Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC
Learning English. I’m Neil.
And I’m Sam. In the UK there’s a well-known
children’s game called, Happy Families.
Players have to collect all the cards
belonging to one family - there’s a butcher,
a baker, a carpenter, a doctor, and
a tailor - some of the traditional jobs that
people in the UK have been doing for centuries.
But since the invention of the internet
and social media, a more up-to-date list of jobs
in 21st century would be very different.
It would include modern jobs which didn’t exist
before, online jobs like
web designer and YouTuber.
One of the most unusual of these new digital jobs
is the influencer – someone who is paid by
a company to promote
their brand on social media,
encouraging people to buy their products.
In this programme, we’ll meet two
beauty influencers from different parts
of the world: Nigeria and Pakistan.
We’ll discover how these women are using
their online influence to change attitudes
towards female beauty, and as usual, we’ll learn
some related vocabulary too.
But first, I have a question for you, Sam.
YouTube make-up tutorials are very modern,
but make-up has been around for a long time.
So, when was lipstick first used? Was it:
a) around 3000 years ago by the ancient Celts?
b) around 4000 years ago by the ancient Egyptians? or
c) around 5000 years ago by the ancient Sumerians?
I’ll say it was being used 5000 years ago
by the ancient Sumerians.
OK, Sam, we’ll find out if you’re right later on.
Dimma Umeh is a beauty influencer from Nigeria.
She’s been creating make-up video tutorials for
women of colour for eight years and
has hundreds of thousands of followers.
Her videos go from eyebrow-shaping tips to
shopping trips in Nigeria’s biggest city, Lagos.
Here’s Dimma telling BBC World Service
programme, The Conversation, how her life as
an influencer got started.
So, I did a make-up dos and don’ts video in 2017.
I had seen a couple of people doing it prior
to that but then, you know, I kind of did it in a way
that was a bit funny, maybe cracked a couple
of jokes around the ways - or maybe not so
great ways - some people were doing things
at the time and that video just took off.
In 2017, Dimma made a YouTube video of
make-up dos and don’ts - rules about what to do
and what not to do in a certain situation, or
when doing a certain activity.
Dimma wasn’t the first Nigerian influencer to post
videos on YouTube, but the difference was
her humour - the way she laughed and cracked,
or told, jokes. More and more people started
watching Dimma’s make-up videos and they
soon took off, meaning they suddenly became
successful and popular.
Our next beauty influencer is Rammal Mehmud, a
photographer turned make-up artist based in Islamabad,
Pakistan. As well make-up tips, Rammal creates
colourful face painting designs which, she says,
helped her through a period of depression.
She has popular Instagram and YouTube
accounts on which she shares content to help
other women with their confidence and mental health.
Like Dimma, Rammal now has Instagram
followers numbering in the hundreds of thousands.
So, how does she decide what to share in her blogs
and videos? What boundaries does she
set for her followers? Here’s what Rammal told
BBC World Service programme, The Conversation.
Well, people are very intrigued about your
personal life as a blogger – that’s a given,
but you need to have strong boundaries.
I do fear about my family and friends.
You actually have to ask people if they are
comfortable being on your platform or not.
Rammal says her followers are intrigued about
her personal life. If you’re intrigued, you are very
interested in someone, often because of
something unusual or unexpected about them.
Rammal accepts that her followers’ interest
in her personal life is a given – something that is considered
to be a fact, or that is certain to happen.
For example, you could say, ‘it’s a given that there
will be champagne at a typical British wedding’,
meaning, it’s certain - it’s a fact – there
will be champagne.
But just because her followers’ interest in her life
is a given, that doesn’t mean Rammal shares
everything with them. She has to set boundaries.
Both Dimma and Rammal make money as
beauty influencers, but what’s amazing is how
they’re using social media to start conversations
about what beauty means to women in their country.
And sharing some great lipstick tips as well!
And speaking of lipstick, let’s reveal the answer
to my question, Sam. I asked you when lipstick
was first used.
I said it was around 5000 years ago by
the ancient Sumerians.
Which was the correct answer! Ancient Sumerians,
both men and women, painted their faces,
eyes and lips – a very early kind of lipstick.
OK, let’s recap the vocabulary from this programme on
influencers – people who influence their social media
followers to try different products.
Dos and don’ts are rules about what you
should and shouldn’t do in certain situations.
To crack a joke, means to tell a joke.
The phrasal verb take off means to suddenly
become popular or successful.
If you are intrigued, you’re interested in someone,
often because of something unusual about them.
And finally, a given describes something that
is considered to be a fact, or that is certain to happen.
Once again, our six minutes are up!
Goodbye for now!
Bye bye!