Sunday Feature: You Go Girl! Featuring MTV Host Aliya-Jasmine Sovani!

Every Sunday I feature a blogger, artist, photographer, makeup artist, actress, socialite or all around awesome person on my blog in a feature I like to call "You Go Girl!" or in some cases "You Go Boy!".

This week Ill be featuring MTV Host and Segment Producer Aliya-Jasmine Sovani.
As one of the hosts on MTV she has interviewed big-name celebrities like Kanye West, Brad Pitt, Dave Navarro, and Perry Ferrell. Now as the host of MTV NEWS, Aliya-Jasmine brings viewers the latest in-depth interviews with some of music's biggest names as well as emerging bands.

Before working at MTV , AJ was a television producer for MuchMusic (MuchOnDemand; MuchNews), as well as the Tour Correspondent for MuchMusic's VJ Search, a reporter for a national Men`s magazine, and a host/field producer for BPM TV (digital music channel). A former arts student, AJ has studied and lived all over the world (including Italy, LA, New York and the remote town of Perce, Quebec).

I have admired her for a long time, shes smart, sassy & beautiful all at the same time! I remember the first time I saw her on TV back when she was on BMP TV with her funky clothes and crazy hair.. She represented a strong beautiful yet funky south asian woman to me and I'm so glad to see shes doing her thing now at MTV.

I got the chance to chat with AJ recently about beauty, charities, her career & life, here's what she had to say.

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So AJ tell us a little about who are you & why are you so fabulous?

(Laughs.) Isn’t that a loaded question? If I’m fabulous at all it’s by association. I work with – and get to meet - some very fabulous people. I am a host & producer for MTV News. It airs weekdays at 6;26pm (eastern time) and brings you up to date on pop culture news.

Where can we find you on the world wide web?

Check it: www.twitter.com/AliyaJasmine
www.facebook.com/AliyaJasmine,
www.youtube.com/AliyaJasmine, and of course www.mtv.ca/news

What beauty product would you recommend and why?

I adore Dermalogica skin care. I use their thick moisturizers before bed and first thing in the morning. The MTV gig requires me to wear a lot of makeup on a daily basis, so the feeling of washing it all off and moisturizing can be so liberating. Is that dorky? It’s true.

Your favorite beauty treatment is?

Aveda’s Damage Control conditioner for my hair.

Who would you say have been some of your favorite celebs/people to work with?

Tom Cruise was a super nice guy, believe it or not. Chris Rock, Jared Leto, Columbus Short, Jessica Biel, Slash, Kanye West, James Hetfield from Metallica…all among my faves.

You're in a huge rush, what one beauty product do you grab?

Kiehls lip balm with SPF 15.

You were involved with Boobyball, a fundraiser for rethink breast cancer in which you did a video shoot that focused mainly on your chest, you seemed pretty comfortable in your body but have you ever had body issues?

The spot focused directly on my breasts. That was the point, to raise awareness about breast cancer and target a young audience that, in my opinion, disassociate the breasts that are sexualized in ads with the breasts that get cancer. The ad was aimed to show that cancer can affect everyone. But to answer your question, I was completely uncomfortable doing it! When I wrote the script for the PSA it was meant for someone else to play the main character, we even held casting sessions… but a few days before we shot the spot, I found out my cousin would be losing one of her breasts because of cancer. That is when I agreed to lend my face to the cause.

Yes, I have had body issues. As you can see in the ad, I have scars all over my body from a really bad car accident I had in 2001. I spent half a decade with so many issues I was shy to wear shorts in public. It has been a very long journey for me to go from not wearing shorts in my backyard, to wearing a bikini on national television. We all have “body issues,” we always will, but I think we as women need to embrace the idea that these are our bodies and we should accept them. As women we should empower ourselves to embrace our bodies and whatever they look like.

What would you say to those who have low self esteem?

Make a list of the things you like about yourself. And concentrate on those. Accept the fact that even the most confident & beautiful person in a room has something about themselves they are insecure about. It’s human nature. Having low self esteem can become a disability, and life is too fantastic & short to sweat the small stuff.

How did you get your start in television?

I was an intern at Fashion Television and then got a job in production at MuchMusic.

Are there any makeup or beauty faux pas you really cant stand?

Full makeup face with thick eyeliner on the beach. It drives me NUTS! Natural is underrated.

Are you guilty of any yourself?

Ironic considering my last answer, but I love thick eyeliner! Haha. Maybe too much.

Favorite career highlight & why?

Working the MTV Video Music Awards the last 3 years has been pretty amazing!

Do you have any beauty secrets?

I know nothing about makeup. That’s the tomboy in me. So I listen to my makeup artist, she’s amazing & gives wicked beauty tips. Don’t have a makeup artist? Listen to mine! You can follow her on twitter: twitter.com/luckymakeup

What can people expect from Aliya-Jasmine in the future?

I might run for Parliament. (No, not really.) I’m working on some really cool specials for MTV News about issues I think people my age give a sh*t about. Look, I love train wreck TV as much as anyone else… but I don’t think that means young people my age don’t want good smart TV anymore. It’s not that we don’t care, its just that it’s hard to keep our attention. In the past I produced a story on the Canadian Seal Hunt, and went to Africa to expose the fight for girls right. I’m hoping to do some more cool social issues & youth based issues for the station.

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Aliya-Jasmine was open minded, sweet and totally willing to answer all my questions so I would like to thank her for doing the interview and for being an inspiration :)