Beauty on the Inside and Out: Alexandra Potora

Alexandra Potora

Alexandra Potora is a beauty Youtube sensation. Apart from delivering high-quality makeup and skincare tutorials on the regular, she is warm, bubbly and insanely vivacious. Her Instagram feed is full of inspiring hair, skin and nail videos. She even shaved her face for a video, once! On a more serious note, her content also delves into the realms of depression, anxiety, and success. Basically, Alexandra is a one-stop shop for making your life a better, happier thing. And trust me, she’s a joy.

The NuWa team visited her NYC hotel room during a recent stay around Times Square to chat travel, culture, and of course, all things beauty.

Alexandra Potora

Why don’t you give us a brief overview of what you do?

So I am considered a social media influencer, although the term really freaks me out. It sounds so pompous! I refer to myself as a content creator — I love generating content in video and picture form that is meant to inspire folks, whether in the form of a makeup tutorial or educational skincare video or DIY recipes for beauty products. Also, I share personal growth tips like relationship help, and so forth.

Alexandra Potora
Alexandra Potora

Amazing! And when did you start making videos?

I started about four years ago when I had a boutique social media marketing business that I started in 2010, back when people thought I was crazy to charge other companies to market on Facebook. So, I did the videos for my clients, but it wasn’t quite as crowded back in 2010, and eventually started them on my own, as well. I wanted to be myself and share with people my real struggle, what it’s like to deal with depression and still be a functioning adult, and what it’s like to be disappointed.

Two years ago, I got a message from this girl that said, “Hey I watched your depression video and wanted to kill myself at the time, but your video really made a difference. 3 months later I’m happier and I feel better about myself so I had to come back subscribe and tell you to thank you so much.” I realized that this is what I should be doing, so within the year I was able to dedicate myself full-time to Youtube.

Alexandra Potora
Alexandra Potora

Would you say that is your favorite topic to cover on Youtube?

I would say that topic is really important to me because I went through a divorce and a bankruptcy and was a foreigner in this country. This compelled me to create a systematic approach to self-help. That’s definitely one of my passions. I love giving people steps on things that they can do that will help make them feel better. And secondly, skincare! I was not blessed with great skin, so I love skincare.

Alexandra Potora
Alexandra Potora

Where are you from originally? What is your cultural background?

Originally I am from Bucharest, Romania, born and raised there in times of Soviet Communism. Things were interesting. I always felt like I didn’t belong for some reason, and like I was born in the wrong country. For instance,  I remember being six and feeling like for some reason I didn’t fit in Romania.
So how many countries have you lived in?

I’ve only lived in three. Romania, England, and the United States.

Where have you traveled?

I’ve traveled a lot. It used to be travel out of curiosity, to get a sense of unity around the globe. But, since last year, traveling has a different purpose for me because I’m starting a cosmetics business. I’ve been wanting to travel to some places to inspire the line, like Greece. I had this vision of Grecian Beauties. I really wanted to go and see what they have in their special apothecaries like donkey milk.
Then, I went to South Korea because they’re essentially at the forefront of beauty. I wanted to see how different women like throughout the different parts of the world see “beauty” and what they use.

Do you speak any other languages? 
Romanian, my native tongue. I took seven years of German, and am starting to learn Spanish.

Alexandra Potora
Alexandra Potora

In an ideal world, who is watching your videos? Who do you create for?

That is such a good question! I wish more people would ask those kinds of questions! She has a passion for beauty, and she loves self-development. She understands that you have to make things happen, like taking care of your skin. If you want to be happy, being happy takes work! It’s a person who wants to be better and build a better life.

In an ideal world with a magic wand, what would you like to accomplish in your lifetime?

Travel! I want to live in Lisbon! I will look back and have seen the globe, fifty countries, and start a family. And finally, sell my business to Estee Lauder for over one billion dollars.

Alexandra Potora

Yes! When are you launching the brand?

Creating a brand new product is difficult! We have to teach our customers that only active vitamins are helpful, most on the market now are fluff, and the formulas need to be invented! I want everything to have a minimum of 30 SPF. I need an SPF specialist to concoct these ingredients in the proper way. You have to test every step of the way, but in a nutshell, we’re looking at March/April 2019.

What do you love most about your job?

I really love the human element of my digital world. The human component of social media is extraordinary. Talking with people, forming incredible friendships and connecting with people is the best.

Alexandra Potora

She plans to beta launch her products to her social media community, so be sure to subscribe to her Youtube account, Instagram, and stay up-to-date on her website. You will be able to weigh in on packaging, product choices, and enrolling in beta testing.

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Contributor

Madison Russell

As a Southern Belle turned Manhattanite, Madison Russell is a contributing editor based in New York City. Most days, you can find her writing in a coffee shop or cuddling with her rescue pup, Talullah. Her work has been published on Guest of a Guest, The Select 7, The Sunday Issue, and more. Visit MadisonRussell.com for the latest.

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