Laura Ann Lee (born September 1, 1988) is an American make-up artist, YouTuber, and blogger. Having begun her career with posting beauty tips on social media, she has also released a line of branded makeup.
Lee first began posting images of her make-up looks on Instagram. She began her YouTube channel in 2013, posting make-up tutorials, hacks, and product reviews. She was named StarCentral Magazine's "Beauty Guru of the Month" in October 2014.
She collaborated with make-up brand Too Faced in 2016. She also collaborated on an eye shadow palette with Violet Voss in June 2016. In April 2017, she helped create her own lipstick shade with MAC Cosmetics. Later that year, she collaborated with Benefit Cosmetics on their Benefit Island Collection, representing the Precisely Brow Pencil.
In September 2017, she appeared on Today to promote her future make-up brand, Laura Lee Los Angeles. In October 2017, she released her first eye shadow palette, "Cat's Pajamas", from her brand. Further in April 2018, she released her second eye shadow palette, "Nudie Patootie" along with three liquid lipsticks and an eyeliner.
In August 2018, tweets dating from 2012 were found in which she made racist comments that Lee herself described as "vile and disgusting". After releasing a video that did not address the situation, she posted a four-minute apology video, which was criticized for being insincere and Lee's apparent "fake crying".Lee also chose to monetise her apology by playing advertisements at the beginning of the video. Many of her fans criticized her for her tweets and the apology, and in a one-week span she lost over 300,000 subscribers. Businesses and sponsorships decided to sever ties with Lee as a result of her racist comments, including Ulta Beauty, Diff Eyewear, and Boxycharm. In 2019, Lee posted a video explaining the situation, as well as apologizing for the fake video. Lee then began to gain back her subscribers.
Personal life
Lee was born in Alabama. She went to Evangel Christian Academy for high school. She has two siblings, an older brother and sister. Prior to beginning her YouTube channel, Lee worked as a medical assistant for a dermatologist in Alabama. She has also worked as a preschool teacher. Lee currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband