Our Friend of the Week - Jeannie Jarnot

Your City: Novato, CAYour What: Hmmmmm! I lust over Andrea Fohrman jewelry, big time. If someone gave me a piece of hers, I’d be like, “What?!”

FRIEND OF THE WEEK: 11 QUESTIONSWEBSITE: BEAUTY HEROESINSTAGRAM: @BEAUTYHEROESFACEBOOK: @BEAUTYHEROESBOX

1. Nickname: JJ, I love it when you call me JJ.2. What’s your short story? I grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii and decided at an early age I wanted to be in the hospitality industry, it was so glamorous and seemed like something I would do well. After studying hospitality management at Cornell, I moved to New York City and worked in fine dining in hotels and learned really quickly that I wasn’t exactly cut out for working until 2 AM every night, as it got me really out of balance. The spa industry had just started to emerge and so I ended up specializing in luxury spa management, opening the spas at The Four Seasons in San Francisco and The Carneros Inn. I had the idea for Beauty Heroes, a healthy beauty discovery service, many years ago when I was a spa director in Napa, and finally decided to take the plunge. So it was, Beauty Heroes was born in late 2014.3. What’s your jam? My fight song is Lose Yourself by Eminem, you’ve only got one shot, you know. I’ve got so many love songs, but right now I’ll go with Love is a Verb by John Mayer.4. What motivates you? My mantra is Use Less, Love More. This has become my guiding principle as I learn to invite more love into my life, by needing and using less.5. Who do you think you’d have great friend chemistry with? Maya Angelou, for sure, and her mother. I read in her book Me, Myself and Mom that she actually spent some of her younger years in San Francisco. She was so much fun, a really strong woman who actually took a lot of time finding her voice. She was a very bold and sexy dancer. Her mom was fiercely loving and very elegant. I would love to hang out with the two of them, together with my own mom.6. What qualities do your favorite friends have in common? They accept me for who I am, with all my flaws. They are forgiving. They are kind to others.7. What’s the smartest, most inspiring, awesome thing you’ve read, watched, or listened to? Most recently I attended the Wisdom 2.0 conference in San Francisco and sat in on a conversation with Leilah Janah of Sama Source and Laxmi skincare as she interviewed a conscious hip-hop artist named Prince EA. They were talking about his song/poem I am NOT black, you are NOT White, and how the concept of race was made up to create class separation, but that race doesn’t really exist. I always felt this way, growing up in Hawaii where all our colors blended. It was so liberating to accept that race (not racism) doesn’t really exist. We are all connected, we are one race, really.8. What whets your appetite? There are so many things, but consider this my gift to anyone who reads this. Next time you are in Miami, head to Mignonette and have the Lobster Roll. You can thank me later.9. What’s next on your To Do List? I’m writing a book. No one is more surprised than I am, as I never envisioned myself writing a book. But it came to me and so I’m going with it. It takes a whole new type of discipline to write a book, and I’m learning a lot.10. How are you friends with Gina + Amy? We met back in 2002 when I was the Spa Director at the Four Seasons in San Francisco, before there were websites and social media. Our spa, Splash was featured in the first ever Splendora book. And ever since our paths have continued to intertwine.11. Who would you nominate for our next Friend of the Week? I would recommend Leilah Janah, Founder of Laxmi Skincare and Sama Source as your next Friend of the Week. She’s actually not a personal friend of mine, but after seeing her speak this past February I walked straight up to her and told her how incredibly inspiring she is. I didn’t even know who she was, but I was blown away.