Alix Earle Interview: How Get Ready With Me Videos Made Her Famous

Alix Earle is the creator people point to when they talk about relatability as a strategy. As a University of Miami student she filmed her makeup routine and talked to the camera the way she would to a friend, about her skin, her anxiety, her messy house and her relationships. Since then she has hosted a podcast, finished second on Dancing with the Stars, starred in a Netflix series and launched a skincare brand.

This post is for creators who want to know why candor grows an audience, for marketers deciding how much creative control to hand a creator, and for fans. It covers her start, how she makes videos, what she says works now, her mistakes and advice, brands, Hot Mess and what she is doing as of October 2026.

Who is Alix Earle?

Alix Earle is an American social media personality, born in New Jersey in 2000, who became famous on TikTok for Get Ready With Me videos in which she does her makeup while talking openly about her life.

A Get Ready With Me (GRWM) video is a clip in which a creator does their makeup, hair or outfit while talking to the camera, usually about their day. Earle began posting on TikTok in February 2020 as a University of Miami freshman, according to Wikipedia, and graduated with a marketing degree in 2023. Products she recommends sell out so fast that it has been called the Alix Earle effect, Rolling Stone reported in 2023.

How did Alix Earle get started?

“I tried a lot of the TikTok dances … I quickly learned that wasn’t for me.”

— Alix Earle, Rolling Stone, April 2023

The turn came in 2022. That summer she had cystic acne, and after she posted a video of her skin before and after makeup, commenters started asking for her routine, Rolling Stone reported. She began posting GRWM videos and had found her niche.

Business Insider reported in December 2022 that she had gained more than 1.7 million TikTok followers in a month. TODAY reported in 2023, citing an influencer marketer, that she had gone from 1.2 million TikTok followers in early December 2022 to 5.8 million.

She tried what everyone else was doing first. What worked was the thing only she could post. If your early videos copy a trend and stall, look at which posts drew comments asking for more, and make that your format.

Why did Alix Earle post about her acne?

“I got to a point where I said, ‘This just isn’t real.’ It isn’t authentic for me to be putting on these filters and taking on makeup and pretending like I’m not struggling with something that a lot of people deal with … I thought people from my school would judge me and immediately it was just this overwhelmingly kind community and I think a lot of people resonated with that.”

— Alix Earle, TODAY, September 2023

She said it on TODAY while taking her makeup off on air. She told Fortune in 2026 that she had struggled with acne since middle school, and that she first posted about it at a low point because she thought it might help someone.

“If I had not opened up about that, I don’t think that I would be where I am today. That sounds crazy, but it is kind of what catapulted me and started allowing me to create an audience.”

— Alix Earle, Fortune, March 2026

The lesson isn’t to overshare. The thing you most want to hide is often what your audience recognizes in themselves, so share what you can live with in public.

How does Alix Earle make a video?

“These are in-the-moment videos. I will just pick up and record … When I make content, it always feels fun and organic and natural.”

— Alix Earle, Nylon, November 2023

Nylon counted 14 TikToks from a single three-day trip in 2023. She doesn’t script her podcast either: “I just pick up the microphone and start talking and see what comes out of my mouth.”

“I just genuinely enjoy taking pictures, editing videos, and the process behind it … ‘Do I put the text here for two seconds or five seconds?’ I just love all the thought that goes into it.”

— Alix Earle, Nylon, November 2023

That is the real method: unplanned filming, careful editing. You can shoot on your phone in a messy room and still decide how long each caption stays on screen.

What does Alix Earle say works on TikTok now?

“You have to have a voice and have your own unique twist … Finding what works for you and your voice and your story — I always say your personal life stories are something that people can’t take away from you and can’t copy … And posting a ton, posting more than you think, just getting out there and posting, because the more that you can be in people’s faces the better.”

— Alix Earle, Fortune, March 2026

Her reasoning: viewers are fed so many people that storytelling is what makes them follow you. She said something similar in a 2023 Rolling Stone piece that tied her approach to her marketing studies.

“When sounds are trending, it’s easy for everyone to do the voice-over, and do the sound or do the dance … But I think when you’re using your own voice and your own thoughts or whatever story you’re telling, that’s obviously just original to you. So it’s not going to be saturated by everyone else following the trend, because it’s your experience.”

— Alix Earle, Rolling Stone, April 2023

A trending sound is a crowded lane; your own experience isn’t. Before you post, ask whether anyone else could have made this exact video. Our Emma Chamberlain interview covers a similar lesson from YouTube vlogging.

What mistakes does Alix Earle say she made early on?

“A lot of the mistakes I made when I was trying to start out was looking to people who were successful and trying to copy and paste what they were doing. But there’s already someone who’s taken up that niche or that category.”

— Alix Earle, Fortune, March 2026

Her second mistake, she told Nylon in late 2023, was overwork.

“There was a point a few months back where I was stressing myself out about holding myself up to the standard of posting three to four times a day, [but] I realized that it’s good to give myself those break days and not force content out.”

— Alix Earle, Nylon, November 2023

Post a lot while you are finding your audience, but don’t let a self-imposed quota push out videos you don’t want to make.

What advice does Alix Earle give new creators?

“I was a little embarrassed at first when I was in college and just pretending basically like I was this influencer, but I didn’t let the fear of embarrassment stop me from doing something that I thought would make me super happy … For anyone who feels embarrassed — everyone starts somewhere. You have to know that at some point everyone had, zero, 50, 100 followers. It’s embarrassing until it’s not.”

— Alix Earle, Fortune, March 2026

She told Fortune she liked putting out videos even when they got 1,000 views. Her other advice is about criticism, which arrived with the attention.

“You have to be very sure of yourself and strong-headed because putting yourself out on social media is scary at times and you’re subjecting yourself to a lot of opinions … It’s about getting to a place where you are OK with the fact that not everyone’s going to like you.”

— Alix Earle, Nylon, November 2023

Put together: start before you feel ready, and expect strangers to have opinions about you.

What does Alix Earle say about working with brands?

“I think the creator should be allowed to have a say in the creative when it comes to the content and working with brands. The more organic it can be, it always ends up doing better.”

— Alix Earle, Fortune, March 2026

Her early deals included Tarte, Rare Beauty and Grubhub, Rolling Stone reported in 2023, and The Hollywood Reporter reported that a collection she made with Frame denim sold out instantly. Fortune reported that she took equity in the soda brand Poppi as part of her endorsement fee, then benefited from its $1.95 billion sale to PepsiCo.

She told Fortune that the most pivotal moment in a creator’s career is the breakout, when every brand wants to work with you. Hers came while she was still in college.

“I understood that I didn’t just want this to be a three or six month thing — I wanted this to be a career and I wanted this to be my life. Saying no to a lot of things was really, really important.”

— Alix Earle, Fortune, March 2026

Increasingly, she takes a stake in the brands she works with. In February 2025 she told Instagram followers she was investing in an alcohol company she would name in March, saying, as quoted by NBC News, “I guess the other part of this is it could completely fail,” though she believed in the team and the product. That March she became an investor and partner in the canned margarita brand SipMargs. In December 2025 she became a strategic investor in the energy drink Gorgie, WWD reported.

Brands: brief the creator on goals and let them write in their own voice. Creators: set your rates and limits before the offers arrive; our guide on what to charge for a sponsorship helps, and every paid post needs a clear label, as our guide to disclosing sponsorships and affiliate links explains.

What happened to Alix Earle’s Hot Mess podcast?

Hot Mess launched in September 2023 on Alex Cooper’s Unwell Network, Variety reported, and by late September it was first on Spotify’s podcast chart, ahead of Cooper’s Call Her Daddy, Tubefilter reported.

In February 2025 Variety reported, citing unnamed sources, that Unwell had dropped the show and renounced its rights to it. On March 26 Earle announced a break, as quoted by People: “I have to put a pause on podcasting now for the foreseeable future.” Cooper publicly denied that Unwell was the reason and said Earle owns her intellectual property, People reported. In June 2025 Earle teased the show’s return, with “vlogcast” among the clues.

“I’ve really loved the video-forward content. That’s something that I enjoy, and that my audience enjoys, and where I strive and feel the most comfortable … I found that interviewing people wasn’t really what I’m interested in doing, and not something I’m very passionate about.”

— Alix Earle, The Hollywood Reporter, October 2025

The split turned into a public feud, which Earle addresses in the season finale of her Netflix series, TheWrap reported. Our Alex Cooper interview covers how Cooper built Unwell. As of October 2026, Hot Mess is still running: recent episodes on Apple Podcasts mix vlogs with Get Real With Me episodes in which she gets ready with a guest.

Two lessons for creators: before you launch a show with a network, know who owns it if the deal ends, and build it around what you enjoy, as she did when she dropped sit-down interviews for video.

What did Dancing with the Stars teach Alix Earle?

“I am obsessive about critiques, so I actually love when the judges are able to give some feedback … Even if I don’t get it right away, I will videotape myself and then go home and dance in my bathroom … You’re able to catch things you don’t feel when you’re dancing.”

— Alix Earle, The Hollywood Reporter, October 2025

She competed on season 34 in 2025 with Val Chmerkovskiy and finished runner-up to Robert Irwin. Sporting News reported that she topped the judges’ leaderboard on finale night with 90 points. Before the season, season 31 winner Charli D’Amelio shared advice with her, Good Morning America reported; our Charli D’Amelio interview covers that exchange.

The habit transfers to video: watch your work back the way a judge would, and fix one thing next time.

What is Alix Earle working on now?

Her main project is Reale Actives, a skincare brand for acne-prone skin that she launched in March 2026 after developing it with Imaginary Ventures, Fortune reported. She teased it for months with unlabeled products in the background of her videos and a new Instagram account, wtfisalixdoing.

“When I started to go through figuring out my ‘why’ for a company, I couldn’t really find one besides ‘Oh, maybe people would buy these products because I’m promoting them.’”

— Alix Earle, Nylon, March 2026

The “why” turned out to be her skin. The campaign images show it unretouched.

“I want everyone to see real pores, real texture, real acne, redness, whatever it is — that’s really, really important to me.”

— Alix Earle, Nylon, March 2026

Fortune reported in September 2026 that the brand made $5 million in sales on its first day and sold out by 4 p.m., and that its first new product, a serum called Go Calm, was about to go on sale. She told Fortune the brand is the most rewarding thing she has done in her career.

Her reality series, Earle Meets World, premiered on Netflix on September 4, 2026, with her sister Ashtin and the rest of her blended family. Fortune, citing Deadline, reported 1.8 million viewers in its first week.

“I’ve shared my life for years through my own camera, but this felt like the next phase because it’s a chance to go deeper. Not just the highlights, but the real moments, too.”

— Alix Earle, Netflix Tudum, September 2026

She still posts GRWM videos, but she told Nylon in 2026 that the influencer industry can be very fleeting, which is why she wanted a business of her own.

What creators can learn from Alix Earle

Sources

• As most influencers are struggling to maintain fame, a new ‘it girl’ TikToker grew 1.7 million followers in a month. So who is Alix Earle?, Business Insider, December 2022
• Alix Earle has nearly 6M TikTok followers. She reveals her one piece of advice for success, TODAY, January 2023 (updated September 2023)
• How Alix Earle Became TikTok’s It Girl, Rolling Stone, April 2023
• TikTok Star Alix Earle Announces Podcast ‘Hot Mess’ for Alex Cooper’s Unwell Network, Variety, September 2023
• Alix Earle, Alex Cooper go 1-2 in Spotify podcast charts after teaming up at new media company, Tubefilter, September 2023
• Alix Earle’s Guide to World Domination, Nylon, November 2023
• Alix splits from Alex: Earle dropped from Cooper’s Unwell Network, Tubefilter, February 2025
• What to know about Alix Earle, Alex Cooper and their reported professional fallout, NBC News, February 2025
• What’s going on with Alex Cooper, Alix Earle and the ‘Hot Mess’ podcast?, TODAY, February 2025
• Alix Earle Expands Her Empire With SipMARGS Investment and Brand Partnership, SI Swimsuit, March 2025
• Alix Earle Teases “Hot Mess” Podcast Return, 4 Months After Parting Ways from Alex Cooper’s Unwell Network, People via AOL, June 2025
• Charli D’Amelio’s New York era: Kate Spade campaign and ‘DWTS’ advice for Alix Earle, Good Morning America, June 2025
• From TikTok to Primetime: Alix Earle on Her ‘DWTS’ Journey and What’s Next, The Hollywood Reporter, October 2025
• Who won Dancing with the Stars in 2025? Full results, highlights from Jordan Chiles and more in Season 34 finals, Sporting News, November 2025
• Alix Earle Joins Clean Energy Drink Brand Gorgie as Strategic Investor, WWD, December 2025
• Alix Earle knows exactly how to launch a brand in 2026, Fortune, March 2026
• Alix Earle On Her New Beauty Brand, Dating & Oversharing On TikTok, Nylon, March 2026
• Influencer Alix Earle turned her worst insecurity into her first brand. This is her plan to monetize her 14 million followers and make it last, Fortune, March 2026
• TIME100 Creators: The Most Influential Digital Voices of 2026, TIME, July 2026
• Alix Earle Says She Had to Lean Into the Alex Cooper Drama in Her Netflix Reality Series, TheWrap, September 2026
• Alix Earle Netflix Reality Series Earle Meets World, Netflix Tudum, September 2026
• Alix Earle has 15 million followers, two Super Bowl commercials, and a reality show. Building her skincare brand is ‘the most rewarding thing’ she’s done, Fortune, September 2026
• Hot Mess, Apple Podcasts, October 2026
• Alix Earle, Wikipedia, October 2026

What to do next

If Earle’s test, whether a video tells a story only its creator could tell, changes how you judge creators, look at their recent posts, not just follower counts. Her entry on our list of top Instagram influencers shows what she is posting now, and our methodology explains how we check every creator we list.

For the same questions put to other creators, browse more creator interviews.