Q&A with Rachael Castro @j0uzai | #FoxFamily
Rachael was kind enough to answer some questions for us.
Tell us about yourself!
I never know how to answer this! Well, my name is Rachael, I'm 21 and I live in California. I go by jouzai or j0uzai on my social media, a name I took from a song in an anime. I'm studying neuroscience in college and I work as a supplementary instructor for chemistry and as a chemistry tutor for my college.
I also love animals and have a sweet precious radiant doggie named Angel who is 14 years old. Although she's lost most of her hearing and developed Cushing's disease, she's in pretty good shape for her age. A lot of people are shocked when I tell them how old she is! She's a little mutt we scored from the shelter who I'd sell my soul for. She's played a big role in shaping my love for animals, going vegetarian and cruelty-free. Everyone in my family loves her, she's even printed on our credit cards. I think she has a lot to do with why my twin sister wants to be a vet tech and work with animals :)
What does a day in the life of Rachael look like?
This is actually quite hilarious to me haha. Many people assume I'm someone who puts time into their appearance and fashion or that I'm somewhat put together daily. Most of my friends find my Instagram hilarious. The truth is I'm very lazy, I hate getting ready or getting dressed and I actually don't care at all about what I wear and my makeup is absolutely awful. I tend to wear all baggy clothing but not in the cute way. My friend once tried to take a picture of me because my outfit was so bad (baggy striped capris with knee high striped socks, clogs, a giant lamb of god shirt and my dads large zip up).
My makeup tends to be just as bad, 9/10 I put it on in the car. I only put foundation under my eyes and just powder that's a little too tan over the rest. I attempt mascara and eyebrows (mine are blonde) and that's about it. The whole process and clothing takes about 10 minutes. I have class, work and/or study time from 8-4 or 8-6 depending on the day. Then I go home, do some HW or maybe watch Netflix and then pass out. Not very eventful I know haha. Weekends I study, and set aside one day to take a photo for Instagram haha. I do really enjoy the looks I do on Instagram and that IS my fashion choice, I just don't want to do that everyday- if you left at 7am you probably wouldn't want to either haha. So despite having lots of cute clothing I dress like a slob haha. A lot of my friends actually weren't aware I owned cute clothing at all. So don't be surprised when you see me in person looking... a lot different hahah.
Do you have any pet peeves?
I have too many pet peeves haha! Loud chewing is probably the worst one though. I also can't stand when people don't smooth out foods like ice cream, butter etc. But I think that's part of my OCD (I'm diagnosed and medicated currently).
Favorite way to spend your down time?
Reading manga! But usually I don't have down time haha.
Whats your favorite manga at the moment and why?
My favorite manga of all time is Deadman Wonderland! The anime is not as good and isn't finished so I recommend reading the manga instead. It's got amazing character development which is so important for me. There are a lot of character twists that totally mess with your head. Some people you think are level headed or fine but 5 chapters later you're like "OH SHIT". It's basically about some people kept in a prison who can manipulate their blood. They've all gone through extensive trauma that has left most of them with psychosis and/or other issues. I guess a fair warning is that there's gore! It's definitely a dark manga, but there is still some light hearted moments. Shiro is kind of the center of a lot of it, and figuring out who she is exactly. It's very deep although only 50 chapters. Granta can be a little whining (a type of character I tend to dislike) but he gets better and it's a little understandable considering what happened to him (lol). The other characters make it 100x worth while. I highly recommend it if you're not bothered by gore.
What's your favorite dessert?
I LOVE eclairs. I would eat them every meal of the day if no one stopped me. They're too good.
Whats your least favorite food?
The food I can't stand is cilantro. Tomatoes not in marinara are a close second though. I can still force myself to eat either but cilantro I will notice even if it's just a pinch.
What's your spirit animal?
My spirit animal is probably the sloth. Or some animal that is extremely slow and lazy haha. Although I wish I could say it was something cool like a tiger. Sadly, I'm just not that cool.
Describe yourself in 5 words.
Lazy, weird, hardworking, creepy, badatdescribingmyselfin5words? I think I get along okay though! I do well in school :D
What music do you listen to at the moment?
I listen to just about anything, although I don't really like country. The music that gives me the most joy is rock and some metal. I'm kind of in love with Rammstein and have been for years.
Do you collect anything?
You're going to think I'm so weird, but I collect soap. Specifically Bee & flower soap. I don't know why exactly, it smells amazing to me. My identical twin does the exact same thing. We both sleep with them next to our bed so we can smell it. I know it's really weird, there was a time I had 10 of them there. We've been doing it ever since we were kids, apparently I used to take one to school with me in 5th grade.
On a more normal note I collect Deadpool comics? Haha. And some figures or art for Deadpool or anime/manga that I enjoy.
Any hidden talents?
Not that I know of or that I haven't already lost! I used to play the violin when I was younger. I've landed some top scores in games?
I was second in the world at Poke A Mole (an app) haha. And I did pretty well on Neopets too. Which I guess makes me pretty important. That's a joke.
How would you describe your aesthetic?
I'm not sure, it tends to be a cross between metal head and gothic? I don't consider myself either because of the elitists that tend to come with labels like that. I just like darker styles :)
You can only wear one outfit for the rest of 2017. What is it?
Hmmm... I would go with my oversized pretty reckless shirt w/ cut off sleeves, my black high waisted shorts, a set of black thigh highs and my knee high Doc Martens. If I didn't have to walk around as much I'd pick my thigh high heels from Dollskill. But if I had to be in a lab setting where pants were required I'd have to go with my oversized Guns N' Roses shirt with black skinny jeans and knee high Doc Martens.
What kind of things really make you laugh?
Comedy manga rarely fails to make me laugh, especially ones that have delinquents. Somehow those are always my favorites, like Beelzebub and Oresama Teacher.
I'm also a big fan of Mr. Bean. The diving board scene makes me laugh so hard I cry every time (seriously, look it up). When I was a kid my grandfather only had 2 VHS tapes without sound and they were Mr Bean and "How to Take Care of Cats". I watched that tape dozens of times and it never got old :)
Preference: creepy or cute?
Hmm... on myself I prefer creepy, but it's close to a tie in general. I admire cutesy people and love the style but there's a certain joy and excitement I get when I see something creepy. Somehow it makes me really happy - not in a serial killer kind of way haha. I just really appreciate it. Sometimes I find it fun to scare people with my looks too.
What do you love about Arctic Fox?
Um, everything? Haha. The smell has to be the biggest winner. It's so refreshing to have a dye that smells like candy. I don't have to turn the fan on and die when I inhale like with other dyes hahah. The color always turns out the way I'd like it to and they mix beautifully. It's the best experience I've had with any dye honestly. I recommend it to people even outside of Instagram. I also love that Arctic Fox donates to help animals 🐰 They are also cruelty free and vegan! Which is awesome. A dye that works great, smells great, and doesn't harm any animals should be anyone's ideal. It's hard to find cruelty free products that work amazing as well.
What's a secret about you that we don't know?
Well, the soap thing kinda was a secret haha. I don't really have secrets, there are 2 things I only tell a few people about but I still tell some :) the soap secret is enough for today LOL.
What's a hair color you haven't done that you'd like to do?!
Hmmmm... I think maybe maroon/burgundy. I think it's beautiful but I won't be able to return to teal so easily haha.
What's your hair maintenance process?
I'm pretty terrible with hair upkeep honestly! I don't have a lot of free time with work and school so I usually have at least an inch of roots before dying it again >.> I do wash the color into my hair when I shower though! I mix it with my conditioner and wash my hair with that. I also use Olaplex which is a life saver :)
How do you bleach your hair?
I use 20-30 vol developer with bleach on my roots but don't re bleach the rest of my hair. I also mix Olaplex in and it works well! I use a brush just along the root area, then leave it for ~30min and wash it out. Usually it's light enough to dye after that!
What are you looking forward to in 2017?
I'm looking forward to transferring colleges to study neuroscience!
Find Rachael at her Instagram @j0uzai!