Fall must-have list

Apparently the hardest part of the moving (see previous post) is over and I’m currently somewhat caught in between two lives – the one I had in Greece and the one I will have in this new place where I’m headed in less than two weeks. Having given up my flat in Athens I’m now chilling out at a hospitable home of my friends, with my bags stashed in every corner of the room. In the meantime September came to an end but I still made but a few (very few) seasonal purchases. What can you do, moving sometimes involves unexpected expenses plus I already have too much to ship and carry with me as it is, so it only makes sense to do all the shopping in the new place. Also, I’m moving into a very different climate and wardrobe will have to be adjusted accordingly. Either way I have a pretty good idea regarding the things I certainly cannot do without this season – some of them I already own, others are to be obtained “ as soon as.”

1. Leather biker jacket

Looks like the studded black leather jacket which I got two years ago at Zara was a very smart investment indeed. Surely I wouldn’t mind having this one from Balmain as well, but, apart from being unaffordable to me, it’s also a bit too flashy while mine suits any occasion and goes with everything.

2. Mustard Yellow

Completely in love with mustard yellow this fall. And since I don’t own a single piece in this color yet, I need a splash of this in my life ASAP! A sweater or a cardigan for starters, probably tights too and maybe even a bag.

3. Leather pants

A definite must-have for a sleek rock-chick look that's so IN this season and has been a favorite of mine for years. Of course a pair of genuine leather pants of good quality (any other kind would inevitably stretch in all the wrong places and fast) would be pricy, but lucky for me H&M made a perfect alternative this fall - pants/treggings of faux leather with black elastane stripes running down the outer sides of legs. I wasted no time in getting my pair – I sense that H&M would quickly run out of them, at least in the popular sizes.

4. Long-sleeve shirts

Certainly shirts never go out of fashion, but with the whole androgyny trend now growing stronger every day, they really took center stage. To such an extent that even I, who never seemed to like myself in shirts before, gave in and added a denim number to my wardrobe still back in spring, and most recently a semi-silk champagne colored shirt that I snatched at Zara’s summer sale.

5. Kohl & Eyeliner

Sixties look is making a major comeback right now and what says “sixities” better than generously lined eyes and super long eyelashes? I’ve been an eyeliner fan for a while now, and with black kohl and black feltpen-eyeliner lying ready in my makeup bag, I’m anxious to experiment with even bolder lines this fall – at least for my evening look.

6. Lace boots

When moving to Greece I didn’t bother bringing more than a single pair of boots with me – it may have been a bit of an oversight, but I was already paying a lot for extra kilos in my luggage, and shoes are the heaviest part of the whole thing. So now that I’m going to live in a climate where boots are not just a fashion statement but also a necessity, I’m simply lusting over a pair of boots such as these. It’s practically urgent!

7. Boyfriend Jeans

I’ve been wearing ONLY skinny jeans for the past few years, always feeling that any other kind of pants made me look big. Well, I think now I’m finally ready to try on a grungier look, inspired by fall collections of Paul Smith and DSquared. Plus boyfriend jeans are a key element for cool urban layering that I’m so into this season.

8. Dramatic nail polish

The trend for bright, statement nails is clearly here to stay, however the neon shades that were so hot last spring/summer are now giving way to darker, deeper, more dramatic colors. Which means it’s time to expand my nail polish collection. Black appears to be the hit of the season, but I find it way too goth – dark blue, green and red is the way to go for me.

She’s a rainbow

Dying my hair is seriously on my agenda these days – it’s right about time to refresh the color and make those outgrown contrasting roots disappear. Nothing extraordinary is planned – just my regular vivid ginger red. Still I can’t help wishing for something much more crazy – getting some rainbow colors in my hair just like all those girls here and others like them. It’s just feels so alluring and daring to make such a statement only with your hair! I’m totally lusting over the colorfully highlighted ends – like the ones on Abbey Lee Kershaw above. I know of course that my hair is weak enough as it is, and any drastic experiments may properly kill it, but maybe I could get a clip-on highlight in blue at least?

But while I’m still pondering over how far can I go about making my rainbow hair obsession a reality, I decided to enquire – who is to blame for this gorgeously mad hair trend? Well, there sure is more than one guilty party…

For starters, this girl here – Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead in “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World,” 2010)

Though this one came even earlier – much earlier, back in 2004. However no one, but a few punks, dared to follow the way of Clementine (Kate Winslet’s in “Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind”) at the time. Still, for me, she’ll always remain the queen of rainbow hair…

Then there is of course Katy Perry with her latest stunner wigs (great option for those who want to try the look without the risk)

And … naturally, Lady Gaga – world’s main fashion scapegoat at the moment – lots of weird stuff that people wear can be easily blamed on her. Her scull has probably seen more wigs by now then an average wig store, so no wonder she caught the color wave quite promptly.

And let’s not forget gorgeous model Charlotte Free – her candy locks must have sent many a blonde (or wannabe blonde) running to a colorist. And no wonder – she looks just so sweet, cool and simply adorable!

Also, there was this Meadham Kirchhoff’s fashion show last September – it surely helped kickstart the rainbow!

As well as this Vogue Paris editorial starring Eniko Mihalik last October…

And this – “Washed Up” editorial by Aitken Jolly for b Magazine – is just one of many recent takes on the rainbow girl.

Tattoo mania

I got an idea to get a tattoo quite a long time ago when I interviewed a tattoo and piercing artist from the most cult tattoo studio in my native Kyiv. Since then I still occasionally thought of it it but it always remained an idea. I know that lots of people get tattoos without giving it that much thought, but clearly I'm not one of them. But I guess I'm now going through some kind of critical age period when I feel like doing some radical changes to my style. It's not that I really think it's going to change my personality in any way - it's more like something I dare myself to do. I also am not sure what the tattoo is going to be. So I decided to first look at tattooed celebrities for tips.

I find FREJA's tattoo collection very edgy and not too gaudy at the same time - well done! My favorite is wrist tattoo though - gun is also cool, but it brings to mind violence and murder - don't think I'd want this on my body.

Looking at GISELE and KATE I'm really warming up to the idea of wrist tattoos. It's as subtle as it gets, plus we allways wear stuff around our wrists, sometimes permanently, so a tattoo would make total sense.

Cryptic and not so cryptic messages on body - in English and other languages - seems like a popular tattoo trend lately. ANGELINA's tattoos are quite famous already, while EVAN RACHEL WOOD follows up with a more elegant inscription. Yet, I'm not sure I can think of any statement I want to put on my body. Of course I have some favorite sayings and quotes, yet, what if I get tired of it later? Not sure I want to turn my body into a message board - that's all...

I really love RIHANNA's tattoo - the whole design and the positioning of it. I also like the stars as design element in general. Of course her tattoo is well suited only for a girl with a short haircut like hers, but could also work if located elsewhere on the body.

These are interesting examples but definitely a No. I don't even like wearing tees with prints depicting some other girls - I want people to look at my face, not theirs - let alone engrave them on my upper arms like AMY. And TILA's heart tattoo is just cheese and tacky.

On another note, what kind of tattoo design do I prefer myself? Well, apart from aforementioned stars, I'm really fascinated with butterflies. But I can't say that I'm a big fan of butterflies per se - nope, only as a tattoo design idea. Some of those below could work.

Now, CATS are quite another story. They are my favorite pets and favorite animals. I used to have cat and I'd love one again. I just find them adorable, smart, graceful, mysterious and very individualistic - those are all my favorite qualities. They are also other reasons why cats are awesome - but cat lovers already know, and non-cat lovers wouldn't understand :P Either way, a cat could be a good idea, and will have a meaning to it too since I believe myself to be a bit of a cat. Below is a compilation of cat tattoos I've liked best. Still not entirely sure which one I'd pick. Perhaps any of you have any experience with tattoos? I'd be glad for any peice of advice!

Paint It Rouge: a red lipstick experiment

I haven't used a lipstick for quite some years now. Instead I've been wearing all sorts of lip gloss - from pearly to glossy and semi-transparent - and whenever I tried a lipstick on, I felt that it looked too harsh on me - almost vulgar. But we grow up, our tastes change and this season I got swept away by the RED lipstick trend.

Of course, it's a classic, and never really went out of fashion, but suddenly I started seeing it everywhere - from catwalk shows to red carpets, so I decided I simply must get a red one myself - even though it felt (and still feels) quite dashing and experimental to me. So I went and got this "Lady Danger" matte lipstick from MAC - it's my first experience with MAC cosmetics in fact (there were no MAC stores in Kyiv, Ukraine where I lived until recently) and I was totally pleased with its quality. As for my red lip EXPERIMENT - I believe it was successful! I'm still getting used to my red-lipped look but already loving it. I think it was just what I needed to spice up my makeup style.

Below I enclose a number of celebrity and catwalk show pics for more Rouge inspiration...

Julianne Moore

Bonnie Wright

Rihanna

Penelope Cruz

Marc by Marc Jacobs

Gucci

STYLE OBSESSION: Bold nail polish colors

Bold and striking NAIL POLISH colors have been trending over the last few seasons, and they finally got to me too. I want my nails bright and colorful - no more neutral and transparent polishes for me! Color-blocking will be all the rage this summer, and dressing head to foot in blazing colors requires a certain mood and disposition, but you can always discreetly color-block with your nails.

This below is my current nail polish collection - I plan to add another blue tint to it - maybe electric or metallic, and probably green too - even though I never wear green and never was a fan of it before.

Below I've included my favorite bold nail colors of today:

ORANGE

As worn by me (the latest addition to my polish collection), Fergie and Christina Milian

YELLOW

As worn by Rihanna, Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry

BLUE

As worn by, once again, Katy Perry (our rainbow girl) and Jessica Simpson

GREEN

As worn by Anna Lynne McCord

My top ten famous redheads

When red hair was officially declared the new hot trend this year I couldn't be happier! After all, red is my own favourite hair color, and while I've been dying it chestnut brown over the last half a year or so, time has come to go back to truly bright ginger red!

In the meantime, I, following the example of various online fashion mags that have been lately posting lots of celebrity redhead lists, decided to make my own top ten! Note, that I picked not the gals who dyed their hair just to follow the trend, but natural redheads, or at least those who look their best in red and wear it most of the time.

1. CHRISTINA HENDRICKS

It's almost surprising that such a beauty has been hidden from our eyes for so long - she was already 32 when a sharp-eyed casting director picked her for the leading part in "Mad Men" and turned her into a star almost overnight. A naturally buxom, curvy lady which stands out among the standard starved-looking celebrities is something Hollywood needed all along.

2. JULIANNE MOORE

I believe her to be the pride of the modern redhead tribe. So gorgeous at 50!? I realize there probably is some plastic surgery involved but she still looks absolutely natural - something not many celebrities are able to pull off at her age.

3. EMMA STONE

I loved her in "Superbad," "Zombieland," "Easy A" and can't wait to see her newest projects. She's beautiful, talented, badass and natural ginger. I believe it's a winning combination!

4. EVAN RACHEL WOOD

I didn't think much of Evan Rachel when I first laid eyes on her - there was nothing much striking about her appearance. Then I saw her in "Wrestler" and "Whatever Works" - she did well both in drama and comedy. And then she appeared in "True Blood" playing vampire queen (the photo is a screenshot from her first episode in the show) - I was conquered!

5. LAUREN AMBROSE

In fact I mostly know Lauren by her role in the somewhat morbid TV-drama "Six Feet Under." But after watching five seasons of the show back to back, including its totally buzzkill finale, I came to quite admire this redhead beauty and talented actress.

6. DEBORAH ANN WOLL

That's another "True Blood" hottie for you - what can I do, they have several in there! The part of the innocent virgin-turned-vampiress was clearly the breakout for Deborah and she already has several big new projects coming up - let's she what else she's capable of...

7. COCO ROCHA

Top popular model and designer muse, Coco switches between black and red from time to time, but, needless to say, I prefer the latter look. After all, if you look great in red - you will usually look duller in other colors. Any faithful redhead wood agree :)

8. FLORENCE WELCH

I admire Florence's voice, her music and her hair. I don't always agree with her personal style, but no big deal - such hair color makes everything better!

9. GILLIAN ANDERSON

It may seem a bit like "a blast from the past" but so what? I spent a part of my childhood watching "X-Files" like an addict - it was a part of my world. And even though Gillian's career doesn't seem to be going as well as she had hoped after the show ended, I will always remember Scully - the hot and tough FBI lady.

10. MARILYN MONROE

And, finally, a bit of classics. This screen icon has spent most of her life in the spotlight as a platinum blonde, continuously bleaching her ginger locks. It did help make her into a star, yet you can't escape your nature - even a little honey in her hair turns Marilyn into a blooming flower.