Meet RU junior and YouTube beauty blogger Olena Mishchenko

The majority of Scarlet Knights know the impact social media has on our daily lives, from posting hilarious Snapchat stories, tweeting about #thestruggle, spending hours on YouTube just browsing and Instagramming gratuitous selfies.

But it seems as though one Rutgers student has trumped us all in this game.

Olena Mishchenko is a junior Supply Chain Management major in the Rutgers Business School, but she’s also the face behind the beauty blogging account “IamJustaMakeupLover” on YouTube. And with almost 250,000 subscribers on her channel, she could fill the High Point Solutions Stadium nearly five times over.

But she doesn’t just talk about makeup – she covers real issues, too. One of her “storytime” videos recalls a harrowing experience after seeing a friend roofied. She makes advice videos like “The Truth About College Boys” and “25 Things I Wish I Knew Before Freshman Year At College.”

What’s probably most impressive and refreshing about Olena’s videos is she stays true to herself and is unabashedly honest. These videos unearth the not-so-glamorous truths of life at college.

Olena sat down with The Tab to talk about what it’s like to be in the public eye, the importance of staying true to yourself and what the future holds for this humble sweetheart.

To start off, what’s your favorite campus?

Man, this is hard. I lived in Douglass my freshman year and it’s so pretty there. I love the green, I love going for walks. But since I’m at the Business School, I spend most of my time on Livingston. I guess I’ll have to say both.

Your bio on YouTube says: “I want you to see me as your best friend, big sister, or just a friendly face – whatever you prefer! Please don’t ever feel intimidated by me – I’m just like you.” Is it important for your viewers to know you’re friends rather than fans?

I hate the idea of putting YouTubers on a pedestal. I also don’t attribute my success to just me – it’s a two-way street. It’s a relationship. I’ve seen a lot of YouTubers who have a lot of subscribers try to intimidate people or act like they’re better than you and it’s wrong.

I truly feel like people who watch my videos are really my friends. I’ve gone shopping with my subscribers, have had them become my closest friends and keep in touch with them regularly. Some people who have recognized me and met me in person would Snapchat about it, saying stuff like, “I can’t believe I met Olena from YouTube!” But I always tell people that “I’m literally just Olena.”

I also have a separate vlog channel, where it’s roughly 25 minutes of me just sitting in my car talking about my life. Sure, a shorter vlog with more interesting stuff going on in it will get more views, but since my subscribers truly are my friends, they’ll genuinely want to know what’s going on in my life and will still want to watch it.

So it’s important for you to be able to say what you feel?

Definitely. There’s a video on my vlog channel where I’m driving to one of my final exams and I’m practically in tears and freaking out. I got a lot of shit for [the video about my friend being roofied]. People told me that since it wasn’t actually me who was roofied, “it isn’t my story to tell.”

A lot of people like to think that I uploaded the video “just for the views.” I asked all the people involved in the story if I could make a video about it. I changed their names and they gave me the okay to upload it. I wanted to spread awareness, to make college girls more aware of their surroundings and safer.

I want to let people know that this stuff really happens. While a lot of the comments were nasty, I also got heartbreaking comments with girls who told me that something similar happened to them or a friend, too. Spreading awareness was my intention for that video, not getting more views.

What are your plans after you graduate from Rutgers?

I don’t know yet. I love supply-chain management. But I’d also want something that coincides with what I do on YouTube. Maybe I could merge my two interests and start a company. I’m interning currently with Bristol-Meyers Squibb, and soon I’m starting my Co-Op. I’ll be interning for L’Oreal Paris from 9am-5pm and studying full-time, from 6pm-9pm, and still working on YouTube.

How are you going to have time to do it all?

I’ll get through it. Lots of coffee.