[ABOUT JUNICORN]
JB/JayBee/Junicorn/Joon/June was born in Kyonggi-Do, South Korea and flown to the great city of Chicago, IL at the tender age of seven months, where she was adopted into a large Polish-American family. She grew up in the Chicago suburbs for 18 long years, and eventually made her way out to Boston, Massachusetts, where she studied Political Science and American History at Boston University. It was in Boston where JB truly grew into her own skin and developed her own tastes and style (because let's be real, when she moved to the East Coast she was still sporting Abercrombie & Fitch hoodies with Bebe Sport flared yoga pants.. the kind with the flip-down waistband that had hot pink cheetah print. You know.).
Upon arriving in a city with culture (no offense, Chicago suburbs), she soon realized that there was more to life than Applebee's, Hollister, and scrunching your hair with Garnier Fructis curl mousse. Things like Urban Outfitters, Red Mango, pad thai, skinny jeans, and a Sephora membership had become a reality. The world stopped revolving around suburban mall shopping and chain restaurants and Friday night high school football. The clouds parted, Snooki-poofs disappeared, and the sun started shining upon little JB.
After four wonderful years living in Boston, JB moved back to Illinois (reluctantly at first, because giving up on the dream of raising a family on the East Coast was a little hard -- but she just couldn't stay away from that Midwest charm). She spent a year and change living in the suburbs: applying to law schools, realizing that there were three levels of Sephora membership, "saving" money, eating Taco Bell conveniently down the street from her parents' house, working a job which in no way related to her $200,000 undergraduate degree. Once she was, miraculously, accepted into law school, she moved to Chicago and started a new chapter of her life. As a pretend adult.
20 tattoos, 25 thrifted plaid flannels, 5 pairs of American Apparel leggings, thrice-bleached hair, 100 eyeshadows, countless homemade recipes, and 10 manicured fingernails later, JB finally decided to use her passion for food, fashion, and beauty in a productive(ish) way.
To relieve some of the stress of being a lawyer and her job as an intern at the Public Defender of Cook County, JB blogs about fun things that inspire her and take her mind away from the seriousness of life (because.. isn't swatching lipstick and trying on clothes a little lighter than discussing an attempted murder or money embezzlement scheme?). Life as a Junicorn is a big blob of space taken up on the internet where you can find all of these ramblings and tutorials and how-to's. Enjoy it for what it's worth, and by all means, tell JB if you think it's stupid. She probably won't care.
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[FAQs]
Q: How old are you?
A: 26. Le sigh.
Q: What nationality are you?
A: Korean!
Q: Where is your watch from??
A: It's a Nixon 48-20 Chrono in a gold finish. Buy it on Amazon!
Q: Where are your rings/necklace from?
A: They're all from Etsy! Just search "gold midi rings" and you'll find a ton of sellers. I tend to only wear 14k+ solid gold, or 14K gold filled jewelry. It lasts so much longer than typical costume jewelry, and doesn't tarnish or turn your skin green.
Q: How many tattoos do you have? Piercings?
A: I currently have 18? 19? tattoos and 8 piercings. I've lost count!
Q: How do you "do" your style?
A: I get asked this ALL the time, and unfortunately I don't have a good answer for it. To be completely honest, I just throw on a pair of leggings/jeggings or shorts, the flannel or basic tee I feel like wearing, and maybe a scarf just for kicks. I wish there was more to it, but I gravitate towards my personal style without even thinking about it.
Q: Do you do makeup professionally? Can I pay you to teach me/do makeup for an event?
A: I have been to professionally proctored theater makeup classes, but haven't gone to any cosmetology school and I'm not certified in anything nor have I graduated with any cosmetology degree. But I love doing self-taught freelance makeup in my spare time (for things like costumes, parties, theater, dances/balls, and weddings!). I'd be glad to do an in-person tutorial or lesson for anyone! And I'd love to do any freelance work for pay :)
Q: Why do you spend so much money on makeup?
A: It's a guilty pleasure that has a lot of practical benefits. Usually people have some type of vice that they spend a considerable amount of money on -- mine just happens to be makeup (and sometimes fashion). I believe that when you look good, you feel good. And when you feel good, you carry yourself a certain way and have a confidence that can't be faked. Don't lie -- when you know you look good, you exude a huge amount of poise and self-assuredness. To me, using quality products and starting your day off on a positive foot just helps that process. On that note, there's absolutely nothing wrong with using less expensive brands! As long as you know how to use any product you're using, you can look 100% fantastic.
Q: Nails! Do you do your own nail polish? Are they fake? How much do they cost?
A: Clearly fake, haha. I've been wearing gel nails since 2011, and I've had them super long since 2012 (I switch off between more rounded, pointed, and square tips quite often). It's around $25-$35 (including tip) each time I get them done, depending on how much breakage I have. I try to go every 2-3 weeks, but when school gets stressful sometimes I wait a full month. And I usually have the salon paint them when I get a fill, but can't resist changing it up and doing designs myself.
Q: Speaking of nails, how do you type? Text? Do anything?
A: Very, very carefully. [I type with my fingers straight, never bent, using the pads of my fingers as opposed to the tips. I also tear holes in most of the clothing I own.. seriously.]
Q: What is your favorite store?
A: Obviously I love Sephora. And ASOS. So good.
Q: Where do you get your clothing from?
A: Oh jeez. Not gonna lie, a lot of my clothes are thrifted! Most (if not all) of my flannels, jackets, and button downs are from thrift and vintage stores (usually for around $2-$10 a piece!). My leggings are always from American Apparel, hands down. [That's the only brand of legging I wear.] The rest of my unique items are generally from TopShop, Nasty Gal, ASOS, Urban Outfitters, Allsaints Spitalfield, or Nordstrom. My designer items are usually from Nordstrom, Net-A-Porter, or The Outnet. I ALWAYS look for a good sale when I'm buying regularly priced, in-store clothing items (as opposed to thrifted ones).
Q: Why don't you wear any color?
A: Because it makes me cringe! Don't get me wrong -- I love to follow trends and keep up with what's on point for each season. I know what looks good.. but on other people. [Trust me, if I could be a designer/personal stylist, I WOULD.] But for me, I know what I like and what I don't. For example: my favorite color is taupe. Taupe, people. That's not even a real "color." The only colors I regularly wear are denim, navy, burgundy, and tartan/plaids (red, dark green, etc.). My key colors are taupe, beige, white, cream, black, and any shade of denim. Sorry not sorry!
Q: What's the deal with your hair?
A: EDIT! I've finally UN-OMBRED my hair and chopped it all off -- but let's be real. I'm going to probably grow it out long again and re-ombre it as soon possible. [I've had it ombréd since 2011. Yeah.. for that long. Seriously. I've never kept a "hairstyle" that long for as long as I can remember. The ends of my hair are extremely damaged and virtually all split ends. I definitely don't go for trims as often as I should, but my hair isn't that big of a deal to me. I keep up my color using purple toning shampoos and conditioners, as well as 100% argan oil to keep it as moisturized as bleached-to-shit hair can be.]
Q: Do you really know what you're talking about on here?
A: I'm not claiming to be any expert! I've just had enough experience with a plethora of products/styles/etc. that I think I have a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn't. I've never been to cosmetology school, I'm not an esthetician, and I've never even worked retail a day in my life. I have gone to makeup classes for theater and have been trained by professionals in that regard, but haven't graduated from any school or been certified in any fashion or cosmetics field. I just know that I've developed my own personal style, and a lot of people ask me to tell them about it.
Q: How in the world do you have time to do all this while being a lawyer?
A: Time management. And I'm not even that good at it! I like to spend my free time shopping, writing, blogging, and shopping. FIRST and most important priority is ALWAYS school. It comes before anything and everything. But when I have time, this is what I do. [Yes -- even if that means waking up 2 hours before class just to fully get ready.]
Q: Why do you waste your money on this stuff?
A: Let me first start off by saying I AM ON STUDENT LOANS. All of the products/clothing I buy are purely through student loans (or extra money like birthday/holiday money). A lot of people see this as very irresponsible and wasteful. But refer to FAQ #8. I know I will eventually have to repay these loans (PLUS interest) but it's the sacrifice I'm willing to make. Sorry if that's completely idiotic to you!
Q: Are you ever going to run a YouTube channel and make videos?
A: Eventually! That is my goal. But making videos for YouTube is extremely time consuming and very complicated. I'd never want to put out work from a fuzzy iPhone camera or webcam and be ashamed of what I am producing. Editing a blog post in and of itself takes about 3-4+ hours, start to finish, and sometimes much longer depending on the content. A lot of YouTubers use YouTube as their FULL TIME job. I'll do videos in the future if I ever have time!
Q: All time favorite clothing/jewelry/makeup item?
A: Clothing? I don't even know if I could pick just one. I'd have to say high waisted black American Apparel leggings and my favorite pair of vintage Levi cut-off jean shorts. You can take both of those wardrobe staples and dress them up or down. My watch is probably my favorite piece of jewelry. And I could never live without any sort of black, waterproof eyeliner (you can do so much with it!).
Q: What fashion/makeup faux pas annoy you the most?
A: BAD EYEBROWS. Clothing that is ill-fitting (read: too tight or not tailored correctly). Ugg boots. Over-done makeup (no one needs a strong lip, full blush, and eyeshadow up the wazzoo all at one time. No one. Unless you're a clown). Orange tans. Over accessorizing.
Q: What's one fashion or beauty related thing you want but don't have?
A: Omg. One? Well. Two of my dream items have already been checked off the list, fortunately for me: my gorgeous, black, floor-length Diane von Furstenberg halter-top wrap gown, as well as my black leather YSL chain bag. I am still dying to get my paws on a pair of Loubs, though. (But at this point in my life, I just can't justify spending so much money on a pair of shoes I will rarely, if ever, wear.)
Q: If I have any more questions, can I ask them?
A: YES! I am 100% open to answering any other questions -- about me, my life, makeup, clothes, anything. Just shoot!
Will you do the Kyle Jenner challenge?
ReplyDeleteKyle? Don't know that one!
Delete