How Beauty Vlogging Helped Jordan Bone Fight Her Disability, Beat Depression, and Inspire Everyone

Despite not being able to move her hands, Jordan Bone is one of the most popular beauty vloggers on YouTube. (Photo: Instagram)

When British vlogger Jordan Bone was battling depression, she found help in an unexpected place — YouTube. At age 15, Jordan was the victim of a terrible car accident. She got into a car of a friend, he started speeding, and five minutes later, the car flipped, breaking Jordan’s neck. She was left tetraplegic — she lost the ability to move her hands and legs. Several years after the accident, needing a wheelchair and dealing with dark days, Jordan started watching guided meditation videos she found on YouTube — and they changed her life completely. “I was able to get my self out of depression,” Jordan reveals. “They made me feel more positive.”

Jordan was so inspired by the power of those videos that she decided to make her own to try to have an impact on other people’s lives. She started a site called Jordan’s Beautiful Life. “I wanted to spread positivity and cheer to people,” says Jordan. She said her first videos were designed to “motivate people to live a great life,” and featured her talking about how to overcome obstacles. Jordan moved into makeup tutorials shortly afterwards, combining her motivational message with stunning beauty transformations.

However, without use of her fingers or the ability to open and close her hands, the simple act of putting on makeup was a huge challenge for Jordan. But the self-processed beauty junkie loved makeup before her accident, and she persisted in learning how to overcome this obstacle. “When I had my accident and I couldn’t do [my makeup], it was something that was a really struggle for me to get my head around because I just really wanted to. So I just kept practicing and practicing,” Jordan explains. “At the time, it seemed like it took forever to master it because it was so tiring, and I didn’t have the strength to lift up my arms or anything. It was a gradual process, but I got there in the end,” Jordan says.

She admits that her first beauty tutorials weren’t perfect. “To be honest, back when I was 18, I probably thought my makeup was really good then, but looking back I’m like, ‘Oh my God, it was terrible!’” laughs Jordan, who is now 25. “But we grow, we really change as people don’t we? I improve everyday. I don’t feel like there is anything that I can say I am amazing at now because I will grow everyday with it. In a few years time, I might look at my makeup now and say, ‘Oh, it actually wasn’t that great.’ So I think it is something you can learn all the time.” For Jordan, makeup is a huge confidence-booster — not only because she loves the way she looks in it, but also because it is one of the few things she can do on her own. Jordan cannot get dressed without help, but her beauty videos have become a source of empowerment and something she has accomplished through of sheer force of will.

Beauty vlogger Jordan Bone uses her YouTube site to teach her fans how to have fun with makeup. (Photo: Instagram)

Jordan’s biggest makeup tip? “If you put too many eyeshadows on without blending it well, it is going to look terrible,” she explains. “As long as you have the right tools and the right makeup brushes, and you blend, blend, blend, your look will be flawless. I think that is key.” She’s also discovered the power of highlighter. “I love wearing highlighter for a glowy look. I think it looks very pretty.” With perky music playing in the background, Jordan finds the fun in beauty and wants others to as well. “With makeup, just play with it. Break the rules,” she says. “You don’t have to follow what everyone else says is right. If someone says you are wearing too much makeup, that is their problem. It’s art; enjoy it! It washes off at the end of the day. If it doesn’t look great, then lesson learned. The next time you do it, it will be even better.”

This past summer, Jordan decided to share her story with her followers in a post titled, “My Beautiful Struggle.” She says she made it to explain her past and how far she had come —and to shut down commenters who left messages about her hands. It is moving and inspiring, and has been viewed more than five million times. “There are so many struggles in my life; I can’t dress myself or even brush my hair, so to be able to do my own makeup is my thing,” she says proudly in the video. “Like contouring and highlighting teaches us where there is darkness, there is always light. That is the same with life. No matter what hardship you are going through, know that even in the darkest time there will always be a light shining brighter.”

Beauty vlogger Jordan Bone tries out a new look. (Photo: Instagram)

The response to the video was incredible. “I receive messages every day from people telling me how I have helped them. That is my main goal, really,” explains Jordan. “I love makeup and will always do makeup, but if I can inspire people too. … To hear from people all over the world with their struggles who relate to me. For people to be open to me and tell me their stories — it’s amazing. I feel really privileged that I can help people. I want to live a great life that inspires them.”

Her channel and her website are successful, and Jordan wants to keep growing and possibly branch out into her own makeup line. “That would be the ultimate goal. That would be like a dream come true,” says Jordan. In addition to her success as a vlogger, Jordan has reason to celebrate in her personal life. She engaged to her longtime boyfriend, Michael Harrison, and they are building a house together. Wedding plans will follow house construction.

Jordan credits much of her success to her perspective on life. “I am a positive person. I feel like if I am positive, then my life is going to be great,” says Jordan. “There are things that I wish were not a part of my life, but at the end of the day, I might as well live the life that I got and enjoy it instead of dwelling on the negative all the time, because what is the point then? I just like to have that mentality.”

WATCH Jordan share her story through a video. “My Beautiful Struggle”

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