Photography and Interview by Lauren Engel
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Karissa Pukas is a beauty/fashion/lifestyle youtuber from Australia now based in Sydney. She started doing her channel full time since February of 2013. She decided to make the jump when she was working at Estee Lauder and realized she wanted to make the Youtube thing work. Fast forward a few years she’s now living in Sydney with her boyfriend, traveling the world doing work for her channel and site with the most amazing brands. Check out her facebook here. Photographed by Lauren Engel.

How did you get into Vlogging:
I started my channel in October 2010. I had just started a Fashion Merchandising program in Vancouver, and I didn’t know many people. I already watched youtube videos, and thought that it would be a cool way to meet people who enjoyed similar things to me; that was back when video responses were a more common thing. Youtube started out as this amazing community of people who just wanted to find others they vibed with and support/ interact with them. Fast forward 5 years, and the game has changed a lot. I don’t honestly think I would have started a channel now if this is what the community was like 5 years ago.

Where do you see your business going next?
I have always looked at being an online brand as an ever changing, ever growing thing. The experiences are infinite- you never really know what’s around the corner; that’s the exciting part about it. Personally, I’d like to focus more on my brand SocialEyes (Vegan false lashes + Accessories) and I’ve been working hard on another project that I have yet to announce. I’ve really been enjoying producing more travel vlogs on my second channel (SundayMorningsOkToo) with the help of my boyfriend Glen, and I’d love to continue filming things other than fashion and beauty. My main thing? I don’t ever want to be stagnant.

Coolest Job you have gotten from Vlogging.
I’ve been lucky enough to have a few really awesome experiences through work. One of my favourites was interviewing Hugh Jackman and Peter Dinklage on the red carpet at the ‘X Men’ Premiere in Melbourne- The company I worked with flew me down for the afternoon to do the interview. I was so nervous! I also have had the privilege of shooting at the Conde Nast Building in New York for Maybelline and Teen Vogue. It totally blows my mind that having a successful youtube channel and being comfortable behind a camera can lead to these opportunities.

How did you and your boyfriend meet?
This is a good one. I was 17, working weekends at Silverstar Mountain Ski Resort in a Coffee Shop/Bakery. I was the youngest employee and everyone would always go out for a drink after work and I tagged along most of the time; No one noticed because why would a high school kid be working up at a ski hill you know? One night everyone decided to party at the Hostel, so over we went. After a great night, I was ready to go home and on my way out I walked past this cute guy with crazy bed head hair who was wearing a light blue NOFX Hoodie. As I walked past, I said I liked his hoodie- it matched his eyes. We ended up talking for a bit and really hit it off. I didn’t have a cell phone so we didn’t exchange numbers, but we both said we’d keep an eye out for each other; although I remember thinking it was such bummer that I probably wouldn’t see him around again (because what are the odds on a big ski hill with tons of people)

I woke up early the next morning (hungover) and got ready for work, thinking about the cute guy and the night before. At work, I confined myself to the Paninni making corner because it was furthest away from the loud espresso machine and after a few hours I was starting to feel better and get in my groove. I was busy making an order when I heard someone behind me say “No Fucking Way”- I turned around, and there was the guy from last night, standing in front of me wearing the same uniform. Glen had been hired the week previous, and he was there for his first day. It was totally insane. We ended up talking and flirting so much that day that our boss took duct tape and made a line down the middle of the cafe, sending Glen to one side and me to the other.

We ended up casually dating for a few months until he had to go back to Australia. We didn’t think a LDR was a great idea (I was in high school and it was too tough on both of us) but we agreed that if we were ever single in the future and able to make something work out, we would try. We both dated other people and did our own thing for a few years, and around the same time as I started my youtube channel, we were both single, and started to talk. FaceTime had just came out, and it was the new fad; we both had iPhones so we decided to catch up. After like 6 months of talking almost every night, he booked a ticket back to Canada. I’ll never forget the cab ride to the airport to meet him- it had been 3 years since I saw him, and I was nervous as hell. I babbled to the taxi driver the entire way (poor guy). We pulled up at arrivals and Glen was standing there- I got out of the cab and without even saying hello I kissed him. We’ve been together almost 5 years since that day :)

How have you see the Youtube Vlogging industry change over the years?
I briefly touched on this earlier; Youtube started as this supportive, sharing community of people who wanted to push creative limits. Channels had relationships with other channels for the sole sake of friendships and nothing more. Along the way, much of the spirit changed. There became more ‘opinions’ and ‘haters’ and many of the youtube creators changed. Youtube has become much more about ad or brand dollars, sponsorships and numbers than the actual content. Don’t get me wrong; there’s absolutely no problem that people are being paid for the work they are doing- creating content involves SO much more than meets the eye. The issue is that many creators have taken it a step further, and lost their integrity with what they are promoting. They are taking sponsorships that do not make sense for their channel/brand or pushing something as their ‘favourite new thing’. Not only that, they do not say there is a sponsorship or affiliation in the first place. Many sponsorships are now so inorganic to the channel that subscribers do not trust what any youtuber is saying or promoting- ‘One rotten apple spoil’s the bin’.

I’m hoping that youtube will grow out of this ‘phase’ and that content creators will take the responsibility more seriously with what they are promoting. Or at least be honest that it is a promotion in the first place. I also hope that the comments section will grow to a place of kind, uplifting opinions where commenters are accountable for what they say. Pigs may fly ;)

What about your youtube channel sets you apart from the others?
I have never presented anyone else but my true self. What you see is what you get, and I am proud of the woman I’ve become. I am not a professional makeup artist, or stylist or presenter making these online videos- I’m not without flaws, and I make mistakes. I’m learning like everyone else, and I hope that by sharing my life and experiences, it will resonate or connect with other people. There are too many bloggers/vloggers who only present the highlight reel of their lives- and as lovely as that is to follow, people (especially young women) forget that that is the edited version of their existence, and they edit/ tailor it to sell. Life isn’t always perfect, and I think seeing someone embrace that and still come out on top smiling is important. I learn from my followers and they learn from me. It’s a beautiful connection.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years.
In ten years, I’ll be 34. I want to be kicking ass and taking names on an entrepreneurial level. I enjoy being Boss lady, and have many exciting future plans. I would love to get into talk radio, or podcasting and weening off doing videos (unless it was a beautiful cinematographic project). On a personal level, I’d love to speak another language fluently and commit to my yoga practice. At 34, I hope to be celebrating my 8/9th wedding anniversary with Glen (wink wink) and I hope to be a yummy mummy with two beautiful cheeky kids.

all images by Lauren Engel