The Monday Born founder shares how she anticipates industry trends and stays out of all the drama that plagues so many other beauty YouTubers.
In our lengthy series “How I’m Making It,” we talk to people who make a living in the fashion and beauty industry about how they broke in and found success.
Teni Panosian may have started her career as a beauty blogger/vlogger (before those words were even part of the public dictionary), but despite being ahead of the photo op She always knew she could build a career out of her passion for beauty.
She launched her first blog, Miss Maven, in 2011, when few would have thought it would turn out to be a successful, long-term, and viable career path. A decade later, Panosian’s followers on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube are still interacting as usual, and her influencer career is thriving. She is currently the face of YSL Beauty, and has been an ambassador for Maybelline and Dior Beauty in the past. Although Miss Maven is no longer part of her empire, the skincare brand, Monday Born – which she hopes will build into a strong “lifecare” brand – remains. The brand launched in March 2020 in partnership with Beaubble, a company that co-creates beauty brands with influencers, handling operations, production and fulfillment, among other tasks. .
Monday Born seeks to set itself apart from all the other influential beauty brands on the market in a few ways. Product development incorporates a community of beauty enthusiasts and Panosian’s devoted followers, whom the company relies on for direction and feedback on formulas and ingredients. While it follows a direct-to-consumer digital model (which is pretty standard, as influential brands go up), Monday Born also follows a less conventional pre-order sales method, releasing products through “discounts,” ensuring that customers receive new shipments of the product and preventing excess product build-up in stock – which Panosian highlights as a more sustainable difference in branch. (The exclusivity of the bearish sentiment, as we know it, doesn’t affect sales either.)
Panosian recently took some time out on a video call to reflect on her career so far – and where it’s headed – with Fashionista. Before that, she shares how she’s kept her content relevant throughout the years, the importance of predicting industry trends, and why she steers clear of all the series. TV series has influenced a lot of other YouTube beauties.
You were one of the first content creators and early adopters of a lot of platforms, really diving into this world before it even existed the way it is. Tell me about your early beginnings as a blogger.
At first, I started with a beauty vlog, msmaven.com. It was my first foray into the digital world, and it was because people were always asking me about makeup and beauty. So I said, ‘Why don’t I move it to a platform?’ I just finished my Masters so I’m doing a lot of research on what people are interested in, what’s trending, what we’re going for – so I know video content is coming. In 2011, I did a bunch of YouTube videos and I thought I was good at it and the response was good, so I said, ‘Try this. Do this consistently. ‘
By 2012, that was my thing: I was really focused on YouTube and creating that content. Very good feedback. I think, back then, it was very different from now. Now it’s more geared towards entertainment, as opposed to before it was more geared towards learning. People love being guided, they love learning about beauty and makeup and skin care. I think that’s what drives people to my channel. I’m not a makeup artist – I’m just someone who really understands beauty products, so I think it’s easier to contact me as a novice instructing. friend. My channel has grown and YouTube has become my main platform. Then Instagram appeared.
