Pioneering Digital Beauty

Leilani Green has rapidly emerged as a powerful voice shaping beauty's digital frontier. With over 11 million followers and recognition among Forbes’ prestigious 'Top Creators: Fashion 50,' her journey from curious preteen to digital innovator is one of constant self-reinvention. Driven by an authentic passion for beauty and an intuitive grasp of emerging technologies, Leilani effortlessly bridges creativity with digital innovation, from pioneering metaverse makeup looks to embracing new platforms like Roblox. In this interview, Leilani thoughtfully shares insights into her creative process, the delicate art of authenticity, and how she empowers millions by balancing trendsetting originality with genuine connection.

1. Could you tell us about your journey and how you've positioned yourself at the intersection of beauty and digital innovation?

As a creator who started this concentration as a preteen, I have taught myself to reinvent myself every single year. I made it a challenge to try something new every single year, and it has only benefited me. Each and every year in order to reinvent myself, I incorporate new software, new editing, platforms, or even new filming equipment. For example, this year, I decided to invest in better filming equipment and better cameras to improve my quality because as a content creator, I feel like quality is everything. The better the quality, the better the content. I genuinely believe as a creator who has been here for so long and has seen everyone do everything, quality is the one thing that sets people apart.

2. The beauty industry has undergone a dramatic digital transformation. How do you conceptualize innovation within this space, and what does creating truly innovative content mean to you?

Being a beauty creator should not be complicated at all. In fact, the more simple, the more genuine. Beauty is something that we don’t even have to talk about, we just have to see. As long as we bring our true selves to the table, other people will be able to relate. Whether that is a good relation to the creator or a bad relation. We will know right off the bat. For me, I bring my real genuine self to the table, and I present myself as if I were someone’s older sister because I feel like I have a lot of knowledge to bring to the table. In the beauty space, we genuinely just need tips, tricks, and how-to’s. That is it.

3. Your content consistently breaks new ground, particularly your metaverse makeup looks with Urban Decay and Ulta. Could you walk us through how you generate and develop these novel concepts?

As a beauty creator, I love coming up with looks to inspire others to be more creative themselves. I constantly find myself having a creator's block, which prevents you from trying new things, so whenever I feel inspired, I produce a new look in order to help others at the same time. When Urban Decay presented me the opportunity to partner with them to make makeup looks for a digital app such as Roblox, I was absolutely ecstatic. I wanted to make sure that the three looks I created were different, but cool at the same time. I made sure that I made looks that were colorful, yet innovative, and some that were simply plain black-and-white. Something for everyone. But the fact that I was able to incorporate my skills to a digital level has forever changed me for the better.

4. The demands of content creation can be relentless. What practices or rituals do you employ to maintain your creative edge and prevent burnout in a space that requires constant originality?

Being a content creator is fulfilling because you get to live out your true passion, but at the same time, keeping up with everything going on is extremely difficult. It is easy to feel out of touch with all of the trends and actions surrounding you. I typically map out certain days for content, creation, and I leave open space for times that I feel creatively expanded. Some days I will wake up with absolutely zero motivation to create, and other days I will wake up with 1000 ideas on my mind. Whenever I feel compelled to create, I do. And that is when I feel the best content is created. Sometimes you just have to be slow and wait for the idea to spark. Slow and steady wins the race. Seriously!

5. You've demonstrated remarkable foresight in adopting emerging platforms like Snapchat's creator program and Roblox. How do you identify emerging digital trends before they become mainstream, and what signals do you look for?

For platforms like Snapchat and Roblox, as a content creator, you can see what you can do with these platforms. For Snapchat, I realized that I can be personal with my audience without a barrier in between. For Roblox, I realize that I can get closer to the audience that I don’t typically hit, the younger audience. It is a way to get closer to the audience that you don’t typically hit with other content creation. These platforms are the extras that help you get closer to the audience that you have gained along the way.

6. What's the most significant challenge you face when pioneering new approaches at the intersection of beauty and technology, and how do you overcome these obstacles?

In my opinion, the biggest obstacle that I have faced in the beauty community is the relationship with new products. Every single day there are new products coming out to try, and I know that my job is to try them out in order to share with my audience how I feel about them. I believe that there is a large amount of product production these days, and not everybody needs this many products. I struggle to find a balance when it comes to trying out the new drops because sometimes I feel like less is more.

7. Has there been a moment where an innovation or approach from an entirely different industry — perhaps gaming, fashion, or even sectors outside the creative space — has influenced your beauty content or collaborations?

I love fashion. Fashion is a big part of my life because if you love makeup, you love to physically dress up as well. It just goes hand in hand. If you are a beauty creator, I genuinely believe that you will love fashion. Nothing will ever top beauty in my opinion, but fashion is almost like a collaboration when it comes to beauty.

8. You're known for your authentic personality alongside innovative content. How do you balance maintaining authenticity while pushing creative boundaries, and how do you encourage this mindset in your collaborations?

Authenticity should come hand-in-hand with content creation. If you are struggling to be authentic, when creating content, you have to backtrack a little bit and really find out where you come from. If your authenticity does not show automatically with your concentration, something is off. I feel no struggle to show my authenticity with the content that I decide to create because they feed off of each other. Authenticity comes first, and content creation comes after. 

9. Looking ahead, how do you plan to continue evolving as a digital innovator? Are there emerging technologies or platforms you're excited to explore, and how do you see the future landscape of beauty content creation?

As a creator who has been on this platform for more than 10 years, I genuinely believe that being a digital innovator that continues to grow, starts at the root. The intentions that you start this experience with are what you carry until the end. I started not knowing that you could make a dollar doing what I do. Now continuously doing it years later, I realize that, as long as you start with an authentic mindset, you will continue to grow as long as you constantly reinvent yourself. That is what I go by and it has never let me down.

10. As a "big sister" figure to many young followers, how do you leverage your innovative approach to empower your audience, and how does their feedback loop into your creative process

As a middle child, my older sister was the one that I looked up to. Her being eight years older than me let me experience something that I realized not everybody gets to experience. I was able to have an idol to learn from. I would wake up the moment that she did, just to watch her apply her makeup for the day. Once I realized that she felt more confident with the face she decided to make for the day, I realized that everything was possible. I would experiment with her makeup every single day without her knowing, and then I decided to make videos. Once I realized people were watching the content that I made, I realized that I was no longer myself watching my big sister get ready, but I WAS my big sister for other people. A figure that a lot of my viewers never had. Once I realized this, I understood the purpose of what I was doing. And ever since discovering that I will never turn around.