She is truly one of the coolest women that I had the honor to interview. She is our first Chronicle’s interview of the year and let me tell you, it will be a fun one with The Skin Guru of Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama. She is all about empowering women and taking a better care of our skin and our soul too.
Let’s get this party started.
SD: I’m curious, Jennifer. I need to ask you this question; when you were a young girl, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A) Teacher
B) Rocket Scientist
C) Doctor
D) All of the above
E) None of the above
F) Sabine, you forgot being a ballerina, the next Martha Stewart, or the Prime Minister of Canada…
JB: I have to say none of the above… However I love F!!! I wanted to be a criminal lawyer.
SD: Growing up in the 80’s, the era of air guitar, big perms, and the super glam makeup that we saw Joan Collins, Madonna and the 80’s Supermodels rocking, were you the kind of girl that went through her mom’s and sisters’ makeup bags, trying every lipstick and eyeliner, or were you the type that could spend hours analyzing the family medicine cabinet, touching every bottle of face cream in awe?
JB: You won’t believe this, but I wasn’t. Which is why I dont wear makeup today. I never practiced the foundation, eyeliner etc. That said in grade 5 and 6, I got a perm.
It was horrible!
SD:When did you realize the importance of taking a good care of your skin?
JB: As a teenager. I was fortunate to have easy skin. I noticed all the skincare creams and potions Gillian had (my best friend’s mom).
As a teen, we were pretty addicted to Kool-Aid and Tang…
SD: I sure was addicted to Tang and Kool-Aid as a kid and early teenager.
JB: Gillian always emphasized how sugar would be harmful for our skin.
It got me thinking, maybe the Apricot scrub and the Noxzema wasn’t such a good thing.
SD: You made a 180 degree turn in your career when you launched your company around 2010. What was the turning point for you, leading you to make this courageous and bold decision?
JB: We acutally launched our first business in 2003, called Flip4.
This is where everything began with Max our LED device. In 2009, the world recession hurt us terribly. We made some very difficult decisions. We failed. Then, I decided to get up and open Bella. My first skincare clinic.
I thought, I have a trade skills, lets put them to use.
SD: What did you learn about empowering other women and beng confident from the strong women in your life, like your mother, maybe sisters, friends, daughters, teachers, and high profile personalities like Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama?
JB: Working together, being there for each other is what counts without judgement. Everyone wants to be heard, acknowledged and loved. Even if we disagree. lifting each other up is what will change the world.
SD: Your mission in 2018 is to empower women. Can we have a sneek peak of what we may expect from the JB Skin Guru team this year?
JB: So much to come… but its all HUSH HUSH… The moment I can divulge I will let you know.
SD: This is my off-topic question. If you could throw the ultimate girlfriend party (please, can I be invited??), which songs would be your top 5 party songs to set the roof on fire?
JB: I am so bad at music and songs because I love everything…
- Dancing Queen ABBA
- Superwoman ALICIA KEYS
- Run the world BEYONCE
- Formation BEYONCE
- Sisters are doing it for themselves EURYTHMICS
SD: I feel like the Skin Guru is a Queen B’s fan! That would be one heck of party.
SD: This generation of bloggers, web influencers and pop cultures junkies, like myself, want to bring this world a little more happiness, laughter, awareness, and altruism into every day, If you could choose one word of encouragement (or more if you want) to keep us going, what would it be?
JB: Authenticity
SD: Since I’m talking to the Skin Guru, I will ask some skincare advice. Here my list of questions. The first one is most important for skincare for a woman in her 30’s like myself in a living in a Montreal type of climate?
JB: Always wash you face every night, even if you are not wearing makeup.
SD: How do you balance acne treatment and aging treatment? Because they are opposite treatments?
JB: Well to be honest they are not opposite.
We have to look at the skin condition and then the skin type, make a list of priorities. Each section of the skin will be examined. From there we can tailor a bespoke approach.
It’s vital to look at the intrinsic and extrinsic causes.
SD: I am taking my next appointment to be pamper from the Skin Guru’s team for sure.
It’s so good to have a Skin Guru! We all need a guru in our life…
A Skin Guru in our life.
Written by Sab Demosthenes