Behind The Scenes - Grand Opening

On Thursday night I attended the grand opening event for Behind The Scenes Makeup Academy in Hoboken.  I've known the owner, Juliette Laracuente, for years.  She was my makeup artist and hair stylist for all of the photo shoots that I did when I was working on my modeling portfolio.  She has been in the industry for years as a successful celebrity makeup artist and stylist and having her own makeup academy is a dream come true! 

Jules- Owner 

There was complimentary food and drinks plus a DJ all night.  The best and most surprising part was that they were filming the entire event.  As soon as I walked in I had to fill out a release form and get my photo taken because she is in the process of filming her own reality show for Bravo called Jersey Gems!  How amazing?!  It might be possible that I will be shown on the show from this event.  Her academy is located in the Monroe Arts Center in Hoboken in the same building and on the same floor as Glam Fairy.  Glam Fairy is a show on Style Network and I blogged about it before when I went to their season premiere event. 

I got to meet a fellow Jersey blogger and jewelry boutique owner Erica, from Lola Blue, the Closet. She was so sweet and came up to me to let me know that she follows my blog and instagram.  She was the second girl who said that to me that night.  It's so crazy because more girls have been recognizing me lately.  Such a great feeling! 

Of course I got a mini photo shoot in :)

Wearing Cotton On Skirt/ Forever21 Shirt/ Aldo Bag/ JLO Heels 

With photographer Carlos Peralta.  Love his work! I have done a bunch of shoots with him.  He will be one of the photographers at BTS. 

With Xio, Jule's sister. 

Anthony Roberts from Jerseylicious stopped by too.

With the BTS models.  It's so funny how short I am :) 

It was a really great turnout and I had a good time.  I love seeing the people around me succeed.  It's very motivating and very inspiring!  Make sure to check out all of the courses offered at

  Behind The Scenes! 

<3 

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Maxi Love

I went to an event last night that I will be posting on here soon so look out for those pics :) It's been such a crazy week for me hence the lack of outfit posts on here.  Tonight I am going out to celebrate my big win in the Cotton contest with my friends.  I am leaving in 6 days and I have major anxiety because still no outfits lol Packing for this trip is so stressful! 

Maxi Dress: C/O Gypsy Warrior/ Jacket: H&M/ Booties: Steve Madden/ Sunnies: Target

I got a little care package in the mail from one of my favorite boutiques in Jersey, Gypsy Warrior.  They have a great mix of edgy/boho pieces which I really love.  They officially have their own brand of clothes now and this maxi dress is part of their collection.  I was so excited when I got to check out their look book because I have seen how far this boutique has come since they first opened up just a little over a year ago.  It's amazing! 

I've got so much love for all things maxi.  I remember when I was afraid to wear them because I am so short, but now I can't get enough!  I love pairing them with moto jackets during the colder months and it just adds an edginess that I really like.  You've all probably realized how much I obsess over this combo! I have no problem wearing some of the same pieces in different ways. It's all about working with what you have! This is a chiffon dress with a slip underneath and a little sexy side slit.  I really love the aztec print too.  I will definitely be wearing this dress again in a different way when the warmer weather hits!  Look out for the other pieces from Gypsy Warrior that I will be styling on here soon.  

Not sure if you can tell or not in the pics but I got a hair cut and put layers back in.  I feel a little lighter if that makes sense and my hair is so much healthier now.  I hadn't gotten a cut in a year!

 I hope that you all have an amazing weekend <3 

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COMFORT

I decided to take these pics last minute yesterday.  I haven't done a night time shoot in awhile so I thought it would be a nice change. I wanted something that was a little relaxed and sporty chic.

Sweatshirt: H&M/ Boyfriend Jeans: H&M (Similar) (Similar)/ Clutch: Aldo (Similar)/ Shoes: JLO (Gifted)

Nothing says comfort like boyfriend jeans!  I just picked up this pair from H&M for $34.95. Not bad at all.  I have another pair of BF jeans but these are so much better and more flattering in my opinion.  I love that they're cuffed at the bottom and are great to pair with heels.  Sometimes you just need to put the skinny jeans away and wear bottoms with a more relaxed fit!  I am all for it.
I absolutely love the details on this sweatshirt.  It's such a simple outfit but the stones really help dress up the whole look. It is all about the details!

On another note, I am finally getting a haircut tomorrow!  I can't lie, part of me is tempted to just chop it all off like I did 2 years ago, but I don't think I am ready to part with my long hair again just yet.  But a trim is definitely needed.  It's been too long!  I hope you're all enjoying the day so far and make sure you read yesterday's post to see everything that I have coming up!

XO

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Monday Selfie

Happy Monday loves!  Over the weekend I was trying to master the self timer on my Canon and this was the only good pic that I got.  I am getting better at the close ups, but I still need to perfect the full body shots.  It's been really cold all weekend and my mom was away so I had no one to take outfit pics for me.  I kind of took advantage of the cold and made it a low key weekend so I could catch up on some rest at home.  This is obviously not a full outfit post, but there's a few things I wanted to share with you :)

Jacket: Mandee/ Scarf: C/O Mod4rnTrend

I've been really focused on my trip to Miami.  I leave next Thursday already!  I still have no idea what I am going to wear to the show or during my stay.  I really want something that will be a good representation of North East style.  If you have any suggestions I would love to hear it!

So here's some things that I have coming up for you to look out for:

Speaking of North East style, as part of my participation in the contest I get to send Cotton some fashion/style photos that inspire me that I feel show off cotton style in my region.  Look out for that on their Pinterest coming soon! 

I am hosting my second Posh party on PoshMark this Wednesday the 20th at 7PM PST.  The theme is Street Style, so come and share your listings and check out my closet and favorite finds on the app.  I recently hit over 100K followers which is really amazing!

I have an interview/feature with the fashion app Snapette coming soon!  They have already featured me as a suggested user to follow on the app and they will be posting up my interview on their site. This is a free iPhone app where you can share your most recent shopping finds while you are shopping!  I will explain more when I post the feature on my blog.

I will be hosting my FIRST meet and greet for my blog and instagram followers sometime in March at the Short Hills Mall in New Jersey. SO EXCITED! As soon as I get back from Miami, I will be planning out all the details and I will let you all know about it.  I hope to meet some of you! 

I have a lot planned during my trip to Miami including blog posts and video footage of my experience so that I can share it with all of you!  I posted a Thank You video on my youtube that I would love for you all to check out. 

Also, follow me on Vine!  It's a free app where you can post 6 second video clips.  It's actually kind of cool and fun to try and get creative within 6 seconds.  I already have a bunch of videos that I would love for you to see ;) My username is Naty Michele. 

I am going to try my best to get up as many outfits as I can before I leave next week.  I have an event, birthday party, baby shower, and celebration with my friends for my win ALL before I leave.  Writing about it already makes me tired lol and I have some serious shopping to do :( 

So that's basically it for today's post.  I just wanted to share all of this with you!

<3 

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Casual Edge

I am seriously in love with this gorgeous sunny day!  I know it's not spring yet but this weather has been teasing me the past few days.  I've been doing a lot of color lately so today I decided to bring it back to all black and do something really casual & edgy.

Dress & Bag: H&M/ Jacket: N/A (Old)/ Sneaker Wedges: C/O FashionQueensCloset

 Shades: C/O JimmySwagg

When I go to Miami, I will get to meet one of my favorite bloggers Sincerely Jules.  She has the whole casual cool thing on lock and I've always been inspired to wear dresses with sneaker wedges because of her.  I admit that at first I wasn't sure how I felt about the combo, but as time has passed it's really grown on me.  Since this is just a plain casual dress I thought it would work best for me.  I'm wearing a really old jacket that I have had since college!  I'm actually kind of surprised that it's still in such good condition. It's always been one of my favorites and I have never been able to part with it. These spiked sneaker wedges are from FashionQueensCloset and they're actually on sale right now! They're really comfortable and the spike details are perfect to add some edge to your look. 

I really love switching up my looks and trying out new things.  It's not fun when you look the same every day.  I always try my best to show my versatility when it comes to my personal style.  It's so important to stay inspired :) 

XO

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Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day beauties! I just wanted to do a quick post to spread a little love and show my outfit of the day.  We've been blessed with another beautiful day!

Top: TJ Maxx/ Blazer & Jeans: Forever21 (similar blazer/similar)/ Shoes: Prabal Gurung For Target/ Necklace: H&M 

I am going to dinner tonight with two of my friends and wanted something cute and casual.  I have been dying to wear these shoes from Prabal Gurung's collection with Target.  They're amazing!  I quickly put this look together and love how it turned out with the pink top and white blazer.  I think it's a perfect Valentine's Day outfit for a fun girls night out! The shoes really pop and make a statement with this outfit.  I can't wait to bring these babies with me to Miami! I've actually been wearing this all day as I have been doing my Valentine's Day errands, picking up flowers and candy for my family.  I also of course went to visit my dad at the cemetery and bring him roses like I always do since he passed.  I hope that all of you enjoy this day with your loved ones!

<3


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It's A Beautiful Day

My loves! It's a beautiful day and I have some amazing news!  Read through the post to find out what it is! But first up, today's look. 

Dress: C/O ShopExcessBaggage/ Jacket: H&M/ Booties: Steve Madden/ Hat: Nasty Gal

Stockings: Victoria's Secret/ Sunnies: Target/ Watch: Michael Kors 

I got this dress from Excess Baggage when I did their look book shoot in LA.  It's one of those pieces that looks super long on the hanger but when you put it on it forms to your body.  Oversized/loose fitted pieces are the best because they're so comfortable to wear. At least that's how I feel about them.  I love the cut outs on the shoulders too.  

When thinking of ways to style this, I really wanted to add a little edginess to this casual look.  I'm obviously obsessed with my faux leather jacket and these booties so I knew they would be the perfect pieces to pair with this.  I didn't want to take away from the shoulder cutouts so instead I'm using my jacket as an accessory. It's in the 40s today which is actually a treat compared to the last couple of days when we experienced freezing temperatures.  Feeling some warmth from the sun felt really nice.  I haven't worn this hat in awhile.  Every time I do I feel like I belong at the rodeo lol. I love it! 

So now for my wonderful news... 

I AM AN OFFICIAL WINNER IN COTTON'S ROAD TO THE RUNWAY CONTEST!! 

I leave on February 28th to Miami where I will be attending Cotton's Runway Show and representing my North East Region.  I am so excited and truly blessed to have made it this far!  I honestly am still speechless and cannot believe this is happening for me.  I entered this contest on a whim and after an intense month of voting, I am the winner for my region.  Thank you all so much for your support, your votes and your encouraging words.  It means so much to me! I cannot wait to share this experience with all of you!! I will be posting a Thank You video on my youtube soon!

<3 

P.S. ShopExcessBaggage is having a 30% sale on their site till the end of the month! Just enter code LOVE30 at checkout!

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