If you haven’t seen Msdebramaye work her glossy magic on YouTube check her out here http://www.youtube.com/user/msdebramaye , and, of course, subscribe!

All of us who watch your videos know, but for those future subscribers, let’s start with the basics.

Q: What’s your name and age?
My given name is actually Debra Maye with an E! Thanks to my parents for making that so unique! Hehe I am currently 20 years old but will be turning 21 this April! (yay!!)

Q: Do you have any nicknames?
Other than my significant other calling me babe, bee or bunny I really don’t have a “nickname”. However, when I was young I never wanted to be called Debra because it felt like such an “old” name haha so I grew up with the name Debbie =]

We usually see you sitting down on camera!
Q: How tall are you?
With the length of time it takes me to film my videos take after take (until I get it right) I guess sitting down is a bonus! Haha I’m a real shorty and proud of it, without my 4 inch stiletto’s I’m only 5’2 =]

Q: Does anyone ever tell you that you look like someone famous? If so, who?
Yes! I’m so flattered by it actually! I’ve been told that I resemble Brenda Song, who plays London Tipton on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody! In fact, my nickname at work is London! My co-worker’s kids get so excited when they see me. Yes, I have tried to impersonate her “YAY ME!” haha I seem to get that from everyone though and Brenda Song is absolutely GORGEOUS!

Q: At what age did you become interested in cosmetics? Did your parents have to “let you” start wearing makeup or was it your own choice?
Well I’m sure I’m not the only girl who was fascinated with makeup and high heels at a young age! Trying on my mom’s clothes, shoes, makeup you name it! I started wearing the basic eye liner and lip gloss when I was in Grade 8 (age 13-14) and my parents were totally fine with it! It was never an issue for them and all I did was put black eye liner on my lower lashes, which made the biggest difference to me back then! My parents have always been the supportive type!

Q: Who are your inspirations for beauty?
My inspirations for beauty and fashion? I would have to say my Mom. I always wanted to be as pretty as her and having a hairstylist for a mom, she has definitely been a huge influence on the “beauty” aspect of my life. In fact I took Cosmetology in high school in hopes of one day having our own salon which could still very well happen =] She’s definitely an inspiration to me.

We saw your boyfriend’s “makeup tutorial” on YouTube and it was hilarious!
Q: What does Naez think about your YouTube channel and product obsession?
Honestly, it just blows my mind how supportive he is with everything I do. My boyfriend is a natural comedian! He makes me laugh all the time hehe. He is so proud of me and shares my joy every time I reach a certain amount of subscribers! Ever since I hit my first hundred, and every thousand after that he’s always been the first person I tell! It’s just great knowing that he’s proud of my achievements! Regarding the product obsession, he always looks out for our budget of course but he knows it’s something that makes me really happy!

Q: How did you meet? Was it love at first sight?
Aw, this is a story I’ll never get tired of telling! He used to live in Vancouver and moved to Calgary in 2004, and he was basically looking to meet a friendly face. We go to the same church and I’m really good friend’s with this girl he grew up with. He asked her if she knew any “hot girls” haha! Or maybe he said nice? Anyway! Our friend mentioned my name to him and messaged me on Friendster.com saying he was going to be moving and just wanted to meet new friends. That’s how our story unfolded =]

The first time we met in person? My goodness! Let me tell you he made my heart skip a beat! Apparently I did the same for him too! We introduced ourselves and I could hear my heart beat faster and faster when we shook hands! We met in church =] Since meeting, we got along so well and we were best friends for a couple years. Of course, I had THE biggest crush on my best friend, I think he knew that anyway haha! After a couple of years, I guess it was the right time and everything just fell into place. The feelings were obviously mutual. January 4th 2006 he asked my dad for permission to date me. (AWW !!) I mean, who does that these days? I surely never expected that from him and he got my parent’s blessing and we’ve been together ever since then! He really is my dream come true!

You mentioned on BlogTV that you two are engaged.
Q: Do you have a date, or year, picked out? What about your theme or colors, perhaps purple?
We don’t have a date picked out yet, but we anticipate it! We want to focus on finishing school and working towards building our future! With the economy and everything we just want to focus on saving our money! Our theme color? We had that picked a LONG time ago! Purple & Gold! It was actually his suggestion and we’ve stuck with it ever since!

You always look so glam in your videos.
Q: Do you ever leave the house without doing your makeup?
I would love to say that I DO leave my house without makeup but that’s simply not true! I don’t always get dolled up to go out, but I always leave my house with at least foundation, eyeliner and chapstick on! Its super quick anyways =] If you have seen my 5 minute make up challenge video, time is never an issue and I really enjoy putting my make up on, it’s basically the only time of the day that I have to myself.

Q: What are a few of your “obsessions” right now (Foods, designers, tv shows, songs, etc.)?
Obsessions? Well I guess it’s obvious, Make up! This is the first time I ever really “collected” anything in my life and I’m having so much fun with everything to do with makeup! YouTube is more of an addiction; I’m constantly on it watching videos! As for food, I wouldn’t call it an obsession but I’m down for McDonald’s French fries any time of day, every day! I really enjoy watching singing shows like American Idol, or any dance competitions there are so many talented people out there!

You talk about volleyball a lot in your videos.
Q: What achievements are you most proud of in the sport? What position on the court is your favorite?
Volleyball is definitely a passion for me. An achievement I’m very proud of is becoming captain of my senior girl’s volleyball team! What a great way to spend your senior year! I was also nominated for a scholarship that was held city wide. Basically they chose one boy and one girl from each high school in the city and we were all equally qualified based on our achievements in school. The scholarship was chosen randomly and even though I didn’t receive the scholarship, being nominated for it is definitely something to be proud of! Ever since I started playing volleyball in grade 7, I have been playing the “Power” position. This Shorty can definitely jump and hit! Right now I play in a city league and I play both power and setter, but power is definitely my favorite!

You say in your dfined.org interview that makeup and singing are just hobbies.

Q: What is your dream career?
I believe that make up is definitely becoming more than just a hobby. My dream career would be to do either make up or singing professionally. Growing up, being a singer was my number one dream job and it’s not until now that I’m getting this kind of attention and exposure! We’ll see where this takes me!

Family and your heritage seem to be very important to you.
Q: In what ways does your Filipino heritage make you who you are today?
Family is everything to me. Being Filipino, we were raised and taught to express the highest amount of respect for our elders and relatives. This is something that I have taken with me in every aspect of my life, respect. This has made me who I am today as I am a very understanding and respectful woman.

You have so many fans!
Q: How does it feel to have over 10,000 people care about you and your opinions?
I am just absolutely overwhelmed and overjoyed !! When I first started making videos just 6 months ago, I never would have imagined it would turn out like this! My subscribers and viewers have just been so absolutely amazing and I make sure to let them know how much I appreciate that every chance I get. They have just accepted me for who I am and I am so blessed! Thank you all again, I love what I do and you all make it so fun and worth while!!

We have heard so many people say that they were inspired by you to start doing makeup videos.
Q: What got /you/ started doing videos on YouTube?
Honestly, I never thought I would EVER have the courage to even do a video! I started watching makeup tutorials in June/July of last year and I was inspired to make my own in August! Panacea81 was the first guru I ever stumbled upon and she opened the window to a whole new world of makeup for me on YouTube! I had NO idea that make up tutorials ever existed on YouTube before I started watching her videos. Thank you Panacea81!!

Q: Do you have any future goals for your YouTube channel or a blog?
Yes! I am currently working on my own website and I can’t wait until it’s completed! I would just like to give my cousin in law Eugene a big shout out for helping me out by creating this website!! Updates will be announced but I’m thinking to shoot for a launch in mid March – April =D! As for any goals with YouTube, I just really want to get myself out there, my confidence level has increased tremendously and I would really like to work on my singing!

Most of us know that you are from, and live in, Canada.
Q: Do you find that the products are released there sooner or later than the U.S? Is the packaging ever different than what you see in U.S. videos?
Products are definitely released LATER in Canada. I always find myself envious when I can’t get my hands on a product I seen a good review on simply because it has not been released in Canada yet. The packaging is never different however shipping rates are definitely more costly. The only downside to being Canadian! haha

You tried out for Canadian Idol and the only reason you did not make it was because of some forgotten words!
Q: Do you want to do anything with singing other than choir and YouTube videos?
I really enjoy singing in my choir, I’m very dedicated. In fact, I sing in choir twice a week =] It has always been a child hood dream to pursue a singing career but I’ve never been able to expose myself until YouTube came along. I have been receiving private requests to do demos and that is already such an honor for me! I would love to see singing in my future =]

We saw in your latest haul that you had saved up for the MAC Hello Kitty collection since the announcement of its release.
Q: Do you ever have buyers remorse for spending your hard earned money on products?
Never! Hehe I always make sure that I have money set aside and my boyfriend is constantly reminding me to be careful! I have to admit I went a little over board the first few months after starting a channel but I don’t regret it =] I’m so much better at managing my money now, after all its recession time & with a wedding to look forward too, you have to keep your finances in the right place!

Q: What draws you to buy a certain product or brand of makeup?
That’s a good question! I find myself looking at reviews a lot more now to see which products have great quality and I’m always on the lookout for affordable products! I have succumbed into the world of MAC and I have never been disappointed with a product (except my dried out penultimate eye liner that came out with the Chill Collection! Dried up after like 10 uses? Booooo!). Though MAC is on the pricey side, I have learned to appreciate the quality of products so much more!

Q: What are some of your absolute favorite beauty products?
My Absolute Favorites? Hmm..

- Favorite Eye Liner – Urban Decay’s 24/7 Eye Pencil – Zero

- My new favorite mascara – Covergirl Lashblast Luxe!

- Favorite Lipstick at the moment – MAC’s Cute-ster from the Hello Kitty Collection

- Favorite Blush – Tippy! Also from Mac’s HK Collection

Q: Out of your brush collection, which ones do you find yourself reaching for the most?
Every time I do my makeup, even if I’m in a rush, my most common brushes are:

- 187 or my 182 for foundation

- Leow Cornell Liner Brush for Eyeliner

- 239 & 217 for Eyeshadow

- This blush brush which I absolutely love from Arbonne

Since you were trained in cosmetology, it seems like you know some tricks that the rest of us do not.
Q: Do you have any beauty secrets or tips that you think most other people don’t know about?
I don’t really have any beauty secrets, however taking that course has definitely taught me so much about the the beauty industry. I mostly majored in Hair and I have learned everything from types of braids, coloring, highlighting, perms, updo’s and so much more!

One thing I can share is that on average, if you don’t have overly active sebaceous glands (oily hair) it is most healthy for your hair to be shampooed every other day! This may sound gross to some of you but shampooing your hair everyday basically strips the moisture out of your strands. If you are a person who absolutely has to shampoo their hair every day, deep conditioning treatments are most helpful!

Q: Can you tell us some fun facts that we probably don’t know about you?
Fun facts? I don’t really consider myself that interesting but if you haven’t already seen my “5 random facts” video, here are a few:

- When I go to a restaurant and order my iced tea, I ALWAYS eat the lemon wedge after covering it with salt! So bad for your teeth but it’s so good!

- That also goes for all fruits except for bananas..

- My middle name is Maye because my due date was not until May 2, but I popped out April 26! I’m glad my parents kept my middle name as Maye though.. I love it!

- I tried out for Canadian Idol when I was 16, made it to the 3rd round and I forgot my words!! I was told to try out again the next year.. but I never went back

- I drank my first cup of coffee when I was 7 years old (no, my parents weren’t looking!)

We want to play Pee Wee’s Playhouse.
Q: Will you slip a “secret word” into your next video for our readers? The secret word is “Bananas”.
That sounds fun! I’ll do it! Haha

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview! We will definitely stay tuned to your YouTube channel!

If you want to read more from Msdebramaye, check out a previous interview at dfined.org.