How to optimize makeup videos for YouTube search
What the top 5 videos ranking for "makeup tutorial for beginners" cover, the chapters 2 of them use, and the 5 gaps a new video could fill.
David BattersbyData as of This guide is built from the top 5 videos YouTube ranks for “makeup tutorial for beginners” in the US, captured on 14 Sept 2026. Their transcripts, description chapters and comments were read to work out what the top 5 videos ranking for this search cover, where they fall short, the chapters they use and what their viewers still ask for. Use it to decide what your video has to include before you film, then run the checklist at the end when you upload.
All five videos teach foundation, setting powder and bronzer, and four add under-eye concealer (Ale Jay skips it to save time), but the time spent varies widely. Imani LeeMarie gives foundation about 400 seconds of her 31:13 video and Samantha Harvey about 245, while Ale Jay covers it in about 60 inside a 6:06 routine.
What gets rushed is the viewer's own skin. Acne and texture get passing mentions of 5 to 20 seconds in four videos, and only KKAÖ by KKB spends about 40 seconds covering acne scars. Mature skin fares worse, with one five-second aside, even though autocomplete returns "over 40".
Eyes are thin outside one video. Samantha Harvey's eyeshadow chapter runs 397 seconds, while kelly and Imani LeeMarie use bronzer on the lids and KKAÖ by KKB only reaches mascara, in about 20.
What the top 5 makeup videos cover
Sub-topics searchers care about, against each ranking video: how deeply it covers the sub-topic and roughly how long it spends there. Demand is the analysis' estimate of searcher interest, not a volume figure.
Top 5 YouTube results for “makeup tutorial for beginners” · US ·
| Sub-topic | #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Choosing a foundation for your skin type and blending it inhigh demand | Covered1m | Deep4m 5s | Deep6m 42s | Deep2m | Covered1m 30s |
Under-eye concealer, color correcting and stopping creaseshigh demand | Mention30s | Deep3m 59s | Deep5m 47s | Covered1m | Deep3m |
Skin prep, moisturizer and picking a primerhigh demand | Covered45s | Deep2m 20s | Covered1m 40s | Deep2m | Mention20s |
Setting powder, baking and avoiding a cakey finishhigh demand | Covered1m | Deep2m 13s | Deep2m 59s | Covered1m | Deep3m 20s |
Bronzer versus contour and where to place themhigh demand | Covered45s | Deep5m | Deep6m 20s | Deep2m | Deep2m 30s |
Beginner makeup for mature skin and viewers over 40high demand | None | None | None | None | Mention5s |
Covering acne, scars and textured skinhigh demand | Mention10s | Mention20s | Mention15s | Mention5s | Covered40s |
Simple eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara and lashesmedium demand | Covered45s | Deep9m 56s | Covered2m 30s | Covered1m 15s | Mention20s |
Shade and undertone choices for deep and dark skinmedium demand | Mention10s | None | Covered45s | None | Covered40s |
Choosing a blush shade and where to place itmedium demand | Covered30s | Deep2m 30s | Covered1m 15s | Covered1m 30s | Covered1m |
- #1 Ale Jay
- #2 Samantha Harvey
- #3 Imani LeeMarie
- #4 kelly
- #5 KKAÖ by KKB 👑💖
This is VidHalo's coverage matrix for the query, run once and frozen on the date above.
Content gaps in the top makeup videos
Where demand outruns what the top 5 videos deliver, with the reason and a concrete recommendation for each.
Top 5 YouTube results for “makeup tutorial for beginners” · US ·
- highBeginner makeup for mature skin over 40~3m of footage
Autocomplete returns 'makeup tutorial for beginners over 40' and about 8 commenters aged 40 to 70-plus say they are learning to do their own makeup (addressed: false). Four of the 5 videos spend 0s on mature skin; KKAÖ by KKB gives it one 5s aside about skipping a baking step.
Film the full routine on mature skin, or add a labelled chapter that adapts each step: lighter layers, where powder settles into lines, and what to skip.
- highCovering acne, scars and texture on real skin~2m 30s of footage
About 6 comments push back that the demo skin is already clear, led by 'Step 1: have perfect glass skin with no acne' (addressed: false). Only KKAÖ by KKB covers acne scars (about 40s); the other four mention acne or pores in passing (5 to 20s).
Show spot concealing and a blurring base on visibly acne-prone or textured skin, with a before and after close-up, and say what to do when texture shows through powder.
- mediumA simple first eyeshadow look~4m of footage
Autocomplete returns 'makeup tutorial for beginners eyeshadow', yet only Samantha Harvey's eyeshadow chapter (397s) builds a look with eyeshadows. Ale Jay skips eyeshadow, kelly says she is 'not an eyeshadow girl' and uses bronzer on the lids, Imani LeeMarie uses bronzer in the crease, and KKAÖ by KKB only applies mascara (about 20s).
Add a chaptered one-palette eye look using three shades, naming brush, placement and blending order, plus a fix for creasing lids.
YouTube chapters the top makeup videos use
2 of the top 5 ranking videos have chapters parsed from their descriptions. These are their real lists, side by side, followed by a skeleton built from the shape they share.
Top 5 YouTube results for “makeup tutorial for beginners” · US ·
#2 · Samantha Harvey · 41:17
a complete beginners guide to makeup | detailed tutorial with tips + tricks! ♡
- 0:00intro
- 0:40skin prep
- 1:50primer
- 3:00foundation
- 7:05cream blush and bronzer
- 14:31concealer
- 18:30powder
- 20:43powder blush and bronzer
- 22:20brush recommendations
- 23:00brows
- 26:18eyeshadow
- 32:55mascara
- 33:57lips
- 36:18lashes
- 38:35setting spray
- 40:27outro
#3 · Imani LeeMarie · 31:13
2025 Makeup Tutorial: Easy Step By Step Guide For Beginners
- 0:00Introduction
- 0:44Eyebrows
- 1:37Primer
- 3:17Foundation
- 9:59Concealer
- 15:46Contour
- 20:01Setting Powder
- 23:00Bronzer
- 25:05Powder Blush
- 26:20Eyes & Lips
- 29:47Setting Spray
Copy a chapter skeleton
The chapter shape the top videos share, with timestamps spread across your target length. Paste it into the description and rename the steps to yours.
What makeup viewers still ask for
Themes mined from the comments on the top 5 videos, with a rough count and whether the top videos already answer them.
Top 5 YouTube results for “makeup tutorial for beginners” · US ·
- praiseClear, patient step-by-step teaching that explains why~50 comments Addressed
“After years of searching, i finally found a video that doesn't make me feel stupid😢. I can't thank you enough! I learned so much!”
- wishBeginners aged 40 to 70-plus learning to do their own makeup~8 comments Unmet
“Im half way through this video and im holding back tears! Im a 40 year old natural girly and I have no idea how to put on makeup and I…”
- wishDoing their own makeup for a wedding, graduation, event or workday~8 comments Addressed
“I have this on loop so I can get it down. My sis is getting married and referenced this for our (bridesmaids) makeup. As a beginner, THANK…”
- complaintDemo is on already-flawless skin, not acne-prone or textured skin~6 comments Unmet
“Step 1: have perfect glass skin with no acne”
What makes ranking makeup videos different
Chapter use splits the set. Samantha Harvey cuts 41:17 into 16 chapters, from skin prep to setting spray, the longest being cream blush and bronzer at 7:26. Imani LeeMarie uses 11, and her Foundation and Concealer chapters run 6:42 and 5:47. Ale Jay, kelly and KKAÖ by KKB give you no timestamps.
The demand that stays open is about who is in the chair. About eight commenters aged 40 to 70-plus, one facing their own wedding without a makeup artist, are learning to do their own makeup, and about six object that the demo skin is already clear. Neither theme is addressed by the top five.
About five comments also report cakey or creasing bases from mixing water-based and silicone products, which none of the five explains. Labelled chapters for mature skin, textured skin and base troubleshooting cover what these viewers ask.
Makeup video title, description and tags checklist
Metadata is the last 10%. Do these once the video covers what's above.
- Title: the query phrase in the first 60 characters, so it survives mobile truncation. Check the cut-off.
- Description: the phrase once in the first two lines (what shows before “…more”), then the chapter list. Check the fold.
- Chapters: start at 0:00, at least three, each 10 seconds or longer, one per sub-topic above. Validate them.
- Tags and hashtags:a handful of the terms the winners and their viewers use. Tags are a weak signal, so don't spend time here. Run the full check.
- Captions: upload or correct them; the ranking videos above show which languages the leaders offer.
Frequently asked questions
How was this page built?+
We ran the flagship query through YouTube search (US, relevance order), took the top 5 results (videos of 3 minutes or under count as Shorts and are left out), and analysed their public metadata, description chapters, transcripts and comments using the same method VidHalo's analysis follows (its sub-topic taxonomy, coverage scoring and comment-demand rules applied to the same inputs), so a live VidHalo report for this query will agree in shape but can label things differently. The snapshot is dated on the page and refreshed periodically; the short commentary was written against that snapshot and reviewed before publishing. Nothing on this page is fetched at request time.
Does a 41-minute tutorial beat a 6-minute one for this query?+
Not on views in this set. Samantha Harvey's 41:17 guide has 115,248 views but went up eight days before this snapshot, so its total is too young to compare. kelly's 14:18 video has 1,504,431 and Ale Jay's 6:06 video 839,164. Length buys depth, such as 397 seconds on eyeshadow, rather than a higher position by itself.
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Go deeper
- 5 YouTube SEO Myths Costing You Views in 2026Five YouTube SEO myths — from tag stuffing to keyword tricks — that quietly cost you views, and what actually ranks videos in 2026, per YouTube's own docs.
- What Is a Content Gap on YouTube? (And How to Find Yours)What a content gap on YouTube actually is, per YouTube's own docs: the three kinds worth hunting for, and how to spot each one in the videos ranking for your search.
Know what your video needs before you film it
Run this for the search term you're targeting. VidHalo builds the coverage matrix, the gaps and the viewer demand, then writes the brief and chapter plan for the video that covers what the top 5 don't.
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