Sunday Feature: You Go Girl! Featuring Beauty Geek Janine Falcon

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 former magazine beauty editor, current beauty geek, self proclaimed wordy girl Janine Falcon.

Who is Janine Falcon? Shes a beauty editor with an established beauty blog imabeautygeek.com. Hey blog was given the P&G Beauty Award for Best Beauty or Fashion Blog and with over 10 years in the industry Janine's blog has become a go to place for those looking for the latest and greatest in the world of beauty.

I have admired Janine well before I even started blogging and having been a long time reader of her blog I knew I had to share her and her site with you all :) We chatted and here's what this "beauty geek" had to say.

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So who is Janine Falcon and why are you fabulous?

I don't know about the fabulous, but I do know I was a beauty editor at Canadian Living and Homemakers magazines, am now a freelance beauty writer for pubs such Best Health, Canadian Living, FASHION, GLOW and Metro News, and babble beauty stuff on a site called BeautyGeeks. Mostly I AM a beauty geek, keen on stuff that solves beauty dilemmas and helps women feel good about themselves.

Where can we find you on the world wide web?

I lurk at www.imabeautygeek.com and have lots of beauty stories on besthealthmag.ca, homemakers.com, ellecanada.com, & canadianliving.com.

What beauty product would you recommend to and why?

What I recommend often depends on what the person I'm speaking with needs. Beauty is so personal -- there is no one best product that works for everyone. What's best is what works best for you, you know? That said, a good general reco is a creamy concealer in a shade that matches your overall skintone. Many women need a bit of concealer tapped into the following areas: inner corners of upper lids; alongside the bridge of the nose if there's darkness there; over under-eye circles; over redness around the base of the nose; and sometimes under the lower lip. Once that's taken care of, eyes and skin look brighter, and the rest of the makeup can be as simple as mascara, blush and lip colour for a fresh look.

My favorite beauty treatment is? At the moment my body is begging for a massage -- I better call my RMT. Facials are great, too, and OMG, Kerastase or Shu Uemura salon treatments are UH-mazing because they include killer scalp massages... *swoon*. Wait, did you want just ONE fave beauty treatment?? Whoops.

Have you ever lost or broken a beauty item you wish you still had today?

I can't think of one at the moment. The beauty of this industry is that something new, gorgeous and wow-it-really-works comes out every 2.5 nanoseconds, so mourning the loss of a favourite doesn't last long.

How did imabeautygeek.com come about?
I'd started to think blogging might be fun when I was having fun writing silly status updates on Facebook. When I hit the freelance-writing circuit, starting BeautyGeeks was a natural next step so I could write entirely in my own voice and geek out about stuff I love and think others might enjoy.

Favorite look for Summer 2010?
Now that I've trained myself via my odd Lipstick Diary posts to love bright lip colour, I'm all over it. And wow, it's a very braidy season, isn't it? Thank you Alexander Wang!

The thing I love the most about my career is...?
It's all about helping women see, appreciate and nurture their own unique beauty. Plus it's FUN!

Are there any makeup or beauty faux pas you really really can't stand?

Brows that do nothing for a face -- whoo boy, that upsets me. Too thin makes a girl look older and severe, too thick overpowers pretty eyes. Hooked brows, sperm brows, McDonald arches... owwwwww. Well-shaped brows can be a game-changer, seriously. After that, concealer and curling one's lashes rank as top beauty-boosting moves.

Are you guilty of any yourself?
Oh you HAD to ask. Sheesh. Listen, I did it just ONCE, and dang-it, I'm STILL paying for it! I overtweezed in my early 20s, and discovered that's the one place on my body where hair won't re-grow. Now I have to fill the suckers in with brow powder and a taklon angled brush.

What has been your most memorable career highlight?
I've had several. My years at Canadian Living and Homemakers magazines were amazing. An expert-advice appearance to talk Gillette on "Canadian Idol" was incredible. "Steven and Chris" segments -- so much fun. Every time someone digs a product recommendation is also The Best. And I've met so many wonderful people.... I think my career might be one honking big highlight, come to think of it.

Was there a product you bought due to word of mouth hype that you just weren't please with once you tried?
I don't really slag stuff. Usually if I don't like something it's because it just isn't right for me or for my beauty approach. There are things I think are pointless, but I don't waste space talking about them.

Who are your beauty mentors?
I love makeup artists -- I think they're kind of magic. My favourites know how to make women feel beautiful without a lot of makeup. I also love clever beauty writers; they inspire me. Lots of my friends are beauty mentors.

What can people expect from Janine Falcon and ImABeautyGeek.com in the future?

More beautygeeking out, and who knows? My universe is delightfully fluid. *grin*

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Thanks to miss Janine Falcon for chatting with me and for inspiring me to keep blogging ;)