Photographed by [Nick Caiazza](https://instagram.com/nicholascaiazza)
If you’re looking to get into the beauty and makeup world, look no further than [Roxette Arisa](https://www.instagram.com/roxettearisa/?hl=en). The beautiful Japanese American beauty Youtuber and social media influencer actually got her start as a figure skater; skating for two decades of her life before becoming a beauty and fashion guru. To date, the Los Angeles native boasts over 1.24 million subscribers on Youtube and 316K followers on Instagram.
Speaking on her transition into the digital space, Roxette states, “Skating was my whole life leading up to this, I never knew this would be my career path. I happened to fall into it 7 years ago while I was still skating, so I was doing both. At one point when my skating career went down a different path and I was retiring, my YouTube channel really started to gain momentum. I suddenly became an influencer. Nobody knew what that was back then, and now it's taken over the world.”
One thing that sets Roxette apart from other beauty and fashion content creators is the fact that she’s always 100% raw and authentic to who she is as a person deep down. Her fans go crazy for each release, whether it’s honest product reviews, affordable makeup hauls, or how-to beauty tutorials. From training every morning at 5:30am to now bringing that same passion, resilience, and work ethic into her career and brand, Roxette stands for diversity, female empowerment, and overall using her platform for the greater good.
Flaunt caught up with Roxette via Zoom, who is located in Los Angeles. Read below as we discuss getting invited to her first Dior makeup event, her rigorous skating schedule, building a following on Youtube, beauty secrets and go-to’s, using her platform for the greater good, mental health, meditation, starting her own clothing line, ideal date night, and more!
**What was your first taste of “Oh shit, I can be an influencer”?**
Back then, that wasn't even a term so I didn't know what I was getting into to be honest. I knew I loved inspiring others, and I felt YouTube gave me a platform to do so. And to do so through makeup, which for me always helped exude confidence and made me feel that transformative power that makeup has. That's why I loved it to begin with. At first, you’re not getting a lot of views, and you start to grow over time. I found I loved it so much that I stuck with it. I started getting invited to all these makeup events. I'll never forget the first Dior makeup event I got invited to. Literally every single other person had millions of followers. I had a couple 100K at the time, still quite small.
**Still a lot!**
\[laughs\] Small compared to everyone else there. It was definitely this moment where I said “Oh my gosh, this is a big moment for me. I'm on the map.
**Were you skating professionally? How rigorous was the training?**
It was crazy, I was on the U.S. team. I was on the Canadian team for a bit as well, because I moved to Canada and my skating partner was Canadian. We trained every day. We had to be there at 5:30 in the morning, then we’d be on the ice at 6am. We’d skate until about 4pm then do an off-ice dance class, so it's your whole day. I was home-schooled my whole life. It's crazy, even when I think back on it. Every day. No days off, literally.
**You must have a lot of discipline then!**
Yeah, I’d say so. I definitely think my figure skating background has helped me become the creator that I am today, because it does take a lot of discipline, a lot of self-motivation. Nobody else is telling you what to do. You empower your own destiny. When you want to reach that next goal, it's up to you. That mindset definitely was ingrained in me through my figure skating background.
**Were you building a following while you were skating as well?**
Yes. I’d make little videos because right after skating, I didn't have a lot of other activities to do. That was my one track mind, and goal: to be in the Olympics. I’d go home and make little makeup videos. I was so shy about it to all my skating teammates. People would ask “Oh, do you want to go to dinner? Do you want to do a yoga class after our day today?” I’d always make up these excuses and say “No, I think I'm gonna go home and rest.” I’d make videos, they weren’t huge by any means. At that time, it wasn't getting a ton of traction, but I was doing them simultaneously because I loved both of them so much. One of my best friends to this day, she found one of my YouTube videos early on. She said “Um, is this your YouTube channel? Doing an everyday makeup look?” I said “No, I think she just looks like me.” She said “It’s literally called Cheeky Rox! I know this is you.” \[laughs\]
**You were shy about it?**
I was so shy about it because back then, it wasn't a career path like it is today. I thought of it more as a hobby, to be honest. I loved the community that was available on YouTube at the time. I never thought it’d lead me to where I am today in any world, so I was very shy about it to begin with.
**I know the algorithm changes all the time. What worked for you then?**
Totally. Algorithms change all the time, but the biggest thing for me is to always remain doing content that I love, versus trying to reach a certain number goal. That's been the biggest stress relief for me, to not focus on the algorithm and focus on things that really fulfill my soul and hopefully inspire others. When I was first starting YouTube back then, the biggest thing that would always take off for me were drugstore videos. The dupes videos, how to do this makeup look for $25. That’s something I always loved back in the day.
**What would you say are your beauty secrets or go-to’s?**
Skincare is the #1 thing. Without good skincare, no makeup is going to do you justice. Honestly, exfoliating is my biggest secret because it really creates a clean canvas you can work off of when you do your makeup. As far as a makeup tip or trick, I love putting liquid highlighter into my foundation to create this luminous, barely-there look, even with the most full coverage foundation. That's one of my favorite tricks to do.
**Do you always do your own makeup, or do you like getting glam as well?**
I love doing my own because I know my face so much more than anybody else. I literally sit here and do this everyday, but it's always nice to do a little glam moment and feel more pampered if it's for a bigger shoot or an event. I definitely don't think I'll ever not want to do my makeup. For me in a sense, it's therapeutic to sit here and really take my time getting ready. I love that aspect of what I do.
**Do people ask you to do their makeup?**
Oh my gosh yes, but I’ve never done other people's makeup. That's a big misconception when it comes to what I do. All my friends will always say “Oh my gosh, would you want to do my makeup for my wedding?” Girl, I do not want to do your makeup for your wedding! I don't want that pressure. I will gladly help with anything, but I can’t have that pressure on me. I'm a people pleaser right, so when other people want me to do their makeup, I always want them to like it. I want them to enjoy it. I get in my head, thinking “Oh, what if they don't like what I just did?” But when it's on myself, I can easily take it off and redo it. There's not as much pressure on me.
**Talk about being Asian American, what does it mean to have a platform and represent your community?**
It's been the most amazing thing. When I was growing up, there were a lot of idols with the blonde hair, blue-eyed look. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but as a young child growing up in an environment where that's all you really see in the media, no matter what your background is, you're going to think to yourself, “I'm not enough. Why don't I look like that person?” or “Why can't I look like this person? I’ll never be able to be an actress” or “I’ll never be able to be a singer because I don't look like them.”
I've received many messages over the years that have really touched my heart, saying I’ve given the younger generation that person to look up to who is Asian American. Who looks like them, who they can relate to. It’s not this one form of celebrity or person in the media that kids are looking up to. That to me has been the most fulfilling thing because I really do remember looking at the TV and thinking “well I'll never be able to be an actress, because I don't look like that.” To give the younger generations an example that beauty is everywhere. You don't have to look like one specific ethnicity, skin color, eye color, or hair color to really be the person of your dreams.
**How important is mental health for you?**
It's extremely important. I am somebody that has a lot of drive, but in some senses, I can push myself a little too far. I've learned over the last couple years that it's all about balance. It's all about the hard work, but mental health and physical health is a priority. You have to take that time to reset, to take care of yourself, to do things that make you happy. Not because it's any association with work, and I'm very lucky because I get to work in an amazing industry that's so much fun. Even then, finding things I enjoy outside of work has been extremely vital to my mental health. For me to be able to come back and work in a good manner and be able to work really hard, I have to find that balance of taking care of my mental stability and doing things for me that maybe nobody else even knows about, that I'm doing for myself. One of the biggest things for me is meditation. I love meditating, it brings me back to my center. I meditate every single morning, I try to meditate every night if I can. If not, I don't stress about it. Because that's the other thing, I’d stress about not getting that time in. It’s all about balance.
**How long do you meditate for? Do you have any advice for those who want to start?**
I meditate every morning for 10 to 20 minutes at least, if not longer if I have the time. Apps are the easiest way to get started with meditation. Insight timer is what I use. Calm is a big one, there are so many different apps that people use nowadays. It's the easiest way to start meditating because it's completely free, and you're guided through the meditations. If you don't know exactly what to think about, or what to do, or how to turn your working brain off, it's a great way to get into it.
**You’re also starting a new clothing line, talk about that!**
Yes. It’s on pause right now because we had a little bit of a production mishap, but I’m looking forward to starting a fashion line in the coming months. No dates specifically for launch yet-- because the manufacturing issues, but I will say that no matter what it is that I put out there, my #1 goal is to have quality. I’ll never ever put something out there with my name on it that I don't really genuinely love, back, and stand behind. My followers’ trust means the world to me, I’d never want to break that trust. In this example, we were aiming to launch this year, but with this production mishap, the quality is the #1 priority. However long it takes.
**How would you describe your fashion sense?**
My fashion sense is the “it girl” who wants to be cool, chic, trendy, but still has those basic pieces that you can rewear over and over and over again.
**What’s your ideal date night?**
Honestly, I love chill date nights. A good movie night is something I love. Going to the beach, sitting and having a picnic at sunset is something we like to do a lot. We do hikes a lot in the Brentwood Canyon area. I'm a very chill person. Work is so go-go-go, getting dressed up to go to all these events. Sometimes in my relationship, I'm a little bit more chill.
**What’re you most excited for next?**
Continuing on with the cadence that I've been going. I have huge dreams. I’d love to get into more traditional media roles, start my brand. I have dreams to start even a beauty brand one day. To keep doing what I'm doing and reach for the stars.
**Anything else you want to let the people know?**
If there's anything I’d like to say to the audience: dream big and don't let the obstacles of life get you down. Because we all go through ups and downs in life. Keep your eyes on the prize and keep going after what you really love to do, because that's the most important thing in this life.
