Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Sanabria.
Hi Daniel, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
Back in August 2018, I was watching YouTube videos on my lunch break when I stumbled upon some makeup reviews from a well-known YouTuber. I was so impressed by the way his skin looked that when I got off of work that day, I went straight to a Sephora and bought my very first skincare routine without any previous knowledge or help from associates. Obviously, every product that I bought that day didn’t work perfectly with my skin but it did inspire me to research brands and study different types of ingredients and how they would benefit my skin. Ever since that day, my knowledge of skincare has grown and thus danielsanabriaskin, my Instagram page, was born. At first, I shared random photos of skincare products that I was trying as well as a short description of what I thought about them. As my passion and curiosity grew and I started to take my side hobby more seriously, my love for content creation was born. Shooting images and videos of different products as professionally as I could using an iPhone, I started to catch attention from different beauty brands and was able to expand from skincare reviews to also include cosmetics and wellness products. Because of my Instagram and its growth, I have gotten the opportunity to work with global brands on a paid basis for content creation and detailed reviews.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Does anything ever actually go smoothly? I faced plenty of struggles along the way- some that I still deal with to this day. Men being considered “normal” in the beauty industry is still a challenge. From a marketing standpoint, men don’t really sell makeup due to society’s standards. A brand is more likely to hire a woman to promote their product (whether it be makeup, skincare, etc.) because “all women care about is their looks and men could care less about how they present themselves.” We all know this is not true. First off, women do not wear makeup for men–they wear it for themselves because it makes them feel beautiful and happy, and honestly, more power to them. Even though history clearly shows that men actually used to wear makeup all the time (18th century Englishmen had a fascination with powdered wigs and lead powder, which they used to reach a pale complexion. They also used “rouge” on their cheeks and lips for some color.), nowadays if a man were to wear a bit of concealer, it would be seen as “feminine”.
Another struggle that actually affects me more is that of comparison. Social media is all smoke and mirrors, we know that. However, it still makes it hard to not compare yourself to others. You may think you’re doing amazing growing your Instagram page one day after so many years of hard work to see a random page pop up and surpass your follower count in a shorter amount of time and working with your dream brand. It does become mentally draining and takes the enjoyment out of it.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I specialize in content creation. I love shooting photographs and creating videos for brands’ products. In high school, I took a media technology class for two years where I learned the basics of editing on a MacBook using Final Cut Pro. In this class, we had a variety of projects such as creating ads for a made-up products, business proposals, and voiceovers for commercials. Being able to combine my love for content creation and passion for skincare, this was just the most logical step for me to take. I feel what makes me stand out from others is the fact that I try my best to actually give feedback on the products sent to me by brands and giving my experience in as much detail as possible instead of copying and pasting information you can find on their website or Google. Does that make me spectacular? Not by any means. I’m not a licensed esthetician so you can definitely find more researched information from someone else but I feel like my personality and kindness shines through in my photos and captions.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
My advice for people just starting out– If you love what you do, DON’T GIVE UP. If you want to become an “influencer”, let your personality shine. For example, if you want to be a beauty influencer, keep in mind that the market is oversaturated. If makeup or skincare is your passion then it will shine through in your posts. Influencers want free product and financial gain which isn’t a bad thing but if that’s your primary focus, your followers will notice if you get paid for every post and will start to lose their trust in your word which you worked so hard to gain. Be wise when it comes to which brands you work with and don’t just take every offer presented to you in fear of missing out.
Contact Info:
- Email: sanabriadaniel@yahoo.com
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/danielsanabriaskin
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@daniel.sanabria
