When beauty insiders throw around the phrase "gel cream" they're not talking about a product or a texture—but a person. Or rather, an Instagram account run by a former magazine editor turned photographer Yana Sheptovetskaya. In just a few years, Sheptovetskaya (who we will refer to as Gelcream going forward) has turned the @GelCream account into a safe space for over 100,000 beauty enthusiasts looking for honest dialogue on buzzy products.
Gelcream's photography aesthetic is unmistakable: clean and crisp product shots posed weightlessly in a slender hand. Her photos are like a glass of cold water in a social feed dominated by faces heavy with contour. (If you've seen a photo of a skincare product held up to an airplane window—that is Gelcream's influence.)
One of the core pillar's of Gelcream is that she does not produce sponsored content or ads of any kind. That commitment to authenticity trickles down into the comments section, where beauty junkies can share their opinions on products or ask genuine questions in a manner you won't find anywhere else on the influenced internet. She often posts Insta Stories aimed at reminding her fans to drink some water, because from her minimalist product shots to her no-nonsense reviews, Gelcream is all about getting back to the basics of beauty.