopes for the future, with a self-filmed episode of GLAMOUR Beauty Spy.
What beauty trends are you really excited about at the moment?
A beauty trend I’m really excited by, is that people are digging more into using colours – like, coloured liners, bright neons and glitter. People are just throwing it all over their face and making it an amazing look. I love seeing that, it really keeps me interested when I’m watching a video or looking on Instagram. People keep on adding to that and making it better, so it keeps getting more exciting.
Who/what is really inspiring you right now?
There are so many people that are inspiring me – I literally cannot give you names because I don’t know, but my For You page and my Instagram Explore page is filled with inspiration all the time. That’s why I’ve been so motivated lately.
What do you still have on your bucket list to manifest?
One thing that I have on my bucket list that I am ready to complete is to give you guys more scary makeup content. I’ve been working on some ideas and I’m excited for you guys to see them!
What are your top TikTok tips? How do you keep it interesting?
Tips for TikTok are kind of hard just because it depends on what kind of content you are posting. I post makeup and fashion, so I always want to bring something that not everyone has seen on their page – something that makes you stand out more when it comes to posting trends. I always try to add a bit of my twist to trends if I can and that’s usually what keeps my page alive.
Can you tell us about the process behind your beauty videos?
The process behind my makeup videos is not really as crazy as you might think it is. I start out with an emotion I’m feeling, based off of what makeup look I’m trying to go for. If I’m going for a regular daily makeup look, I don’t really have an emotion behind that. It’s more like: what am I wearing that day? But when it comes to me doing crazier clown makeup and more characteristic makeup looks, I really feel an emotion. I start to build it all together – I usually draw it out – and then I plaster it on my face with my makeup.
How do you protect your wellbeing and take care of yourself while on social media?
Taking care of my mental health while being on social media and my wellbeing in general, is very hard. That’s why I usually take breaks. I will take 3-5 days of staying fully off my phone just doing beauty stuff, doing random makeup stuff, laying in bed, eating my favourite food, to get me back in the right mindset so that I can give the best content out to everyone else.
What do you do to hype yourself up before you film?
I don’t necessarily hype myself up before filming, but I do need some motivation to get out of bed and film because sometimes I just want to lay in bed all day. But what helps motivate me is when I’m just scrolling through TikTok seeing everyone else post videos and I’m like ‘OK maybe I need to get up, maybe I need to film and be active on my accounts.’ It just really depends on the day.
What is something surprising that no-one knows about you?
I don’t have anything that’s really surprising about me that no-one knows about, because I am very public with my life. I want everyone to know exactly what I’m doing and exactly how I’m feeling.
How would you say your relationship with beauty has changed as you’ve grown?
I would say that my relationship with beauty has changed a lot as I’ve grown up. I’ve gotten more into taking care of my actual skin before applying makeup – so actually doing skincare. Before, I wasn’t doing that – I wasn’t thinking about it – and now that I am, I’m happy to be.
What’s your favourite beauty look that you’ve created?
My favourite beauty look that I have created is… All of them. They all mean different things to me, which make me who I am, so I can’t really pick and choose between them.
For more from GLAMOUR’s Deputy Beauty Editor, Elle Turner follow her on Instagram @elleturneruk.
Scroll down to see Avani’s beauty must-haves including her ride-or-die concealer and holy grail skincare…
