"It's Uche Natori's world — the girls are gagged globally." "I tried Uche Natori's base routine and I'm never going back now." These are just a few of the hundreds of comments on X (formerly Twitter) praising the beauty influencer and content creator from London, Uche Natori.
After her Makeup School TikTok videos went viral, Natori has been hailed as the face of 'UK girl makeup' and women all over the world are trying to recreate her signature look. "I would say my look is an elevated soft glam with exaggerated features," Natori tells POPSUGAR over Zoom. Even through the screen, it's clear why her content has resonated with so many.
According to Tiktok, Black women in the UK have mastered the 'perfect beat' — defined by a smooth 'skin-like' foundation base, bright under eyes, lined glossy lips and wispy false lashes. So much so that the hashtag #UKBlackgirlmakeup has reached over 40 million views on the social media app. It's a certain look that now feels distinctly British — and Natori is leading the way. Her flawless foundation routine has given her the nickname "The Queen of Base".
"One of first things I learned how to master when I was getting super into makeup was a foundation routine," says Natori. "For anyone that wants to get into makeup, the best thing that you can learn how to master first is your base. Eyeshadow is just an addition, a good lip combination is an addition — but when you master a really solid base, you're over halfway there."
"I've been in the game for 13 years and TikTok gave me an opportunity to feel like a beginner again. There's so much beauty in feeling like a beginner."
But this isn't an overnight success story. Natori started on YouTube in 2013 from her childhood bedroom. She reminisces, "At university I would go to the Birmingham Bullring Mall and desperately wait for the 20 percent off student days so I could stock up on makeup. I was really into high-end makeup at the time, because they were the only brands that catered to my shade. Then I would come home and recreate all the looks." Natori's recent rise in popularity is not a surprise, just a reflection of her dedication to her craft.
The influencer is representing the girls that like to get glam. "If you want to get that soft glam look that's been popularised over the past few years, it does take quite a lot of products to achieve this look," she says. "But the art is making it all look seamless."
But during a time when the quiet luxury skin trend is on the rise (The hashtag #QuietLuxury has garnered over 298.1 million views on TikTok) and emphasises that less is more, it can be challenging to go against the mould. But Natori's signature makeup look has been the same for years - and she isn't changing to fit anyone else's idea of what she should look like.
"If anything, I'm just happy that what I do is helping girls feel more confident in their makeup skills."
Recently online, there have been numerous comments about Natori wearing "too much makeup" and misinformation about her beauty routine and surgery has begun to spread. She says: "There were tweets saying 'Uche gets monthly facials and shaves her face,' and that's not even true. This is based on false information. If I got my monthly facials, botox or fillers I would be the first to say it, because I know how that can affect the final makeup look."
The majority of the people attempting to police her look and the amount of makeup she wears are men, a reflection of the misogyny deeply entrenched within our society. "I think people misunderstand me," Natori says. "I always emphasise that my look is for the girls that want to do the glam look - not because I don't feel a certain level of confidence if I'm not glammed up." She adds: "I love myself bare-faced too, you can embrace both sides of yourself."
Image Source: Uche Natori
Although the content creator is good at not listening to opinions on her makeup, the personal speculation about her appearance is challenging. "It can be very overwhelming," she admits. "I'm a very sensitive person so this is the reason why my content is mostly strictly makeup. As soon as people get personal, I have to reel it back and stand up for the truth. At the end of the day makeup is supposed to be fun - it's just cream and powder."
As an influencer, Natori is open about the fact she gets sent a lot of products and wants beauty enthusiasts who aren't content creators to know that it's perfectly okay to buy within your means. "I know a lot of people that watch my content are young, and there's so much pressure online about what you need to own," she says. "It's unrealistic and it's absolutely pointless to buy all of the products.' Instead, she says: "Get your perfect routine down first with some holy grail products and then expand." It's this refreshing honesty that has made her such a beloved figure in the UK beauty industry.
So what's next for the "Queen of Base"? Although Natori has hopes of one day releasing a product with a favourite brand or releasing her own line, she's focusing on the here and now. "It's definitely a long game of when things make sense for me. Right now, I'm just really working on connecting with my audience, especially the new growth that has come from TikTok, and making sure I'm putting out valuable content that resonates with people," she says. "This is my focus this year - let's see where that takes me next year!"