By Venessa Anthony
Karunarathne has been in front of a camera since she was quite young, and over the years, has perfected the skill of putting her best face forward. The Morning Brunch had a chat with Sasha on being a TV personality, her sense of fashion, and skin care tips. Here’s what she had to say.
As a presenter and host, what is the hardest part about constantly being in front of a camera?
Being in front of the camera is almost second nature to me. Unlike most people, I’m my most confident self in front of a camera. So the answer to this is not what most people would expect. The hardest part for me personally is always the prep work.
I’m a bit of a perfectionist, which is my blessing and curse. I don’t like getting things wrong, or not doing the best that I could. So the lead up to an event or show is always very stressful to me, because I end up putting a lot of pressure on myself to get the prep work right, so I’m prepared for the show.
Tell us something about yourself that not so many people know about, and is worth mentioning.
I am a heavy introvert! My job requires me to be an extrovert and so naturally people always assume I am. But turning on that “extrovert switch” is just something I have learned to do over the years to be able to do my job. Once my job is done, my introverted, anti-social self comes back out, and all I want to do is just go home, or get my work done on the phone by myself.
Your sense of style seems to be influenced by the “working girl” aesthetic. How do you make it work?
I love styling my looks! It’s become one of my absolute favourite parts about my job. I tend to change my style quite a lot depending on the work I have to do. For example, when I was a digital presenter for a reality talent show, my style was heavily influenced by K-pop and pop culture – lots of short skirts, thick jewellery, shimmery eye-shadow, etc. But when I work on social media content with my friends Amandha and Chethana on Destination Trio, my look is more of a New Age Aesthetic. Lots of caps, sporty outfits, sports shoes paired with hoops, etc.
But I also run a business and handle a lot of corporate clients, so my work look is very much a “working girl” aesthetic like you mentioned. I love changing my look depending on what my job role is for the day, it’s almost like wearing a new personality every day.
You also manage the TikTok page for Janet Skincare; how do you maintain a healthy routine with a busy lifestyle?
I don’t, honestly! I’m just as messy and unorganised as the next girl. I end up doing a lot of last-minute hyper-focused work when I’m pushed into a corner with deadlines. But you make it work, you know. There’s no way around it. You try to do your future self a favour by finishing as much work as possible, as early as possible, and hope for the best.
- Drink more water, your skin really will clear up quite a lot
- Wear sunscreen. I never knew how much of a difference it made until I was forced to do it, and saw real change
- Identify your skin type and buy products based on that
- Pimples can be easily handled with the right products. I use the Janet Simple Pimple range, I’m sure you all know. So if you have oily, pimple prone skin, homegirl has your back covered with the Janet Products. Trust me on that one
- Get advice from professionals and not opinions of others