When Southern California native Nicole Laeno posted her first makeup tutorial, little did the then 11-year-old know she would go on to build her own social media community. Filmed in her bedroom with hot pink decor, a sign of 2010s tweendom, Laeno opted for a natural look with berry lips. She carefully shared each step one-by-one using her favorite drugstore products and encouraged viewers that they too could recreate the look at home.
As a competition dancer with many opportunities to practice her beauty routine, her tips were that of a seasoned pro. She used two different mascaras: one with a finer brush to get all the details, and the other, waterproof, for extra volume. After applying eyeshadow, she recommended “blending it with your ring finger because [...] it’s the most gentle.” With foundation, she relayed, “make sure that you blend it down your neck as well so you don’t have any weird lines.”
Laeno’s early videos wrestled between these two worlds: voice-overed beauty tutorials and her budding dance career in which she shared high-energy hip-hop and jazz combos. Around the same time she began posting on YouTube, she had a cameo dancing alongside Mackenzie Ziegler, in a viral Justice music video. However, it was not until her daily vlogs and sit-down GRWMs, that Laeno’s videos began to gain traction. The moment she started talking candidly in front of the camera about her life – boys, dating, friends, dance, and school – her bubbly charm and girl-next-door-personality immediately shined and fans stayed.
From documenting the first day of seventh grade, Sweet 16, high school football games and dance team practices, Laeno has built a steady and devoted following of 1.9 million followers on Instagram. Her community gets to know everyone in her world and she shares both the milestones and the seemingly mundane with the same unwavering optimism and excitement. Her level of openness and relatability has led to her being viewed more like a big sister or close friend. So when Laeno gained a wave of unexpected attention and opinions after posting an emotional video opening a decision letter from her dream school, her supporters were quick to offer words of encouragement when it did not turn out as she had hoped. Now an 18-year-old student at San Diego State University, Laeno is embracing a new chapter, one that she coined “Colie in College.”
Instagram and Rare Beauty invited Laeno and other content creators to an intimate chat with Selena Gomez where they discussed the latest beauty and online trends, how to embrace your natural beauty, and back-to-school tips. Afterwards, Teen Vogue had the chance to sit down with Laeno to chat about her beauty must-haves, mental health, and navigating life as a new college student, creator, and dancer.
Nicole Laeno: I think overall it's just so exciting. I feel like I was ready for a new chapter. Ending high school, I was ready to move on and start something new, and I feel like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be here at this college. So I've been really happy. Trying to meet my people and create that circle.
But also, just making sure to take care of myself too, because I was saying this on the other meeting, but I feel like it's really easy to get lost or lose your way with everything that's going on. I am trying to just also take time for myself and [am] spending a lot of alone time, which I actually really like but to also just enjoy you know because it's just all so exciting. So far so good.
NL: I mean it was honestly a feeling like no other, because I've done dancing before, but I haven't cheered in stadiums for school sports. So being on the field, getting to cheer on the football team and cheer towards the student section, it was a blast.
NL: Oh my gosh.
NL: Okay. Oh, okay. Five. Oh, that's good. Blush, lip gloss, mascara. Oh wait, this is kind of like all my products already. [Laughing] Brow gel and highlighter.
NL: It's pretty fast, pretty on the go just because I'm super busy throughout the day, so I just want something to give me that extra confidence and make me feel pretty, hopefully.
NL: I have been doing lots of more full-face game day beat makeup, which is super fun. I love playing with makeup and I have ever since I was little. So it takes me back because when I would do dance competitions, I would also do this full face of makeup. So it's a little flashback to when I was younger, and now, I get to do that again in college. It's super fun. I love my makeup routine. I spend an hour doing it and I take my time. I always feel so put together when I have the whole game day beat on.
NL: We have a whole presentation of how your game day makeup should look, and obviously they were emphasizing that everyone has different skin tones, so different products are going to work for different people. One tip that I learned was if you're using a water-based foundation to use a water-based primer.
I didn't know that before, but I was like, ‘Oh my God, that's great. Maybe that's why my foundation doesn't usually stay on as long as I want it to.' So I took that tip into consideration. Besides that, sharing products like, ‘Oh yeah, this is where I get my red lip. You should try it.’ So it's so cute and so girly and I love it.
NL: I mean, I've always prioritized balance. I like being a busy person. I feel like I thrive when I'm being productive. It's my favorite thing. So growing up, I've tried to always maintain a balance. These days, I'm going to focus some on school and homework. These days, I have practice, so let me go over my routines. Then these days, I need to do content and posts and all of that stuff.
So I think especially as a college student now, just figuring out what system works for me to manage my time the most efficiently. I feel like I've had my systems locked in for a little bit, so I've just been taking the stuff that I've had since high school to college now. Then just leveling up even more because there's more on my plate too. So I think also just taking it day by day because it can get really stressful if you let it. I think if you're just like, okay, I have time for this, I have time for that. Let's just focus on that for now.
NL: Like I said, I love my alone time. I'm a pretty social person, I would say. I like going out in the hall, talking to my floor mates and everything, but there are times where I just need to lock myself up in my dorm. Oh, I have a single by the way, which is…
NL: I know. I'm so grateful for it. Every single day, I pray that I'm like, thank you for this room. Sometimes I just lock myself in there, take a good nap, decompress, [and] watch a show on Netflix.
Our meal plan is really cool here because it's just a bunch of restaurants. So I'll just go outside and get an acai bowl real quick, bring it back to my dorm, watch some Netflix until I'm ready to work and get to the next thing that I have to do. So I think just finding those things in college to just detox. Again, it's so easy to get overwhelmed by stuff, but I definitely prioritize “me time.”
NL: I'll say it was really nice having the dance team already because we practiced in the summer. We were here early before everyone, so by the time that school actually started, I had a group of 30 girls already. So I would definitely say my advice for trying to put yourself out there and make new friends is definitely join those groups or clubs that you're interested in because the people that are in it are also interested in that too. So you can bond over that and get close.
Also, I think just being open-minded because there are so many new experiences and new people to meet here. I think that's something that I'm trying to challenge myself with right now is not locking myself in my dorm 24/7 and actually trying to go out and be social. There's been a bunch of tabling for their clubs, so they'll hand out flyers and they'll be like, "Oh, come to this meeting." So I'm going to try to put myself out there more and go to those so that I can meet more people and build community.
NL: Yes, a hundred percent. The powder blush in Happy. I have it on right now and I always get compliments. The dancing girls are always like, 'Girl, you're always so sparkly.' I'm like, ‘It’s Rare Beauty blush.’
