Rachel Levin- AKA RCLBeauty101- is sitting down with HOLR to discuss her journey from digital influence to musical expression and beyond.

From the creative force behind RCLBeauty101 to her exciting expansion into the music industry Rachel Levin’s journey as a digital creator has been extremely transformative. Since launching her channel, she has captivated audiences with her beauty tutorials and has since expanded into the music industry.

As we chat about in our conversation, below, Rachel’s music dives into themes of self-love and the complexities of modern relationships. She also talks about how she balances multiple platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok while sharing her perspective on the future of digital content creation.

Keep reading to learn all about Rachel’s latest endeavors and how she continues to change the digital content game.

How has your journey as a digital creator evolved since launching RCLBeauty101, and what prompted you to expand into music?

My journey from a digital creator started off with a completely different mindset. I was originally making YouTube videos because I didn’t have friends in school. As a result, I went to the internet for friendship and a sense of community. It has evolved in a way where I am now a fully well-rounded, confident individual and I have grown a lot as a person since starting. I think now I am able to separate personal life from online which I think was an issue to begin with at first.

I’ve always wanted to do music even before doing social media. I would actually make my dad play Hilary Duff karaoke songs before bed so I could sing them. It’s been a long journey- a 15-year one to get to this point.

Can you share more about the themes and messages behind your latest single, “Lost on My Mind,” and how they reflect your personal experiences?

“Lost on My Mind” was the last song I released but my current song- “IDWABF”- stands for I Don’t Want A Boyfriend. The overall theme is that I want my songs to be sort of seasonal. For instance, during the winter I want to do all of the “sad” songs because of seasonal depression. Throughout the rest of the year, I want to do songs that help boost your confidence.

IDWABF seems like it would be an anti-love song where I just hate men but it has nothing to do with that. It’s a shifting of the focus of love onto the friend. It’s more like “I don’t want a boyfriend because I am surrounded by platonic love so I don’t need that other love in my life.” I feel so fulfilled, emotionally, with the other love that I have that I want to make a song that focuses on it. It’s a song that embraces the fact that you might not have a romantic love like that right now, instead of shaming it.

What insights do you have about the future of digital content creation, particularly in terms of balancing multiple platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok?

I think that it’s going to be interesting to see the future of social platforms play out. Now, we are all growing our attention spans back after a period of time so I think that longer-form content will have its opening and make its mark again. The primary platform I focus on is Snapchat which is a mix of short and long-form content.

Balancing social media is interesting because they all require such different things. I think Snapchat is the realest platform because you can be your raw, authentic self because you’re just posting and not editing. Instagram and TikTok videos are still raw but a bit more polished. YouTube is a mix of polished and unpolished, as well.

In your own words, why do you believe it’s important for individuals to embrace being single and focus on self-love, especially in today’s relationship culture?

I think the biggest reason to focus on self-love is because you may need it to be in a healthy relationship. If you get into a relationship without self-love you often rely on your partner to give it to you. That could be good for some people to have an overabundance of love to give, but I think that if you don’t love yourself you may encounter difficulties in future relationships.

If you take the love you gave to a partner in the past and give it to yourself, it feels almost the same. I think if everyone learns to love themselves a bit then I think they will find the best type of relationships. A relationship should be both people being happy and coming together in a good place. I think it’s good to be single until you get into a relationship- but to each their own.

What inspired the launch of RCLÓ Cosmetics, and how do you see the beauty industry evolving alongside your music career?

I cry a lot so I needed better waterproof makeup. I also have sensory issues with things such as a sticky lip gloss. I wanted to find a way to make makeup a more positive experience, overall. Putting the makeup on is so much fun but going out and about with it, I had issues with it. I wanted to create something I could wear that was better than what was on the market for my own personal experience and we figured out how to do that! Now I don’t have an issue with my hair getting stuck in my lipgloss. That was the original reason and now it is expanding beyond that.

I would really love to merge music and beauty. If I do a tour I would love to have a makeup line that is song related in some way. Outside of that, I think they are separate entities but if I could bring them together in a way, that would be the dream.

What’s next for you?

I’m very excited about releasing new makeup products! I am going to start posting live performance videos of me singing and hopefully getting into some music videos, as well.

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Published by HOLR Magazine

Image Credit: Vijat M