POPSUGAR: When did you realize you wanted to be a makeup artist and what inspired your love of makeup? What steps have you taken as a 17-year-old to make this dream come true?
James Charles: I tried makeup for the first time a year ago, but I loved the feeling of being able to finish a glam look on a friend and having them feel beautiful. I knew then it was what I wanted to do. On social media, I try hard to be myself and inspire others by stepping outside the box and never being afraid to speak my mind or conforming to the norm.
PS: What went through your mind and how did you feel when Zendaya retweeted your famous school portrait?
JC: I WAS SHOOK! I love her and now we follow each other on Instagram, so we're basically like BFFs. OK, maybe not, but I wish. One day.
PS: Who makes your favorite ring light? And why do you think it makes photos better? Walk us through that school picture day . . .
JC: My ring light is just a random one from Amazon! They're great for beauty photographing because it distributes even lighting all around the face, so there are no harsh shadows. Picture day was crazy. I woke up early to get glammed, but my original pics did not do it justice. I usually would never be this picky, but it's my senior pics and I did want to post them on Instagram, so I reached out to the company and asked to retake them and the rest is history!
