YouTuber Michelle Phan returns from yearlong hiatus; Sudden disappearance explained

YouTube star Michelle Phan has risen from the ashes. The makeup guru and business mogul has returned from her nearly yearlong hiatus and social media cleanse. But what prompted her sudden disappearance in the first place?

Boasting nearly 9 million subscribers on YouTube, Phan can be easily considered as one of the top most subscribed beauty gurus on the video-sharing platform. Following her Internet success, she has since launched her own makeup brand, Em Cosmetics, and even a beauty subscription service called Ipsy.

However, her success has not been all smooth-sailing, as Em was not received with much praise, ultimately flopping. The lack of success that Em receive later on launched a lot of hate and negativity directed to Phan online. This ultimately prompted her to take a step back and reevaluate not only her brand, but herself as a person. Having been in the YouTube scene for the past 10 years, Phan believed it was time to take a break.

Thus she began her journey of self-discovery. Phan simply packed her bags and left to go see the world, without any warning to her colleagues whatsoever. The backlash of Em’s flop impacted Phan with a heavy dose of negativity. This later made her realise how unhappy she was with her place in life, and it was ultimately a rude awakening of sorts for the young entrepreneur. Phan believed that her unhappiness was not reflective of herself as a person. Of her decision to cut her online presence from the rest of her life, Phan admitted that such a decision was not an easy one to make.

“I cut off social media cold turkey. It is really scary, because you can become irrelevant,” she explained to Teen Vogue. “If you don’t upload a video or stay updated, within a month you’re irrelevant. People forget about you because there’s so much happening online.”

Upon her return, Phan was renewed with a new perspective on her business. The relaunch of Em Cosmetics will also reflect a relaunch of the Michelle Phan brand, and how the YouTube star has matured and developed in the past year of her online absence. The relaunch of her makeup brand will also see a more affordable price point — one that is considered more suitable for her young target market.

Though the Michelle Phan comeback with Em Cosmetics is upon her community and fans, as of writing, her YouTube channel has yet to have an updated video declaring her return to the Internet.