Michelle Phan

“I glance through the pages of all the top magazines every month just to see if there are any colors that are trending. I'll also go on Instagram and look at the 'popular' page to see what people are liking, what's cool. I'll check it at different times of the day; for example, if it's really late in L.A., you'll see a lot of posts in Asia.”

“You know how it is in L.A. At times, it's a dog-eat-dog world. There's a lot of sharks. I think with YouTube, we're anti that. We're anti-competitive. We're all about collaborating and supporting.”

“What if someone created some sort of eyebrow pencil that was revolutionary and that was made specifically to help eyebrows look more realistic?”

“I was 16 years old and wanted to help my mom with the rent. There was a restaurant called China Buffet in Tampa that hung a 'Help Wanted' sign outside, so I went in and ended up hosting every Friday and Sunday for $6 or $7 an hour.”

“As a young girl, I loved having stories read to me. There is something magical about narration and voiceovers. Recording a voiceover is an art form in itself.”

“You need interesting content that entertains or informs - preferably both. You want people to look forward to your posts and come back for more. People want to follow you. They want to hear your words and see your vision.”

“When you're eating a bowl of pho, you're eating everything you need.”

“What inspired me to work so hard and to maintain my determination was seeing my mother. She was an immigrant and was struggling in America to make it by; that inspired me to work hard.”

“I'm used to everything digital - the pictures, the avatars of the person, the profiles - so when I get to see someone in the flesh, it's really nice.”

“I love liquid eyeliner - it's just easier. It doesn't melt, fade, skip, or smudge. It's tougher to use because it's not as forgiving. The brush for my em michelle phan Scribble Calligraphy Liquid Liner was inspired by a calligraphy brush, so you can get a very thick or thin line, depending on how you flick it. I use it in Tattoo Black.”

“I have one room dedicated to just meditation.”

“I believe if religion brings you to a sense of peace, that's beautiful. But I also believe if religion's not your thing, that's fine, too, just so long as you're a good person and you find that one thing that leads you to peace and teaches you to have harmony with yourself and other people around you.”

“Every video I've made has an inspirational message behind it. Since day one, I thought, 'Okay, I want my audience to be, like, Disney members.' So if that's the case, I have to keep everything rated G.”

“I see videomaking as an art - it's not a process for me.”

“I now have 10-year-olds asking me about how to become successful, how to become a business owner, which is crazy - at 10 I was trying to figure out which Barbie I wanted.”

“When I first started, there really was no beauty guru community. I didn't have the right production resources. I had to learn how to edit. I didn't even have beauty products. I had to go out and buy them myself because beauty brands didn't even know what a beauty guru was.”

“Honestly, what I have the most fun with, I just hang out with my cat, and I go online, and I talk to my followers, and I have real conversations with them.”

“I love Fredorator and what they produce and the storytelling of 'Adventure Time'... There's such a dark, adult underlying theme underneath the whimsical, magical children's aspect of their storytelling element.”

“All of the development I do is with the help of business advisors who are more like my best friends than just business people. They helped me as I created Ipsy back in 2011, which is a beauty community that ships out sampling bags to subscribers.”

“I don't believe that if one door closes, that's the end. You're in control of that, but you need to seek opportunities and prepare for them.”