A Tribute to Selena

About two weeks ago, I attended a very fun and special event to celebrate the birthday of my queen Selena Quintanilla. The event was called Selena Por Siempre and it was hosted at DROM, which is located in the lower east side. Apparently this is an event held every year around Selena's birthday, however, I had just found out about it a month before. I was really excited when I came across the event on Facebook because I've always looked for Selena themed events and this one was great. 

I was even more excited when I found out people actually went all out and dressed up for it. And of course, as you guys know, I never pass an opportunity to dress up or to celebrate Selena. So, after taking some time to think about it, I decided I would recreate the iconic red outfit she wore at some of her concerts. 

So, if you want to know how I made the whole look come to life and hear about the event, keep scrolling! Enjoy! 

The Costume

The outfit itself was pretty simple to recreate. What you will need are:

- red leggings or pants 

- a red bra: I would recommend a balconette style bra because it has a nice shape. I would also make sure it has textured fabric to really resemble Selena's.

- red belt

- red floral applique or patches

- rhinestone stickers

- big rhinestone earrings

- red shoes (heels or flats - whatever you prefer)

Leggings: Forever 21 - ($3.90)
Bra: H&M - ($12.99)
Belt: Rainbow - ($2.99)
Flower Applique: Amazon - ($9.99)
Rhinestones: Michael's - ($2.49)
Earrings: Forever 21 - ($6.90)

Making Selena's brassiere was pretty simple. The bra I found from H&M was already textured with flower embroidery and that alone was a great base. 

I also found this really great floral applique on Amazon that was almost identical to the one Selena used in hers and it was a perfect because I really wanted to pay attention to all the details. Because the flowers came sewn onto a piece of mesh, I had to be a little careful when cutting them out into separate pieces. I then laid them out onto the bra and arranged them to look as similar as I could to the original one and used fabric glue to stick them on.

Finally, I added the rhinestone stickers to the centers of the flowers embroidered in the bra to add some more sparkle. It also looked great with the rhinestones from the applique. 

The final outcome!

The Makeup

In terms of makeup, I did my best to recreate her look from the inspiration picture even though it wasn't too clear. I ended up doing a smokey grayish brown eyeshadow look. I also added her signature winged liner and of course red lipstick in true Selena form. These were the products I used. 

Eyes
Eyeshadow: Sonia Kashuk Knockout Palette & Naked Smokey Eye Palette
Primer: Urban Decay Primer Potion
Eyelashes: L'Oreal Lash Paradise
Eyeliner: Kat Von D Tattoo Liner
Eyebrows: Anastasia Brow Pomade (soft brown)

Face
Primer: Wet n Wild Photo Focus Matte Primer
Green Color Corrector: Elf Color Correcting Stick
Apricot Color Corrector: Maybelline Master Camo Color Correcting Pen
Concealer: Maybelline Instant Age Rewind
Foundation: Fenty Beauty (Shade 220)
Powder: Maybelline Fit Me Finishing Powder (light medium)

Cheeks & Lips
Bronzer & Blush: Elf Contouring Blush and Bronzer Powder (Fiji Matte)
Highlighter: Smashbox Photostrip Highlighting Palette
Lipstick: Mac x Selena (Como la Flor)

The Final Look!

As for the hair, I just did tight curls that I brushed out in order to get the crimped hair look. Then, I put it up in a high half ponytail and that was that :)

The Event

The event itself was really fun. As soon you walked in there was an altar made for Selena with photos, flowers, and her favorite things like Doritos, pizza, and Coca Cola. There were also index cards where fans could write a special message and stick it to the wall behind the altar.

There were actually several people dressed up as Selena at the event and those who weren't in costume were rocking Selena t-shirts. There were also a few performers and DJs that of course sang and played Selena's music. There was one group in particular though that I absolutely loved. It was an all girl mariachi group called Flor de Toloache. They also performed a few Selena songs and some of their own music. They were all super talented and had beautiful voices. I would highly recommend listening to them.

Overall the vibe was great and it was so cool to see so many Selena fans gathered all at once to celebrate her life and legacy #AnythingForSelenas. 

Flor de Toloache :)

If you are a fellow Selena Quintanilla fan, I think you would enjoy going to this event! 

I hope you enjoyed this post and make sure to tag me on Instagram (@diaryofanewyorkgal) if you end up recreating this look either for Halloween or any other Selena related event!

See you on my next post!

-xoxo, Diana