Sailor J via YouTube screenshot

Sailor J thinks she knows my life. My entire insecure, aggressively honest (or just aggressive), disorganized and easily distracted Aries life.


She also does one hell of a bronzed cat eye.

The increasingly popular YouTuber—more than 120,000 subscribers and rising—first hit my radar in October with “Getting a Man 101”— a hilarious yet poignant take on how women often contort (and distort) ourselves for male approval. In the less-than-five-minute clip, she also manages to address colorism, “pick me” culture, and the beauty industry’s continued dismissal and undervaluing of black women.



Sailor J via YouTube screenshot

“Contouring 101” swiftly followed, a bitingly feminist tutorial that used one of makeup’s most overused trends to address unrealistic beauty standards—while actually demonstrating it. At more than a half-million views to date, it’s obviously resonating with viewers, as is Sailor J’s recent holiday-themed video, “How to Do Thanksgiving Makeup That Has Nothing to Do With the 566 Federally Recognized Tribes.”

Sailor J via YouTube screenshot

In a space overrun with beauty tutorials that all seem to result in the same version of contoured, strong-arched and highlighted beauty (albeit in different hues), Sailor J’s irreverent approach is a welcome departure. With each beauty-fueled rant, she simultaneously reminds us to stay woke and to stop taking ourselves so damned seriously. And though things are definitely serious out here, that’s a reminder we could all use.


Her latest series—which I’m affectionately calling “Astrology for Assholes”—is less social commentary, more insane reading of the not-so-ideal traits of each sign. It’s also eerily accurate. I mean, I’m not saying that my eye shadow game is more organized than my leadership skills, but ...

I’m just saying. Do you wanna fight?