First Look Fridays: Jami Shopf of Bionic Beauty

I am pleased and excited to bring you this week's edition of First Look Fridays, featuring Jami Shopf of Bionic Beauty! Jami's blog is one of my must-reads each week because of her fabulous product reviews, incessant list of beauty deals and her wonderfully engaging writing style. And the fact that her name is Jami sure doesn't hurt! This self-professed computer geek has lived in Florida, the Georgia mountains and St. Louis, and has been married for 10 years! Impressively, she and her husband have a household full of pets -- including three dogs, two birds, three beta fish and a hedgehog, who Jami claims is a "total diva!" Read on to discover more about the interesting face behind Bionic Beauty.

Why did you decide to start your blog?
In 2007 I had some health problems that kept me home from work and resting quite a bit. I was bored out of my melon -- and I was even bored of surfing the web. I started finding all these free samples of skincare, hair care and makeup products and was emailing my friends and family with the request links every day. I think I filled up most of their mailboxes. It was a joy finding something for free and getting to try new products without dashing out to the store constantly. So I combined my love of computers and the beauty finds into my blog. I started it just for friends and family, but it's grown! I am still on the lookout for those freebies and have a whole tote to prove it!

I love the name of your blog! How did you come up with it?
Bionic Beauty stemmed from being a child born in the 70s. My mom named me after the character Jamie Sommers on the original Bionic Woman. I wanted something powerful for my blog. A name that eschewed confidence and the wonderful strength that women can have by being well-rounded individuals.

Do you have a "day job?" What is it?
Chasing after my dogs? But really I am blogging full time, and working on renovating our "new" old home in Florida. I don't make my living on Bionic Beauty (actually hardly anything) but the rewards of the reader interaction make it worth it. In order to contribute to the budget, I do some side work fixing computers and designing websites.

What have been some of the highlights of having your blog?
Believe it or not, some of the best feelings I get from blogging are when a reader takes time to personally email me to discuss a product, ask a question or offer their advice/review on a product. I love getting those emails. It was also super fun to be on Blog Talk Radio with Loose Lips NY (I danced around for days after that interview), and to have a few of my articles featured on the Reuter's blogging section.

What are your top 5 beauty essentials?
1) Physician's Formula Mineral Wear Mascara: I can go on and on about this mascara. It is seriously an amazing product that gets no attention. I went a little crazy last year when I couldn't find any in stores. My family around the country went on a mission to stock me up with 10 tubes!

2) My Lip Stuff lip tint: moisturizing, all-natural and a twinge of color.

3) Herbaria soaps: I haven't found a flavor I didn't like. They are as addicting as ice cream!

4) Tea Tree Oil: to help heal blemishes and other skin nasties.

5) Hawaiian Tropics Lime-Coolada Lotion

Playing with products must be fun -- but what are some things you do for fun outside of blogging?
I spend way too much time playing on the computer. I love playing Alternate Reality Games (ARGs), which are games designed to interact with players online and in real life. Quite often they are marketing-related (like the movie marketing for Cloverfield, AI and in some aspects The Blair Witch Project). I also love designing web graphics ... see, I told you I was a geek! :) I adore gardening, growing orchids (I have a collection of 31 currently), swimming, reading (everything from to Harry Potter to Kiki Strike to Huxley and Ayn Rand), and for brainless activity -- watching TV shows on DVD (Alias, Roswell, AirWolf and Veronica Mars are among my favorites).

Are there any other beauty blogs you read regularly? What are some that you like and why?
I love reading Mythbuster Beauty for her scientific look at skincare and her personal notes about being a beauty inside and out. LifeCandy is another of my daily reads but is not strictly beauty-related -- although she has some grand articles on going green with makeup and skincare routines. And then there's The Cheap Chick, who appeals to my budgety side!

Thanks so much to Jami Shopf of Bionic Beauty for taking the time to do this interview. Now that you know a bit more about her, you simply must read her blog immediately!