"You know when you're a child and your imagination is limitless and you really believe in magic? I th..." — Michelle Phan

I was 16 years old and wanted to help my mom with the rent. There was a restaurant called China Buffet in Tampa that hung a 'Help Wanted' sign outside, so I went in and ended up hosting every Friday and Sunday for $6 or $7 an hour.

Every video I've made has an inspirational message behind it. Since day one, I thought, 'Okay, I want my audience to be, like, Disney members.' So if that's the case, I have to keep everything rated G.

Makeup is no different than clothes and accessories - it's embellishments for your face. And it also gives you creative freedom. You get to have that moment in front the mirror every morning and give yourself self-love. You're making yourself up beautiful, which is essentially self-love.

I glance through the pages of all the top magazines every month just to see if there are any colors that are trending. I'll also go on Instagram and look at the 'popular' page to see what people are liking, what's cool. I'll check it at different times of the day; for example, if it's really late in L.A., you'll see a lot of posts in Asia.