Michelle Phan is pretty much the original beauty vlogger. But with more than 8 million subscribers watching, she practically vanished from social media without explanation.
For more than a year — literally, the entirety of 2016 — she didn't post to Instagram or upload any videos to YouTube. Not even the launch of her own beauty brand, Em Cosmetics, could bring her back from her self-imposed social media hiatus.
Until now.
Phan's first video in a year isn't a tutorial or a plug for her new brand, but an animated commentary on why she left social media.
And it's a crushing tale of family responsibility, wild success, a deep depression, and the need for a fresh start.
The story begins with Phan's childhood, when she felt pressured by her financially struggling family to pursue a lucrative career in medicine.
This was even though she wanted to be like her mother, a nail technician who made people look and feel beautiful.
It was a career path we all know she wouldn't end up taking — instead, she went against her parents' wishes by going to art school.
And it was there, out of a desire to escape the stress of school and her financial responsibilities, that she uploaded her first makeup tutorial.
She recorded it on the laptop she was given by her school. That was 10 years ago, when beauty videos were practically unheard of on YouTube.
But shortly after that, YouTube changed — videos became monetized, and Phan made enough money to move to California and make videos full-time.
After a quick rise to popularity and numerous brand deals, her contractual obligations began to make her feel less like a person and more like a product.
So she fell into a depression, in which she felt lost and became "a prisoner to her own vanity," thanks to social media.
"I was carefully curating images of the life I wanted, not had."
On top of that, she faced several lawsuits that would damage her professionally and financially.
After years of working endlessly to distract herself from reality, Phan says she became completely isolated from both her loved ones and her viewers.
She finally had the successful career her family had always dreamed for her, but it drove her to the point of unhappiness.
Ultimately, she needed a break to find herself and readjust her priorities — so she traveled to Switzerland to distance herself from YouTube and reconnect with herself.
It was there, without internet or social media, that Phan says she embraced the memories of her life that made her who she is and decided it was time for a change.
And now, after Phan has taken more than year to recover, she's ready to come back — but with a different purpose.
She says her old videos were there to help people look beautiful, but now she aims to make people feel beautiful.
So welcome to the dawn of a new Michelle Phan era.
We can't wait to see what the OG has planned.
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