This Colombian Influencer Aims To Prove That “Beauty Is Universal”

When Paula Galindo (a.k.a. Pautips) was starting her college studies in international business, she never expected her hobby of playing with makeup would turn into a career in content creation. Seven years later, her influence spans across beauty, fashion, and fitness, and she films videos that have a rapt audience of 18 million on Instagram and YouTube combined. Even though being an influencer isn't exactly what she had in mind when she signed up for international business, her occupation does require flying around the world. In fact, I met Galindo in Tokyo, where global influencers and beauty editors gathered to learn about Benefit Cosmetics' new Brow Styler. On our first night there, I was captivated by the Colombian influencer's bubbly personality and bright smile. She was immersing herself in conversation with everyone as she made her way from the hotel elevator to the dinner table, never meeting a stranger.

This is the same welcoming and high-spirited energy that can be found on her YouTube channel. Her Spanish-language videos — that include beauty tutorials, fashion hauls, and fun vlogs like "being Kylie Jenner for a day" — all start off with a lively "Hola, hola, mi amores." While she recently decided to take a break from YouTube for mental health reasons — sharing that she was battling an eating disorder and moments of depression — she remains active on her social channels, like Instagram, and is still focused on creating a place for Latinx influencers in the content creation space.

While many beauty brands are making efforts to show different skin tones and ethnicities in their ads, one of the often-overlooked forms of representation in the industry is language. Galindo remembers when it was rare to see Spanish-speaking influencers. "When I started there were just a few beauty gurus making videos in Spanish," she says. But, that never stopped her from putting out content as her authentic self, and eventually, diversity began to unfold around her. She adds, "Nowadays, it's completely different, there’s a lot of talented people making videos in all languages, styles, complexions, and nationalities, which is amazing."

And while she built her brand around her native language, the vlogger faced a culture shock when she moved from Colombia to Los Angeles. "When I moved to L.A., I realized that there were a lot of my followers who didn't speak Spanish and wanted to understand what I said, beyond what they get from pictures and makeup tutorials," she says. That's why Galindo now pushes out videos and captions in Spanish and English. "Being bilingual, I get the best of both worlds," she tells Refinery29. "Beauty is universal, so I can create my makeup tutorials on Instagram without saying a word. I'm just demonstrating what I want, then I can write captions both in English and Spanish and it speaks to all audiences." She even dabbled with an English channel last year.

For Galindo, the ultimate goal is to reach as many people across the globe as possible with her videos and her eponymous makeup brand, Paula By Pautips. She even hopes to see talent from all parts of the world collaborate. "I’ve met girls from Australia, the United Kingdom, and Brazil, among other places, and we are all so different," she says. "We need to find a way to bring together our audiences."

Until those partnerships come to fruition, Galindo remains focused on her well-being and building out her entrepreneurial path. And no matter where her life takes her next, she's proud of all that she's achieved while staying true to herself. In her words, "It’s amazing when I realize how far I’ve come in this industry."

Pautips shares her current favourite makeup products below:

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