The Beauty Community Has An Unsolicited Advice Problem

As everyone knows, going viral isn’t necessarily a good thing, especially on TikTok. Recently, nurse practitioner Miranda Wilson (@np.miranda) made a video that appeared to be a departure from her usual content about cosmetic injections. Typically, her short videos focus on advice on treatments like Botox and dermal filler, and how to prevent mishaps — normal topics an injector may share. But this particular video was about a celebrity: Natalia Dyer, known for her role as Nancy in Stranger Things. Wilson walked her followers through what she would do if she were to work on the actress. By the end of the video, Dyer’s face had taken on a completely different shape — her strong, square jawline shaved down into a generic heart shape via a Photoshopped mockup.

TikTok commenters quickly criticized the video. In response, Wilson removed it and posted a formal apology. “I didn't mean to offend anyone, including Natalia. I was simply offering suggestions not on what you have to do but what the possibilities are,” Wilson says in her followup. “As an advanced injector, that’s what we do, we look at faces, we access the possibilities.” 

We don’t need to burn Wilson at the stake. She made a mistake; hopefully she learned from it. But in this episode of Gloss Angeles, we dissect how we got to the point where creators (and even regular people) feel comfortable critiquing others, providing unsolicited feedback on everything from how someone looks to their personal beauty regimens. We’d like to hope these critics are well-meaning, only intending to impart helpful advice and suggestions. But does it matter when the person you're critiquing didn’t ask for help, especially when you’re interrupting their video to do so?

We explore that topic as well as why people feel the need to give themselves fake titles to appear more credible or important on the platform — especially when many creators who offer unsolicited advice don’t have the same clout in real life as they do online.

Plus, we’re sharing everything you need to know about AF94, Halsey’s new $10-and-under makeup line for Wal-Mart, our thoughts on Glossier’s foray into Sephora (could Glossier become the next great legacy brand, or even a conglomerate?), as well why we think r.e.m. beauty’s newest launch was a smart move. Shop this episode.

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