Hola!

Have you been to Folklorama yet?  Week one is just about done (ends tomorrow!), with week two kicking off this Sunday. I’ve been having a blast visiting the different pavilions around the city and best of all, recreating looks inspired by each country.

First up was the German pavilion, located at the German Society of Winnipeg (121 Charles St.), which ended up being much different than I thought it would be.  Yes, they had a band and traditional clothes, but the dancers grooved to modern day German music with a techno beat (playlist must-have: “Du Hast Die Haare Schön – Tim Toupet” – my friend Shazamed it). Best of all, this pavilion featured an outdoor beer tent with live entertainment, so you could grab a pretzel and a Warsteiner and hang out for the night (granted if it’s not raining, which it was Wednesday night).

German beauty is all about looking natural.  They do focus highly on skincare and go pretty subtle for the makeup. Think clean skin, mascara (they apparently love playing up their lashes if they do want to make a statement with the makeup), a natural look, and some blushed cheeks.

For this look, I went with German-brand Dr. Hauschka’s foundation, which conceals minor blemishes, shadows and areas of redness. The foundation combines authentic shades with airy textures and pampers your skin with high-quality plant oils, waxes and medicinal plant extracts (they love organic products!).  For the eyes, I grabbed the Urban Decay Naked palette and put Sin on the lids (a shimmering pink) with Buck (a matte brown) in the crease.  I loaded up with mascara using Make Up For Ever Smoky Stretch mascara with CoverGirl The SuperSizer over top.  For the lips, I used Rimmel London Kate Moss Nude lipstick in 42 for a natural pout.

Since both my friend and I are Polish, naturally we hit up the Warsaw-Poland pavilion at the Glenwood Community Centre (27 Overton Street).  Unfortunately they were out of perogies by the time we got there, but the quality of the show more than made up for it.

Fun fact, Poland is home to many cosmetics and beauty brands.  You may have heard of someone named Max Factor?  Born as Maksymilian Faktorowicz in Lodz, Poland, Max Factor was one of the first companies to produce everyday-wear foundation and was known for creating the signature looks of the era’s most famous icons such as Ava Gardner, Jean Harlow and Marlene Dietrich.  Another Polish beauty entrepreneur, Helena Rubinstein, the founder of Helena Rubinstein Incorporated cosmetics company, made her one of the world’s most richest women.  The company was eventually sold to Colgate Palmolive, and is now owned by L’Oréal.

Poland still remains at the forefront of the cosmetic industry in Europe.  Some of my favourite Polish beauty brands are Inglot and Organique, which made its Canadian debut last year.

The night before took us to Spain, where the Sol de España dance group captivated the audience with the clicking of castanets and rhythmic footwork as their spirited performance of the Spanish Flamenco. I was hoping there would be some salsa and tango, but unfortunately it didn’t appear that there were any male dancers in the troupe.

Knowing that we were going to visit this pavilion, located at the Casa do Minho Portuguese Centre(1080 Wall Street), I obviously had to rock makeup to match.

This one was a no brainer.  Spanish makeup is all about sexy.  I pulled my hair back into a high bun and let my eyes and lips do the talking.

Since the focal part was a hot-red lip, I chose to play down the eyes, but still keep it sexy.  I first applied Maybelline’s Eye Studio Color Tattoo Leather in Vintage Plum, then with a matte purple from the L’Oreal Paris La Palette Nude 02, I went over that on the lid area and smoked it into the crease.  I skipped the liner and applied a couple coats of mascara and some falsies for intensity. For the lips, I lined them first with Annabelle’s Stay Sharp Lip Liner in Glam Red, then went over that with NYX High Voltage Lipstick in Rock Star. To finish up the face, I carved out my cheekbones with bronzer from the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit and went natural with the blush using NARS Madly.

To finish up the look, I put on gold dangly earrings and a modern take on a Spanish outfit, a black long-sleeved croptop, leather leggings, and a red plaid button-down tied around my waist.

Last up on the hit-list was my favourite pavilion so far, the UK.  I travelled to the UK last year and it was my favourite place that I visited during my Europe trip, so I knew that I would enjoy this one.

This pavilion, located at the Punjab Cultural Centre (1770 King Edward Street) featured amazing food (much better quality than the other pavilions I have been to), a 007 martini bar, a tea room (with the most amazing imperial cookies from Stella’s), tons of venders and tons of things to see.  I believe there is constant entertainment throughout the night (my boyfriend and I were pulled on stage for some UK trivia – I lost), and best of all, they have sheep and puppies in the back.  Yes, my friends, live animals.  As far as I’m concerned, if you have animals at your pavilion, that’s a gold star from me.  If you haven’t visited the UK pavilion yet, it’s a must-see (but go to the earlier shows if you want to see the animals!).

Which pavilions have you been to?  What are on your hit list?

Also, don’t forget to enter my Freshii giveaway!

Like what you read? check out these related posts:

• #SeeItAll: Folklorama Greek and Korean pavilions + a Greek-inspired look 
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• Get glam! Glam Glow Mud Masks
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Opa!

One of my favourite events every year here in Winnipeg is Folklorama. The annual event, which is the largest and longest-running multicultural festival of its kind in the world, runs for two weeks every August here in Manitoba’s capital (this year it runs August 2-15, 2015). Now in its 46th year, the festival, which celebrates life and culture with world-class entertainment, is home to 43 pavilions, spread across the city of Winnipeg and ranges from French Canadian to German to Ethiopia, and so much more.

Each pavilion is held three times a night (shows are at 6:45 p.m., 8:15 p.m. and 9:45 p.m., with some pavilions offering additional or late-night showings) and celebrates the culture of each country.  There’s live entertainment, food and drink, and a cultural display so you can really immerse yourself in what each country has to offer (you can also pick up a few souvenirs along the way).

I’ve been to the event in the past, but this year I wanted to really get in the spirit, so I’ll be sharing some beauty posts inspired by some of the pavilions over the next week and a bit.  Since the festival is very much about the traditional costumes from each culture, I thought this would be a perfect fit on how to get inspired by the beauty of each pavilion (even if you can’t make the shows).

First on our list of countries to visit was the Greek pavilion, held at the St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church at 2255 Grant Avenue.  I’ve never been to Greece, but it’s definitely on my bucket list due to the beautiful Mediterranean coast, the gorgeous architecture, and let’s not forget the blue sea. Although I’m not one to usually tie my hair up, I had to go with the Grecian goddess updo, a braid with a ribbon woven through, pulled back into a chignon.  I let a tendril loose around my face to keep it more on the casual side and pulled at it a bit to loosen it up and create that messy effect.

For the makeup, I went with a matte foundation, bronzer to contour and a nude lip.  The real focus was on the eyes.  I was inspired by a Greek sunset (plus their affinity for gold) and chose to go with a yellow gold on the lids and a copper in the crease.  I finished up the top part with a bold black wing liner and lots of mascara for full lashes, and then on the bottom I grabbed Marc Jacobs Beauty Highlander Gel Crayon in Peridot, a seafoam green, to pay tribute to the beautiful Mediterranean sea along the lower lash line.

For my outfit, I kept it casual with white skinny jeans, strappy wedges (a more modern take on a gladiator sandal) and a flowy black tank with gold jewelry.

The show was a quick one, as it featured a number of male and female dancers, first in traditional clothes, and then in modern “what you think of when you picture Greece” clothes (aka white with gold details). They also called up a few members from the audience for their broom dance.

My favourite part was definitely the food.  We munched on gyros, spanakopita, tzatziki, and Greek salad and washed it all down with a cocktail made with ouzo.

After Greece, we headed east to Korea, located at J.B. Mitchell School (1720 John Brebeuf Pl.).  Korea wasn’t on my list of shows that were must-sees, but since they are in close proximity of one another, we figured that we may as well check it out.  I’m so glad we did because this show was probably one of the best performances I have been to at Folklorama (based on previous years).  We did get some food (kimchi, noodles and sushi), but the entertainment was awesome.  The best part was definitely the taekwondo performance, which made me nervous to watch, but was so different from anything I have been to during the festival.

There was a cultural display, but my favourite part were the Korean beauty products that were fun to look at. The great things about these pavilions is that they bring in items from each country that can only be found at the show.  If you are into Asian makeup, this one is a must.  Oh, and also if you like martial arts too ;).

The Greek and Korean pavilions both run until this Saturday, after which week two kicks off with new pavilions.  Check out folklorama.ca for showtimes and more information.

Have you been to Folklorama? What are some must-see pavilions?

Also, don’t forget to enter my Freshii and Menchie’s giveaways.

What do you think of when you think of Spain? For me it’s the colour red, sangria, and lots of twirly dresses!

Although I’ve never been to the country (Barcelona is next on my hit list), Spain just seems like such a romantic country. Our next stops at Folklorama just had to be two spanish pavilions, Pabellon de Espana at the St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church and the Argentina “Tango” Pavilion at the Caboto Centre.

Both pavilions were very dance-centric and had the most amazing costumes. Because of this, I knew I had to wear a flowy dress to get that flamenco flair. I decided to sport this black Free People dress that is somewhat sheer (I felt like it would be most appropriate for two of Folklorama’s sexiest pavilions). I paired the dress with my pink tassle necklace from Baublebar and black scrappy sandals from Dolce Vita.

Spain’s pavilion was very cultural, whereas Argentina’s pavilion was very sexy.  They actually flew in the dancers from Argentina for this pavilion and it ended up being one of my favourites from the festival so far. I would definitely recommend checking this one out.

For the makeup, I obviously had to wear red lipstick (NARS Lip Pencil in Cruella). I paired my red lip with a subtle black cat eye and a matte foundation. For the hair, I pulled it back into a high bun.

Both of these pavilions are quite close to each other (they housed the Greek and Italian ones last week as well), and if you love Spanish culture and language, then definitely make a night of them!

Have you been to the Spanish and Argentina Tango pavilions at Folklorama?

Like what you read? check out these related posts:

• #WovenTogether: Mariachi madness at the Mexican pavilion at Folklorama = a Latina-inspired look
• #WovenTogether: Natural beauty at the Israeli pavilion at Folklorama
• #SeeItAll: Colour + culture at the Cuban pavilion at Folklorama
• Raindrops on roses… Too Faced A Few of my Favourite Things set