Frequently Asked Questions

These are just some questions that I get asked quite often. I thought it would be best just to make a FAQ page! 

Feel free to comment down below if you have any other questions that you would like me to add to this page.

Blog Specific Questions:

Q: How did you come up with your blog title? 

A: If you read my "About" page, you'll find out that I was in school for cosmetology for about half the time needed to complete it. I loved some aspects of it -- the skin, makeup, and science parts; but hated others -- the hair, the hair, THE HAIR. Unfortunately, cosmetology is about 99% hair and 1% everything else. I couldn't see myself becoming a stylist, so I decided it wasn't the path for me. When I told people about leaving beauty school, of course the first thing I heard from my lovely theatre-loving friends was the song "Beauty School Dropout" from Grease. So from there, a few years later, "Confessions of a Beauty School Dropout" was born!

Q: How do you take your photos?

A: Well, most of the time I take them around midnight in a silent house (except for a crazy, hyper cat), on top of boxes stacked on a chair, with a white pillowcase and make-shift cardboard soft box lighting. Sounds like a joke, right? It's not. The only joke here is my setup. There are no good places in my house to take photos. Luckily, between the ages of 9 and 14, I took photography classes every summer, where I learned a great deal about old-school film photography. I think that all the tricks I learned from those classes have really helped me get creative with my current living situation. Eventually I hope to have a real mini-studio set up, even if it's just on the back wall of an office space, so that I can take photos and +Andrew can make videos with ease. 

Q: What kind of camera do you use?

A: In my earliest blog posts, I would use three different cameras, depending on what I was taking photos of: my iPhone 4 camera, a Canon Rebel T3i that belongs to a friend of mine, or my mom's Canon PowerShot SX230 HS. My favorite of the three was probably my mom's Canon PowerShot, because of it was easy and portable, and didn't use an annoying CompactFlash memory card like the Rebel. But recently, +Andrew bought a Nikon D3100 as a Valentine's Day/early birthday/early going-away present for the both of us, and it shoots like a dream!

Q: What program do you use for editing? 

A: For editing photos, I use Corel Paint Shop Pro X, which I've had for ages. It's totally outdated, but I know how to use it pretty well, and it works for me! For editing videos, I use Sony Vegas Pro 12. 

Personal Questions:

Q: What is your natural hair color?

A: My natural hair color is a light ashy brown. A lot of people used to say it was blonde, but I never thought so. Plus, my driver's license says it's light brown! Here's an awkward picture of me right before my senior prom, with my long, natural hair (and horrible eyebrows)!

 Q: What is your ethnic background? 

A: Most people are surprised to discover that I am half Taiwanese. My other half is a massive hodgepodge of European countries that my dad likes to pretend he knows, but we actually don't have much of an idea about at all. Unfortunately, the only language I fluently speak is English, although I'm pretty proficient in what I like to call "Retail Spanish." 

 Q: What is psoriasis, and how did you get it?

A: Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune disorder, and can be caused by a variety of different things. My doctor once told me that because I am half Chinese, I am more prone to skin conditions. I'm also on medications that have been linked to causing psoriasis. Psoriasis is not contagious, and causes red and silver flaky patches to appear on the skin, that are often mistaken for eczema. The type of psoriasis I have is called plaque psoriasis. For more information, go to www.psoriasis.org. Eventually, I may do a full blog post about psoriasis and my experience with it.

- D.