Zumba Convention Day Three!

Day Three was complete craziness! I had three classes that day instead of two and was so scared that I was gonna die. On the agenda was Aqua Zumba, African Mix, and Caribbean Heat. I don't know what I was thinking when I made my schedule for this day, but I obviously didn't realize that these were all high impact classes.

Apparently I survived because I am talking to you now ha ha.

It was also crazy because I met Beto guys! I know. I was freaking out. My dad kept on seeing him around the hotel while me and my mom were in our classes. We yelled at my father told my father in a very lady-like fashion how unfair it was that he was seeing Beto and we weren't. Well, that morning my father went down to get coffee because he cannot live without it (typical Hispanic), and saw Beto taking pictures in the lobby. He called us right away and we ran for it! Ha ha. Aqua Zumba was our first class of the day, and I was only in a bikini top and shorts, but I did not care at that moment. I just threw a sweater on and we got there just in time. Poor Beto can't even walk four feet without getting hounded by us crazy Zumba people, so we took the picture as he was walking backward to the elevators. He took my phone (omg) and took the picture like we were all besties.

Then it was time to rush to Aqua Zumba, since the whole Beto fiasco set us back a little :). Aqua Zumba is pretty much Zumba in the water and it was pretty amaze-beans. The resistance of the water is something I have never experienced before and makes up for the not-sweatiness of regular Zumba. African Mix and Caribbean Heat were non-stop. I was a jumping, popping, kicking, gyrating machine that day. I don't think my sweat glands could have possibly produced anymore! TMI? Sorry.

Then it was time for the best part! The Soiree. Every year the convention holds a party for all the ZIN's (Zumba people) to hang out and dress up, and just have a great drunk time. I didn't drink or anything but I loved the party. The theme of the party changes every year and this year's was, Mid Summer Night's Dream. People could be anything from faries, to goddesses, to nymphs, to Minotaurs, and anything else that is mystical. My mom and I went as pixies and made our costumes ourselves. I just didn't make the tutu. I know someone who just happens to make them and she offered me one. It was really pretty. I did our makeup and we were out the door to see everyone else's crazy outfits.

I am telling you there are no crazier bunch than us Zumbonians. A lot of people came in really creative costumes that I didn't even know were possible. Some came in regular clothes, just really dolled up and fancy. And some just thought, "Hey my costume is no shirt and no pants." The less the merrier I say!

There was actually this guy there that I bumped into, who had only a pair of shorts on and I was not complaining. He was like, "Damn", when he saw me. And I was like, "What?" And then he tried to utter more words, but didn't seem to have the ability to speak and walked away. I saw him earlier with some friends, so I'm guessing he was looking for them. I guess I am a guy repellent. I usually don't like getting hit on, because sometimes they can be creepy (remember the Halal Food Truck guy when I went to NYC). So of course, the one guy who I don't mind hitting on me, runs away. What is life? Oh well haha. I still had an awesome night! :)

Beto! Isn't he the cutest?

My mom, and the African Mix instructors. I was talking to the guy, telling him how he looks just like my friends Stanley lol

The evidence of a hard days work. I told you my sweat glands had no more after that.

Bathed and pixie-ed out.

This girl came as a statue, because her friend was Medusa. Hands down, most awesome idea ever.

Three blind mice.

I have no idea what he was, but he was a guy with a bra and I wanted a picture.

Mom, pops, and me. You can really see our makeup here :)

Me and Momma Dukes.

Up close and personal with my fairy makeup.

My dad calls this one, "The Thinking Fairy" ha ha.

Stay tuned for more!

Travel Makeup Ideas and Tips.

Heeeellllooooooo! As many of you know I will be going to Orlando for a Zumba extravaganza! I will be leaving tomorrow and am super excited about it. And since I have been so busy with work lately (sorry :/) I wanted to give you guys a much overdue post about what I will look like tomorrow :)

I know that many people do not think about makeup when they are traveling. In between packing, and last minute shopping, and remembering the tickets, makeup can seem daunting. Some don't think of it at all on an everyday basis, but if you do, keep reading. I also think that the more simple, non-makeup girls will get some tips for this. This is also a very go to makeup look that is perfect for everyday. I took a lot of the pointers from Makeup For Dummies and simplified it a lot, so if those tutorials were a bit much, I hope you find this post helpful.

Now on to the post!

Face:

I first started of with a cleansed, moisturized face and applied face primer. Mine is from Makeup Forever in #1. 

I then applied my foundation by dotting it all over my face and blending it in with my stippling brush. 

After that, I put on some concealer using a highlighting pen from Givenchy and literally drawing stripes on my problem spots, making me look like a bizarre tiger. I then blended that mess in with my fingers.

Roar?

For everything else on my face I used the following, in order from left to right. 

I kiss you!

I contoured my face with the L'Oreal true match powder with my angled face brush. Then went over that with my Stila bronzer for some added pizazz. I then highlighted with my Laura Mercier highlighting powder. I used the same brush for all of these steps, cause ain't nobody got time to use more than one.

Highlighting

Bronzing

Eyes:

First thing's first. Eyebrows. You already know! Brush, fill, brush once more, and set it.

 

 Prime your lids first with some find of base and go in with a light shimmering eyeshadow. I used one from an Urban Decay Palette, but anyone would do. This will just make your eyes look nice and bright, no matter how zombie-like you feel inside. We all know traveling can be draining. I took that color and blended it from my lash line all the way into my brow bone. Don't forget to get the tear-duct as well. That way your brow and inner corner highlight is done already.

Then take a soft brown color and blend that into the crease and outer corner. I even took what was left on the brush and applied it under the eye too for some soft definition.

Next, take a black liner and line the upper water line. To do this I kind of look down and run the pencil back and forth. This will define and make the lashes appear fuller without having to apply liner on the top. See how much more defined the left eye looks?

Then, line the outer third of the lower waterline. 

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Now all you gotta do it curl and mascara your lashes and you are done! See? Wasn't that easy? For the lips you can do whatever you want. I chose a pink gloss, because its fast, easy, and low maintenance. But if you wanna just do a lip balm or slap on some red lipstick, then do you girl haha.

Other Tips:

• Bring food. Sandwich, carrots, apples and peanut butter, granola bar. Anything to keep you going. 
• Bring something to occupy your time as you wait, or even for on the plane. Things like books, cards, crossword puzzles.
• Take your own blanket along so you won't have to pay for one on the plane. 
• Take a sweater with you. I like those big comfy cardigans, because the plane is sometimes cold. I'm going to Florida, so I will be dressed for warm weather. So, this sweater idea is perfect for me when I am stuck on a freezing plane.
• Throw some headphones in your carry on in case you want to watch a movie, or listen to music.

And there you have it. I hope all of you get something out of this post. Leave comments below! You can also comment me on my Instagram and Facebook, or shoot me a tweet. 

Have an awesome day, everyone!!!!

Nicole xo

Floral Headband DIY and Mini-Makeup Haul

 Hey guys :)
I am soo excited for next week because I am going to Orlando!!!! No I will not be going to see Mickey or Goofy (sad face) but I will be seeing Beto. For those of you who are not Zumba lunatics (like me), Beto is the creator of Zumba. Every year there is a Zumba convention in Orlando, and other countries around the world. Well since I live in this country (U.S) I will be going to Florida ha ha. At the convention I will pretty much be booty-shaking 24/7 in classes. But there is also a concert, and a party. The theme of the party changes annually, and this year the theme is Midsummer's Night Dream. So people are encouraged to dress up as elves, nymphs, goddesses, and pretty much any other mystical creature.

My mom and I decided we are going to be fairies. I am going to wear a floral dress that I have that is very pixie-like. And my mom is going to wear a corset and tutu that she got at Hot Topic. She's gonna be a bad ass fairy lol. So, now that we are going to be fairies, first things first, the makeup. Yesterday I went to Sephora (on my day off ha ha) to get some makeup for the festivities and for myself. I got a new foundation and primer from Makeup Forever. The foundation is crazzzzzyyyyy good. I also got a purple eyeliner from them. You know how I love purple :) And last, but not least, the Makeup Forever Flash Palette.

I am so excited about this! I have wanted this since I was a freshmen in high school watching Kandee Johnson on Youtube. The Flash Palette is pretty much Jesus in makeup form. It is cream based colors that are invincible. They can be used anywhere too. The body, the face, the eyes, the lips. The creator of Makeup Forever was actually a painter, and even specialized in elaborate body painting, so she really transfers that into her brand. And for that, I love her! Thanks Dany :) So, I'm broke from all of my expenses, but I don't care because I am happy.

DIY Alert

Since this party will only be for one day, and we might be too damn tired to even stay there, my mom and I decided not to spend a million dollars on a fairy costume. Hence, the floral dress I am wearing. In a previous post I talked about the trend of floral print in fashion, and this dress is another example of that. So yesterday we went to A.C Moore to find things to make our own flower headbands. Now ours are totally ridiculous and extreme because it is for a costume, but regular flower head bands are super in right now.

Cute huh? So just use smaller flowers for yours, or not as many. Let's get started.

What you need:

• Scissors
• Ribbon (we chose brown)
• Felt
• Fake flowers
• Hot glue gun
• A lot of spare time!

First, measure the ribbon around your head. Leave some slack just in case. Cut the ribbon and lay it on a flat surface. 

Cut felt into little squares, the same size of the ribbon so it won't show.

For the flowers you will have to take out the stems from the base or else it will not stick. This is really easy, and awesome if you are angry! Ha ha. First you have to pull the flower of the stem. Take out the backing of the flower. And pull the stem that is remaining out of the middle of the flower. This is really easy to pull out. 

Each layer of the flower is going to come apart, but this is okay because then you can layer the petals however you want and make your own damn flower lol. So if a flower was all pink, but you wanted it to have some purple, you can now stack each layer on top of the other. 

Now to get the layout of how the flowers will fall, I just arranged them without glue first. Stack as much as you want until you are satisfied. Like so:

Then turn the flowers up side down, so that you can glue them together from the bottom up. This will ensure that you will get the same flower you planned out.

Turn your hot glue gun on. Once is is heated (takes about 3-5 minutes), glue a small amount on a piece of felt. 

Them glue on your first piece of flower. Keep gluing each layer, until your flower is done. 

Squeeze a small amount of glue on the spot on the ribbon that you want the flower to be. And place the felt on top. The reason I didn't glue the flower directly onto the ribbon is because the felt will hold onto the flower more securely. Hold for a couple seconds. Keep on doing this for all of the flowers, until the headband is completed to your heart's desire. 

And boom!

Yes I may look crazy, but with the whole outfit, I think it will all come together :) Now remember this is for my costume, so I will be adding little tendrils down the back to look more fairy-like. I decided not to show that part, because I wanted to show you something that people actually wear with normal outfits ha ha. I think I will be making more of these in the future. They are really fun to make actually, and the more you do it, the easier it gets. By the time I got to creating my second flower I was demolishing and rebuilding flowers like a pro. It really gets the creative juices flowing also. I was doing it with my mom too, so its something you can bond over. So, do it with friends or family as a cool activity that everyone can enjoy. If you are a mom with a little girl who thinks she is a fairy princess, or a teen who likes this new trend, try this out with them :) 

Hope you all enjoyed! If you try this feel free to send me pictures on my Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. All are with the names NGMthatface :) I would love to see your creations!

Love you guys!

Nicole xo.

Oh and P.S if you follow me on Instagram then you know about my new look. If you don't though, here it is :) 

I am in love with my Mohawk! What do you guys think?! Okay now it is really bye ha ha. Have a wonderful night! 

Going Native!

Yesterday was so much fun!

One of my mom's childhood friends came to visit us, and we thought it would be fun to take him to a pow wow that was happening near our town. For those of you who don't know what a pow wow is, its a gathering of Native American tribes. There they dance, sing, and play music. Food, jewelry, clothing, and other Native American goods are sold there as well. The purpose of these events is to keep Native American culture alive, since it is so often forgotten. Contrary to common belief, they did not all die when Columbus came. I really recommend going if you haven't already been to one. The dancing and outfits are so beautiful, and I find their culture so interesting.

There were also these guys that are called, Hoop Dancers. They dance with these hoops, starting off with one or two, and eventually add more. The hoops eventually start to make shapes, such as birds, butterflies, etc. Look at this guy. I think he is a bird here:

At one point he had the hoops all over his leg and one in his other hand, swinging it like it was a lasso, portraying someone riding a horse.

At the pow wow there was also a woman who had a tent of birds of prey. And I saw something that I wanted to take home.

Ever since Harry Potter came into my life, I have wanted an owl. I will have one some day ha ha.

One other really exciting thing that happened in my pow wow was that there was a dance competition. All the spectators were encouraged to show their stuff, after watching the Natives dancing. You know your home-girl joined in on all the action! Yup, me and my mom participated, and got 1st and 2nd place. It was soooooo much fun, and their dancing is way harder than it looks. The way is works is that you just dance the best you can. After that song ends, Natives come out and select you to be their dancer. They mentor you and show you how to do the dances better. Then you are shipped off into the arena and the audiences applause and reaction, decides who is the winner. My mom got first and I was second. I will never forget that. A lot of the Native Americans that would walk by us, would stop and say, "Good job out there!", which meant a lot to me for some reason. Ha ha, I'm sentimental that way. This was my mom's mentor. He was Taino Indian, which are the natives or Puerto Rico :) :

Now on to the fashion-y part. I have this tribal shirt that I love, and ruined when I was doing eyeliner one day. The eyeliner jumped out of my hand and stained my shirt. Well I saved it anyway and decided to fringe it out to hide the stain. It would really be a wastebto throw it out because it has a little black smudge on it, right?! And the end result was this:

I simply cut little strips right after the other. Then I tied off the ends and cut the excess off to make it look cleaner. Then I pulled on the fringes lightly to make them lose that freshly-cut look. It is super simple and awesome to do on some old t-shirts or tank-tops. I wasn't really worried about it being too even because I thought it would look cool if the strings were kinda random. Pretty good for my first time, no? Lol.

Ever been to a pow-wow?

What do you find interesting about Native American culture?

xoxo

Nicole :)