Beauty Guru Of The Month For July 2017: Jenny De Leon

“I still remember the day I discovered a makeup tutorial. It was the summer from my 8th grade year to my 9th grade year (summer 2008 to be exact). I WAS HOOKED! I went from video to video discovering new channels learning a bit from each girl. That’s when I stumbled upon Michelle Phan’s channel! I found her channel to be super helpful and informative. She always showed different techniques and ways to use makeup products from tutorials to reviews. From that point on I found myself consistently watching makeup related videos…” And that, in her own words, was how Jenny De Leon’s (StarCentral Magazine’s Beauty Guru of the Month for July 2017) emergence as a makeup aficionado began. By the time high school ended, Jenny knew exactly what she wanted to do – “I knew right away my passion was makeup! I was determined to make it a career of mine. My love for makeup was never ending! I as well knew I wanted to help other girls old and young learn about makeup the way I had learned…”

It was in February 2013, after being repeatedly asked by her family, friends and co-workers for make-up tips and techniques that the 23-year old launched her own YouTube channel: ‘prettygirljenny2o.’ Jenny reveals that she wanted “to be as real and relatable as possible showing the struggles, mess-ups and trial and errors that happen when using make-up. It’s not always as easy as it looks…” She shares that her biggest inspiration is natural beauty. She says that “it’s amazing to me how much products can enhance one’s natural beauty! Even though my go-to kind of look is more on the natural side I do like to create smokey/colorful looks from time to time!” For Jenny, what she enjoys most about this creative industry is that “makeup is all about having fun and being able to change up looks knowing it all washes off at the end of the day. It is the same with clothing/fashion styles can be changed from day to day. The possibilities are endless and I think that is what I enjoy most about makeup and fashion,” she explains.

The half Hispanic/Native American make-up guru’s channel has enabled her to be in contact with many interesting and memorable individuals across the world. But one of the most interesting is her fellow You Tube video-logger, Lily of ‘LilyBeauty’. Jenny shares that they consistently supported each other’s videos and exchanged tips and tricks. They seemed to have much in common. Astoundingly, both women were closer to each other than either realised, as Jenny recounts – “One day whilst at work I see her in person. I was star struck! I was so used to seeing her from a screen and now we were face to face! Turns out we lived in the same town, practically neighbors!” It was the beginning of a deep friendship that continues to this day.

While the Texas born and raised beauty virtuoso has immensely enjoyed her time in the make-up world, there have been enough less-than-enjoyable experiences from which she has had to learn from. She shares that “the most valuable lesson I have learned by far is that even though I am nowhere close to perfect and I have flaws. I have learned to focus on my own abilities and talent. Embracing my own beauty has brought me to truly being myself in a world that is heavily influenced by others…”

Ups and downs are part of any career and for Jenny, her family’s support has been invaluable in her career. She gushes her thanks to her “mom letting me put makeup on her. To my husband Charlie that supports my obsessive need for more make-up. To my one year old daughter Kaylee who sits quietly watching Sesame Street while I film a video for YouTube…” She can also count on her extended family and fans to be her cheering squad. That support will be treasured as Jenny continues on her make-up path. She reveals that plans “to continue to grow my channel posting informative yet entertaining content…I as well want to stay up to date learning new skills and techniques so I can share with viewers…I want to continue to improve my video quality/lighting to provide the best videos I can!” Good luck on all your endeavours, Jenny De Leon!

Lightning fast round

1. What is the one beauty product you can’t live without? Mascara! I love my long lashes and mascara does wonders for my eyes! I love how much bigger my eyes look with just a bit of mascara!

2. What is the most dramatic thing you’ve ever done to change your looks? My most dramatic was when I put on colored contacts and created a classic smokey eye with a bold red lip! I have a YouTube video on it too! It’s called Captivating Romantic Smokey Eye. It was dramatic being that I usually stick to more natural looks.

3. What is in your makeup bag when you travel? The easier answer would be what ISN’T in my makeup bag when I travel!! I pretty much take everything with me when I travel. I just try to take sample sizes or use one product in multiple ways!

4. What is the one “flaw” you wouldn’t change about yourself? Being clumsy in my videos! I don’t edit those parts out, it’s never fun watching a perfect video!

5. Your best guilty pleasure… Staying up late at night watching beauty videos!