With over 433,000 followers, Christina Barr AKA Christina Glow Up won the best TikToker Award at the recent Social Media Awards Ceremony in Bahrain! The make-up artist and social media influencer has been entertaining her legions of followers with her TikTok videos that feature her language learning and make-up skills.
We had an opportunity to interview Christina, find out her Bahrain story, and get some content creation tips for all the aspiring influencers out there!
It’s pretty scary moving to a new country and leaving everything you know behind. When I moved here from Ireland, I didn’t know anyone other than Hussain (my husband) and didn’t even have a driving license. I knew early on I needed to gain my independence and get out there to meet people and start my own individual journey.
I was so pleased to see how open and welcoming everyone was here and quickly enough I started making friends by joining sports groups and mingling with people at social events.
Having my own driving license was a huge priority to me and it was really quite simple to do. Once I had my license I was able to start working as a freelance makeup artist travelling to hotels and home visits for weddings etc.
I’m a very creative person so when I’m creating content it comes quite naturally. Always remember to be authentic. Relatability really helps with growing your audience reach. A little humour never goes amiss either. I love how much my followers interact with me and love reading how much they enjoy my content. It helps me get a feel for what content they really enjoy the most.
Having an interest in the language makes it much more fun and easier to learn. Being married to a Bahraini also gives me a huge reason for wanting to learn Arabic. In Ireland, we have our own language called Gaelic which has a few similarities to Arabic. I’ve always been very curious about culture/people and having the interaction I do with my followers helps me learn more naturally while having fun.
Makeup is where my artistic side really comes out. It’s a form of art and expression and is very individualistic. I feel everyone should experiment as much as possible and have fun with makeup. It’s a way to express your individuality and personality.
Huda Kattan for sure. She’s a huge inspiration to me!! I had her on my vision board for the longest time and then I was lucky enough to do a zoom call with her through Sephora Middle East.
She’s a self-made female entrepreneur who started Huda Beauty and creates the most amazing makeup and skincare products. She’s a great role model for women and is constantly making strides in the makeup industry while breaking “conventional beauty standards”
I and Hussain love to go to the beaches here in Bahrain. We are big sports enthusiasts and love to play volleyball and go for a swim on the weekends. Bahrain is such a beautiful island and we love to get outdoors as much as possible and explore all it has to offer. At night, we love to try new restaurants and soak up the ambience in Bahrain.