40 Fun Facts About James Charles

At 17, James Charles became the first male ambassador for which American drugstore makeup brand?

CoverGirl signed him in October 2016, and he said he was the first of its faces to do his own makeup from scratch for every shoot.

What family word does James Charles use for his fans, a name also printed on his 2018 clothing line?

Sisters is how he addresses his followers, and his Sisters Apparel shop also sold a hoodie printed with the word Brothers instead.

Which beauty YouTuber, a former mentor, publicly ended her friendship with James Charles in a 2019 video?

Tati Westbrook accused him of disloyalty after he advertised a rival vitamin brand, then took the video down and later said two other YouTubers had pushed her into making it.

Which Dance Moms alumna let James Charles swap her usual sparkle for soft glam in a 2020 makeover?

JoJo Siwa normally did her own hair and makeup and gave him a single try, and she went without her trademark bow, glitter and rhinestones.

James Charles used liquid latex in 2020 to make which reality-TV figure look clawed by a cheetah?

Kylie Jenner had just launched an animal-print makeup collection, which inspired the look, and it was her second turn in his Halloween chair.

Which English city was gridlocked for hours in 2019 when James Charles opened a cosmetics store there?

Birmingham ground to a halt as about 8,000 fans packed the Bullring shopping centre for a public appearance that lasted roughly 30 seconds.

James Charles posted a solo cover of which hit song in January 2021, saying he was nervous to share it?

Drivers License was Olivia Rodrigo's brand-new single at the time, and he had been sharing song covers online for years alongside the makeup.

Weeks after his 2016 ambassador announcement, James Charles appeared as a guest on which daytime talk show?

Ellen had him on while he was still a 17-year-old high-school student, and DeGeneres had herself fronted adverts for the same makeup brand.

During a May 2019 feud, James Charles became the first YouTuber to lose how many subscribers within 24 hours?

1 million left in a single day, a YouTube first, and his following kept falling until a 41-minute reply video turned opinion his way.

James Charles's first YouTube channel, JaysCoding, covered the competitive modding scene of which video game?

Mario Kart Wii modding filled the channel he launched in 2010, along with song covers, five years before his first makeup video.

Which cosmetics company made the 39-shade eyeshadow palette James Charles released in November 2018?

Morphe priced the palette at $39, a dollar a shade, and both it and his clothing line sold out within minutes of going on sale.

James Charles hosted, directed and co-produced which reality competition series that premiered in April 2020?

Instant Influencer put six up-and-coming makeup artists through challenges for a $50,000 prize, and it was filmed that January, before lockdowns began.

James Charles's first adverts as a brand ambassador in 2016 promoted So Lashy, which kind of makeup product?

Mascara was the product, and he was already on set filming his first television commercial for it when the appointment was announced.

Which pop singer and fellow brand ambassador announced James Charles's 2016 makeup deal on her Instagram?

Katy Perry also surprised him on the commercial set, where the first clue she had arrived was her dogs running around the studio.

James Charles went viral in 2016 with a tweet saying he retook his senior photos with which item in tow?

A ring light came along, he joked, so that his highlighter would show up on camera, and the post drew tens of thousands of likes and retweets.

James Charles's younger brother, Ian Jeffrey, left YouTube at 16 to pursue which career in New York City?

Modeling took him to New York, where he signed with the IMG agency and walked runways, saying that being known online was not for him.

Which vlogger joined James Charles and the Dolan Twins for four rounds of same-day videos in 2018?

Emma Chamberlain had only just moved south from the Bay Area when the foursome formed, and the group earned a Shorty nomination for best YouTube ensemble.

Days before his May 2019 subscriber crash, James Charles walked the red carpet at which New York event?

The Met Gala fell on May 6 that year, and by the following Monday his channel was shedding subscribers faster than any had before.

James Charles left upstate New York after high school for which city, where he bought a mansion in 2020?

Los Angeles is where he moved into a five-bedroom house in September 2018, and by that December he was asking fans to stop turning up at his door.

Which 2019 summer venture did James Charles cancel the day after his 20th birthday, refunding every buyer?

A US tour of two dozen cities was scrapped, though he insisted the decision was his own and that no venue or sponsor had pulled out.

James Charles's 2019 advert for which vitamin brand upset a friend who co-owned a rival supplement company?

SugarBearHair competes with Halo Beauty, the vitamin line his friend had co-founded, and he said he posted the advert after the brand supplied him with security.

James Charles goes by his first and middle names; which surname, shared with an American poet, is his?

Dickinson is the family name of his parents, Skip and Christine, and his brother drops it as well, working as Ian Jeffrey.

In a 2018 Shane Dawson documentary episode, James Charles used makeup to turn Dawson into which beauty mogul?

Jeffree Star was the subject of the series, and the makeover episode let Dawson spend a day trying to live in his shoes.

James Charles names Nikkie de Jager and which American beauty YouTuber as his two biggest influences?

Jaclyn Hill, whose Champagne Pop highlighter sold 25,000 units in 20 minutes, remained a favourite of his even after he got to know her personally.

Which name did James Charles give the self-funded makeup brand he launched in 2023 after four years of work?

Painted opened with cream colours in ten shades, packaged in tubes like art supplies, and he said every dollar came from his own savings.

Which online-video honours named James Charles's 2020 makeup competition series their Show of the Year?

The Streamy Awards honoured him three times in all, twice in the Beauty category and once for this series, which he also directed.

What does James Charles spritz onto his brush before dipping into highlighter, for an almost metallic glow?

Setting spray on the brush makes the shimmer pop, a trick he shared in his first interviews, joking that his glow ought to be visible from space.

Which singer, a friend James Charles met at Coachella, sat for his neon pink cut-crease look in 2020?

Doja Cat told him that TikTok dance challenges had reshaped her whole career, and he crowned her the queen of TikTok songs.

Which pop singer filmed a makeup video with James Charles in 2019 to promote her own new beauty line?

Kesha named every eyeshadow shade in the line after one of her songs, and he told her he had grown up listening to her music.

James Charles did which rapper's makeup for her 2019 single Sally Walker, then appeared in its video?

Iggy Azalea set the video at a funeral, and he makes a cameo in it, as do three RuPaul's Drag Race queens.

Which drag queen guest-judged James Charles's 2020 competition series, then filmed a makeover video with him?

Trixie Mattel, a RuPaul's Drag Race alumna, traded transformations with him, and some fans asked whether the video had been filmed during lockdown.

Before James Charles ever tried makeup, which other beauty skill was he practising as a teenager in New York?

Hairstyling came first, and the switch happened when a friend running late for her own appointment asked him to do her makeup instead.

Which title did James Charles give the 41-minute video he posted in May 2019 to rebut a former friend's claims?

No More Lies followed a short apology that became one of the most disliked videos on YouTube before it was deleted, and it brought public support his way again.

James Charles grew up, and first took makeup clients, in which town on the edge of Albany, New York?

Bethlehem sits immediately south of the state capital, and he was still at its high school when a national cosmetics brand signed him.

James Charles made a brief 2018 acting cameo as a troublemaking teenager in which Freeform sitcom?

Alone Together gave him a small part in its fourth episode, set at a pop-up, where his character's gang messes up the heroine's hands.

James Charles moved from covers to original music in February 2024 with which surprise debut single?

Call Me Back came out with no warning, a day after he sang it for a small crowd of fans on a stage dressed as a burning house.

James Charles marked his 21st birthday in May 2020 by filming which YouTube staple for the first time?

A drunk tutorial was new to him because he had barely tasted alcohol before, and he produced a cotton candy eyeshadow look between swigs of tequila.

The first time James Charles ever put makeup on his own face was for Halloween; which look did he create?

A skeleton was his first look on himself, after he had started practising on clients, and he liked it enough to keep going.

Which drawn-on detail did a 17-year-old James Charles describe as his signature touch on any makeup look?

Faux freckles were his trademark from the beginning, and he said he had noticed plenty of other people copying the idea.

Which prescription item did a 17-year-old James Charles say he always wears for his makeup looks?

Colored contacts go in before he begins so that he can see what he is doing, though he said long shoot days leave his eyes dry.