An imperfect makeup tutorial has quickly gone viral on YouTube after its poster claimed it was filmed during the 7.1 magnitude earthquake that rocked California earlier this month.
However, viewers of the video are doubting its validity and accusing the YouTuber of faking an earthquake scenario for views, LADBible reported.
On July 4, a 6.4 magnitude quake rattled the state of California, with shocks felt as far as Las Vegas.
Its epicenter was in the region of Ridgecrest, located about 194 kilometers northeast of Los Angeles and far enough away from major cities that no major damage was caused to any urban populations.
Just 16 hours later on July 5, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake once again struck the area of Ridgecrest.
One YouTuber posted a video in which she claims her makeup tutorial was interrupted by the same earthquake.
User Ali J uploaded the video titled “Make-up tutorial recorded during LA earthquake 7/5/19!!!” on July 6, one day after the quake touched down in California.
In the description for the video, she wrote, “OMG you guys another earthquake while I was doing my new makeup video lol.”
At the beginning of the nearly 2-minute long clip, Ali explains the tutorial will be starting with red lipstick.
She advises her viewers not to pair red lipstick with bright blush, bronzer, or over-the-top eye shadow because they’ll end up looking like a “clown”, which definitely foreshadows exactly what Ali ends up resembling by the end of her tutorial.
She applies the red lipstick to her top lips without any issue, but it’s the bottom lips where everything goes sideways.
Just as she starts to coat her lower lip, the entire room begins dramatically shaking, with pictures falling of the walls, the light hanging from the ceiling swinging madly, and Ali herself bouncing around in her seat like she’s off-roading in a Jeep over some pretty serious terrain.
The video cuts out just as the quake ends, lasting a total of about eight seconds.
Thanks to the quake, her “elegant” red lipstick look turns into something more akin to what the Joker might apply to face-off against Batman.
So that part is definitely hilarious to watch, particularly since I’m sure many of us makeup wearers have tried applying our look while riding in a car and have shared similar experiences of a pothole or unexpected turn throwing our hands off center and resulting in some devastating smearing.
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But funny or not, some people aren’t convinced Ali J was really experiencing the 7.1 earthquake everyone else in California did.
For starters, one of the skeptics’ biggest issues has to do with how long Ali’s quake lasted — about 8 seconds, compared to the 40 seconds or so that the actual July 5 quake shook for.
Another problem viewers were quick to point out was that Ali’s room virtually fell apart behind her, but her camera stayed perfect upright despite the obvious power of the quake.
Plus, there’s also the weird timing of this video upload, compared to other posts to her channel.
Prior to the July 6 video, Ali hadn’t posted a makeup tutorial in over a year. But if you take a look at her upload history, this YouTuber’s posting schedule looks like it’s always been a little irregular.
Her first video went up in February 2017.
With her second following in June of the same year. Her next one wouldn’t be posted until April of 2018. And then, of course, we have the earthquake video from July 2019.
Some of the more dedicated doubters dug pretty deep to find more evidence of Ali’s video being a fake.
One person on Imgur uncovered an old Buzzfeed video in which people try out a 7.5 magnitude earthquake simulator, and they believe the setup of the simulator bears a striking resemblance to Ali’s living room.
In the comparison photo, the person points out all the similarities they see between the two rooms, and there are enough to make you start questioning it yourself.
So now there’s just one question left that needs answering: what the heck even is this video?
If it’s not real, fine. But then what is it? If it’s a prank, that’s one thing. Everyone likes to be part of a natural disaster story, especially if it makes it look like they survived something epic. Plus, Ali’s video gets some laughs because of the hilarious mishap with her makeup tutorial.
But like, how would she have faked it?
If it is indeed a prank, did she use that earthquake simulator to create her own supposed quake scenario? And if so, does that mean she’s been planning this prank since she uploaded her first video back in 2017, since each of her four videos takes place in that same room?
One theory suggests Ali had been planning the earthquake video since she started her channel, making this is a prank two years in the making.
As per the theory, she called the company behind the earthquake simulator, decorated the room to look like a living room, filmed several videos (including the quake one), and just waited for a real quake big enough to post the video and pretend it happened that same day.
It definitely makes sense.
Some viewers have pointed out Ali is wearing the same jewelry in her videos, doesn’t appear to age in the span of two years, and even keeps everything in the same place in this room during that time.
Check out the video for yourself and see if you can figure out what’s really going on here.
As of right now, no one has any real answers and Ali herself hasn’t come forward in any way to explain what that video is all about. So until we know for sure, all we can do is speculate and come up with our own answers to this surprisingly complex puzzle.
h/t: LADBible