China beauty influencer returns after 3-year hiatus, gaining 10 million followers in a day

A former top beauty make-up influencer who has made a whirlwind return to social media after disappearing from view has called on her fans to place their trust in her.The influencer, who previously used the handle @chengshian and had a combined 30 million followers on several leading platforms in China, stopped releasing videos in May 2023, news website Sina reported.She returned to the spotlight on May 13 by opening a new account @Jiang Chenglan, which is her real name. She then amassed 10 million followers in 24 hours.In her first video, Jiang said that her absence from the internet for the past three years was because of a dispute with her former agency Shanghai Jin Jia Company.Jiang Chenglan, above, has a massive following on mainland social media. Photo: Handout“My previous online alias, chengshian, belongs to this agent and has been registered as a trademark by them. The social media account under this name and the linked online shops are therefore not related to me any longer,” Jiang said in the viral clip.“My followers, please do not make orders from those shops based on trust for me,” she urged.Jiang said in the future, she plans to continue sharing beauty make-up courses as well as her thoughts about life and growth.A video clip released by Jiang on May 14 is a “whole process” tutorial on how to do make-up in daily life, receiving more than 4.4 million likes in a few days.She described the clip as a collection about “key steps on every part of a face”. “I believe it will let all girls make some gains whether she was or was not able to do make-up before,” said Jiang.Beauty influencer Jiang says she will give online tips on “life and growth” in the future. Photo: HandoutThe key opinion leader (KOL) displays her unique calm and gentle tone while giving make-up instructions using her own face. She is favoured by women born in the 1990s and after 2000.Further ReadingIn the past, Jiang promoted products with high cost-performance ratios and was not embroiled in any big scandals involving bad-quality goods, winning massive trust from her followers.A slew of domestic and foreign cosmetic brands left comments on Jiang’s account, celebrating her return and inviting cooperation.Jiang’s comeback captivated mainland social media.Another make-up influencer advertises cosmetic products during a live-stream. Photo: Shutterstock“My youth has come back. I am still using the tip you taught me many years ago on how to apply base make-up,” one internet user said.Another person said: “So many brands queued up in her comment section. What a magic power she has.”Jiang has been dubbed as the Li Ziqi of the make-up field. Li is a renowned China influencer with a huge following thanks to her videos which depict poetic and pastoral countryside life.Li stopped uploading clips in 2021, also due to a legal dispute with her agent. She briefly re-emerged on social media at the end of 2024 by releasing three videos, but there have been no updates.