Interview of Nuy Cho | by: Kathy Choi Lee
One thing I learned in my high school years is that not every make-up counter has the right product for my Asian skin. A little olive tone left me running to Shishedo (Japanese) or the Amore (Korean) cosmetics store in K-town. When I found NuyBeauty.com, I was so excited! Here's a Korean American woman blogging on make-up for her Asian skin and features. Tips galore! This was my golden ticket for a whole new beautiful me - with the perk of reading a few stories on how she juggles motherhood. Want to know how she got started? Read on!
Please share a little mini bio of your life.I was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, but spent a lot of time in (summers and first grade) South Korea and Japan, because we have a lot of family members in both countries. I have two younger brothers. My mother started out as a social worker but she chose to be a part-time ESL educator while my siblings and I were young. My father is a scholar.
How was it growing up as a Korean American girl? I think it was challenging, in the sense that I had parents who hadn't grown up here. So there were times I felt like they didn't understand the things that I was going through because their youth experience had been so different. But in the end, I feel that growing up having to compromise contrasting cultures teaches you certain mental flexibility that I can now appreciate.
What is your favorite childhood memory? It's hard to pick one because Hawaii is such a sensational place to grow up. A favorite one is coming home from school on a hot day and having my mom give me an ice-cold piece of heavenly sweet mango from one of our trees. There's this cool way to slice mangoes, that makes them handy to eat, where you take aslice, with the peel on, and cut a tic-tac-toe-like grid onto the flesh, then you turn it inside out so the mango pieces stick out like buildings on a curved skyline.
http://www.mango.org/en/about-mangos/how-to-cut-a-mango.aspx
Tell us a little on what you're doing these days.Besides being a mom to my daughter, I author a beauty blog/website geared toward busy mothers called
NuyBeauty.com. My mission is to help the busiest women look great and feel good about themselves -- even if it's only about having a few minutes a day. I am also an independent beauty consultant.
Your blog is a mommies perspective - tell us how you decided to go this direction. Becoming a mother was significant life transition for me. I thought I was so well-prepared because I had helped my own mother out so much with my younger brothers, but when I had my daughter, I was surprised at how much I needed to evolve as a person to adjust to all the change. I had been experimenting with ways to write about it, and one day talked to my good friend (and a word smith I often consult with) about false lashes being a mommy mood lifter. And it all started from there.
Tell us a little about your daughter and how she's adjusting to the busy life in New York City. As a kid, I was fascinated with New York City, so it gives me great pleasure to raise my daughter right in thick of the Big Apple. My daughter, who is a few months shy of two years old, is independent, knows what she wants, and very spirited. I love experiencing urban life with her.
What are you loving about New York? I've lived in the city since 1993, and what I love the most about New York is that there is always something happening. I love the intensity,the diversity, and the constant flow of energy.
Do you miss Hawaii? What do you miss about Hawaii?Indefinitely miss my hometown, particularly right after a blizzard when it's super cold out and the beautiful snow gets ruined by soot and street debris. I miss the crystal clear, turquoise beaches, and the scent of plumerias and salt water wafting through the breeze.
What are some must-see spots in Hawaii you would recommend to our readers?If you're going to visit Oahu, I would definitely check out Hanauma Bay, the North Shore, and hike up Diamond Head if you can.
Tell us a little bit on the time you worked at a magazine. The last magazine I worked at was InStyle. It was great fun given that the subject matter was celebrity lifestyle -- and I worked with and met some fantastic people.
What was the most memorable part about working at such high profile magazines?High circulation magazines take a lot of organization, careful planning and editing, and foresight. And most importantly, they wouldn't hit the stands without a lot of teamwork.
What kind of consulting are you doing these days?With my independent beauty consulting, I help busy women streamline their beauty routines. I take the second-guessing process out of personal beauty -- whether it's helping an individual clean out their vanity, shop for make-up/skincare, or just understand what works for them.
What do you see yourself doing in the next 10 years?I'll hopefully be happy with where I'm at with everything I've done, and have a happy, healthy tween (yikes)!
How is it being a working mommy?It's not easy, per se. There are days when I go to bed and feel like'm not sure what I've gotten done, even though I now hit the ground running and was "doing." It's such a classic struggle though -- the mama's struggle to balance the family and everything else she's got going on in her life. I try to stay as organized as possible to help manage all of it, but basically I feel as if the balance requires constant tweaking and adjustment, which requires flexibility. Let'just say, I try my best every day to make it all work. Sometimes it'smooth, sometimes it's not, but it's never not an adventure.
What is your favorite Korean food?I can't say I have a declared favorite, but I do love a good tofu/miso jjigae (Korean Miso Tofu Stew).
Who is your favorite fashion designer? Again,I don't have a single favorite, but I do love Margiela and have some older McQueen items I'm attached to. I love fashion, period, and like to keep an open mind.
What is your favorite Movie? Color? Restaurant? Going to the movies, watching movies -- movies are just fantastic. Recently, my daughter and I have been watching "The Sound of Music" a lot and we both adore it. My favorite color as a child was yellow. I am a fan of all colors now, particularly with make-up, but have been known to be obsessed with white in my adult life. I seriously enjoy food, but don't get to eat out as often as I used to now that I have a small child. But if I had my choice, I'd pick Babboand Le Bernadin for eating out on special occasions.
Nuy Cho
| www.NuyBeauty.com | Twitter: nuybeauty
"One mom, raising her baby without saying goodbye to beauty."
Thank you Nuy for sharing your beautiful life with us. We can't wait to read more of your blog posts and to get great beauty ideas and tips!!!
