Is a woman incomplete without her bag? LOOKBOOK

At the beginning a fact about me: I barely leave my house without a handbag (or a backpack). I have this little obsession that I must carry something with me and that it must take several things with me ALWAYS.  These stuff include my phone and wallet  - in case of emergency they can save my life or... at least help identification and/or contact someone of my close people. Ok pretty dramatic but I’m not a pessimist and I don’t have anxiety. I’m just danger aware. Anyway, handbags! 

Do you also have that feeling that a woman can’t be fully dressed when she doesn’t have her handbag? 

Personally, I feel odd and somehow like I have forgotten something if it  happens that I'm without a handbag.

It’s a detail which most of us carry every day and the stuff we have there can be... Surprising? Embarrassing? Horrifying?? Well, the black hole there is definitely one of the nature phenomenons. My black hole is pretty organised and with time decreased its size. As much as I love big shopper bags but due to my lifestyle they aren’t very practical. One the way to my car I don't need a lot on the way to my car. 

So, my preferred size is middle one (how cool is that now designers make nearly each bag in three sizes?!) which is able to fit my for-mentioned phone and not so small wallet - here we come to ... why do I have huge wallet if I only need a few plastic cards? Yep, you can never figure out women, you just need to be one. 

Another ... is my keys. Just for a purpose of entertainment I will show you how they look:

And believe or not there is only ONE key which I use! The rest is for decoration, contains some memories and in general the size of it and a furry key chain makes it extremely easy and quick to find and pick up from the black hole. 

After those absurd I usually carry small cosmetics pouch which doesn’t contain cosmetics. It hide essentials like migraine pills, clear nail polish to fix a hole in stockings, a Compeed stick for blisters, nail file and some stuff women need once a month... There is also a calendar because I’m getting old and things which aren’t written down don’t exist and of course a little mirror and annual supply of lipsticks. 

In fact, eventually me - and probably most girls - can fit all we need into a small crossbody bag but there is this secret power making us to carry a lot of stuff as an exercise to burn our last dounut. 

How is your handbag story?? A fan of the big or small ones? 

Enjoy my lookbook with one little bag which has been my favourite over last weeks.

xoxo
Natalia 

Outfit #1

Outfit details:

Coat, sweater & boots - H&M

Bag - LaBante London (avaiable here)

Outfit #2

Outfit details:

Coat - Stradivarius 

Sweater & skirt - Zara

Boots - Deichmann

Scarf - Mohito

Bag - LaBante London (avaiable here)

Outfit #3

Outfit details:

Jacket & sweater - Zara

Dress/skirt - Topshop

Boots - Deichmann

Bag - LaBante London

Let's Talk About Makeup

Makeup - very developed art and business of the XXI century which has many advocates, many girls love to play with it but it's also heavily criticized. People go long way making such a sweet thing an evil.

And I wonder WHY?

What's wrong with putting (or not) makeup on your face? Women always wanted to be beautiful and since ancient times were using tricks to enhance their beauty. Using beetroot to add color to lips or starch to make white, doll-like skin are just basic examples which probably everyone knows. But I'm pretty sure you didn't know that in ancient Greece and Italy women used to put juice of Atropa belladonna berries into their eyes to enlarge pupils. Dilated pupils make an impression of bigger eyes and big eyes have always been associated with young looking face (look at babies, their eyes are huge relatively to face!). But the alkaloids in the berries are strong poison and make a person blurry vision and eyes sensitive to light. These compounds were actually later isolated and used to dilute pupils during the eye check procedure by doctors and have other medical uses but need to be taken under strict doctor supervision!

Well, thanks God, now we have Asian contact lenses to make our eyes bigger.

So what is bad in the fact that girls like to make themselves a bit prettier?

In my opinion, nothing until it's a serious problem of hiding behind makeup and covering insecurities and complexes with it...

What we need to do is, instead of demonising it and putting fault on the whole world for forcing us to look perfect and put makeup (and do all sorts of more or less safe treatments), we should just learn to accept ourselves. I would say that this should be taught at school. Young girls (and what's more horrifying - many older women!) should understand that makeup is just a TOOL and that there is a face without it which is totally OK.

I accept that I have two faces. One with makeup and one without. And I use both of them appropriate to the occasion. I always do makeup when I go to work or go out. But really can't be bothered to do it when I go to do grocery shopping or for a walk. I assume that my face won't scare people out. I would also skip makeup if I meet a friend and we stay home or just stroll to a coffee shop nearby. I have no problem to show my face without makeup to anyone if it comes to staying together in a hotel or beach or... whatever the situation is.

My no makeup face :) 

But I usually put makeup if I go to a shopping mall simply because the lighting there is so strong and unnatural that it makes naked skin look way worse than it is! And that's one of the important things to realize - it is not because I'm ugly or have bad skin, in some places it will just look terrible because of light. From the other side when sun is setting down your skin without makeup will look amazing!

I rather advise to take care of skin regularly doing peeling and applying moisturizers, this basic will make your skin look OK (I'm talking about an average person which doesn't have serious skin conditions which require doctor's help). If you don't put effort into maintenance sorry, but it will pay you off!

So what are the reasons I do makeup?

1. I think in this era makeup is part of standard dressing up procedure. It makes me look more professional and put together. If you want to attack me that I'm just following what the world is forcing me to do and all the blah blah I want to ask you why do you wash your hair? Or take shower everyday? People used to do it once a week or a month even. It's not the point to stand against the changing environment but find yourself in it. 

2. I like it. I have always liked since I was a young girl. For me the time I spend putting makeup in the morning is a type of mediation, it relaxes me and I think about many things and get new ideas (the bad side is that it takes me a bit of time tough...)

3. It's fun. Makeup is an art which allows us to play and explore. One day I can look sweet and cute another I put nearly black lipstick and look like a drama queen! I love colors and sparkles! I love seeing how colors blend and make my eyes more blue, gray or greenish... and ohhh how much pretty eyeshadows can iridesce in the sun!

Makeup is made to enhance natural beauty and that's amazing. We can boost what we have and shine even stronger. Makeup wasn't invented against women but for them! Every single woman feels better and prettier with a bit of makeup and this is why it's worth doing it. Not for the whole world but for own good feeling. Use it, enjoy it but don't let it be your mask!

xoxo
Natalia

Makeup by Plamena Petrova

Dress - Dotti

Back to the Classic - White Shirt & Red Details

You must have already noticed that after a few years of complete craziness fashion trends are simplifying. We are getting back to the classic elegance, styles and cuts are getting simple and we are going to pay for high quality pieces which will create the basis of our waredrobe for longer. 

Personally I fall into it already! For long time I didn't put on my white shirts but now I'm discovering and loving them again. My recent crush is white oversized shirt from Sister Jane. I fell in love with the embroidery details. It's such a masterpiece! And this part is the most exciting to me about the coming fashion era - the quality of clothes and decorations. I really can't stand low quality ornaments or cheap, nearly plastic looking lace. Some things just have to be well made to keep the luxury they carry. 

Wearing a piece which is so rich in texture is actually easier than it might seem. It does most of the outfit so pairing it with basics works wonders. I like to wear blue jeans instead of elegant pants because it brings up this modern look plus timeless classic - red lips. Aall finished with an oversized, checked coat. For me, this is an embodiment of the modern chic.

What do you think?

Details of this outfit:

Shirt - Sister Jane

Coat - Zara

Jeans - Zara

Boots - Badura

Handbag - Michael Kors

xoxo
Natalia

You Have to Believe in Yourself & Do it for Yourself

As fall came we all need to put more layers on and watch leaves falling off. Fall is the time of seeing how time flows and things are passing. Especially here, in Iceland, everything can change very fast - one day you see leaves turning yellow and three days later they are gone. I guess it's one of the things which makes Icelanders humble in front of Nature and more aware that life goes its own way and we have to take it as it is. Quite beautiful thing I learnt here.

This season and some things happening in my life got me thinking about two actually similar quotes:

"You have to believe in yourself, if you don't no one else will." 

and 

"Remember that only you can solve your problems."

Everyone should realize that there is no one who will solve our problems and sadly, often there is no many people who even care and support you. Sometimes we are surrounded by people but their support is superficial. 

I will be honest, recently I was a bit sad realizing that some people who might seem like supporting me in reality didn't care much. Some even doubted in me. I got to read it between lines and when I finally started to see little successes which made me very happy I heard only "Oh, good for you." You know, there are subtle things, the details which matter and you just feel how much people care... 

Well, but is it something to be mad or sad about? I realized again that it's human nature to focus on their own lives and worries they have. And, how can they be supportive in things they have no clue about? If they didn't go through my way (or something similar) how can they know? 

"Neither happiness nor self-belief should be dependent on others."

We, all humans want and need someone to share joy, happiness, success or struggles. When we achieve something we want our close humans to be happy about it. It's a natural thing for social animals we are. But the key to happiness is that it comes from the inside. It should never be dependent on others. Neither happiness nor self-belief. It is true that no one will care and believe in us more than we do. That's why self-love is so important. You have to believe in your dreams and abilities because most likely YOU will have to convince others about them. So how can you do it if you don't believe yourself?? And it's equally important to do it for own satisfaction, for own vision and because you want to be there regardless of others being happy for you, proud of you or congratulating. You will be happy enough doing it to not pay attention who else is happy for you.

Sure it's normal to have self-doubts especially when things are far from our wishes but you just can't let them into your head. Stay focused on your ultimate goal and prepare for a long run. Enjoy the road and have unshakable trust that you are capable of doing what you dream about and that one day you WILL. Imagine yourself doing it already. And keep exploring different ways until you find the right one 💖

I hope you enjoy this personal post. I decided to say some things because I think that along with all the motivation we get from everywhere it is also important to share our weaknesses, struggles and disappointments. Because this is the reality. This is what we all go through to achieve but no one seems to talk about it. You have to be weak to be strong.

xoxo

Natalia 

Summer in Iceland

What is a remark of summer in Iceland? Well, not hot weather like in most places! However the loooong days (meaning literally!) when the sun sets after midnight are a sign of the better part of the year here. But the top pick of the summer is when the purple wave of Lupines covers Reykjavik! They are in full bloom usually from mid June to mid July and shortly after the last Lupine flower is blew by the wind the summer is over too.

How to dress for summer in Reykjavik?

If you open a tourist guide most likely you are gonna read that it's COLD and you need to bring a rain coat and wind proof clothes and well... tons of woolen sweaters won't be too much either! Sounds like dressing up for winter? Yeah, a bit. But the good news is: it is not so bad! This is true that in Iceland the weather can change quickly and can rain a lot but it's not very cold. The temperatures don't get high here but as the climate is different you don't feel freezing cold when it's only 10 Celsius degrees. And as long as there is no wind it can be quite hot with 20 ticks above zero! 

But even with this it's not a tropical country so summer look needs to be adjusted. As I'm a lady (or self nominated princess😅) I couldn't forget about dressing up and wearing some summer pieces. I developed a way to match my light clothes with some warmer pieces to make myself looking stylish but warm and not too odd for the general population here (Ok, sometimes they look but I don't care!).

When I saw this dress in Primark I kind of fell in love. It reminded me countryside style and the stories I have read as a child about village life. But, hmm... now I live in Reykjavik not a Polish village. And as far I remembered, I haven't seen a day for this one this year... With some pieces I would go away and forget but this kept bothering me. So?
Time to get creative!

I decided to wear boots instead of sandals (which to be honest I don't have) to bring this dress heavier, everyday look. I used big baggy-looking handbag to make this looking like a working woman running in the city not a girl walking up a beach promenade.

If it's warm enough I can go like this with naked shoulders but if not I would add a scarf. It will add up stylishness and extravagance. It would be very mine and very XXI century. I think. 

How do you like such modification of a summer dress? 

Oh! And if you live in a warmer country you can use it in the fall or early spring when you just can't wait to jump in a summer dresses! 

xoxo

Natalia 

Details of this outfit:
Dress - Primark
Boots - Zara
Bag - Benetton
Watch - Michael Kors

Dress - Primark, boots - Zara, bag - Benetton

Warsaw, Summer Look & Reflections on Friendship

Finally after nearly two years I went to visit my family and friends in Poland :) Life was pretty busy and difficult last couple of years so it's been a very long time since I saw them last time.
However, the most amazing thing is that no matter how long I have been away I still have wonderful friends there waiting to see me! Honestly, I'm grateful everyday for such amazing people I meet in my life! 

If you have good friends always remember this is a blessing 

(even if they can be pretty annoying from time to time ;) )

My best friend since kindergarten lives in Warsaw so I stayed there for a few days enjoying the city and the best company ever! Seriously, I find it as a kind of miracle that we know each other for nearly 25 years, we both went to different universities, work in different fields, meet once in... a year? two?? and still we understand each other like no one else! She is one of the most important people in my life!

Łazienki Park, Warsaw

I moved to Iceland six years ago leaving all my friends and family in Poland. People say that it's hard (even impossible) to make friends after university and even harder on immigration. It's understandable because people with age become more reserved, focused on family, busy with career... simply usually they don't need new people in their life and don't want to invest energy into getting to know another person. 

Maybe we get hurt and disappointed enough so we do not want to trust new people?? 

Taking this into account I think of myself as an extremely lucky person. I still have two very good friends in my home country which ALWAYS make time to see me (even take a day off!) and here in Iceland I met a few new ones. And the group gets bigger :) Of course, there are closer friends and a bit less close. With some I don't meet often but when we do, I just feel like it's another soul mate, the topics for conversation never end and are very diverse. I love people I can have deep conversations, that have opinions, goals, challenge themselves... Such people bring huge amount of positive energy, inspiration and lift me up, often subconsciously. I take this as one of the biggest blessings.

As a very young girl I used to have quite sharp opinions and would rather look for people which share similar views. Luckily, this has changed over the time and now I enjoy discussions with people having different opinions and backgrounds. I learned to value the difference and broaden my horizons by understanding their point. 

Look by Zara, bag Michael Kors, flats & sunnies - no name

This look is also on my You Tube channel :) 

I meet a lot of great people. Not all of them I call a friend but still I'm grateful for having the opportunity to meet and talk to them. I wonder how am I doing this since I'm rather an introvert!

Well, maybe that's the key. I don't meet people during parties, just having fun together. I meet people by working with them or on events where we need to talk and interact each other. When I feel comfortable with someone the conversation just happens (ok, I'm a woman so talking is in my nature too ;) ). This way with random people I end up talking about meaning of life! And I love it! 

Another reason I think, is paradoxically that, I don't expect or look for them! I never craved to find a friend. Not that I thought I don't need friends. I was just used to my own company, grateful for having some good friends even far away and... I guess being kind and polite also matters ;) Even tough I know that people can be mean beasts I never have precautions when I meet someone. I don't feel like I should be careful what I say, if they get my jokes - fine, if not I adjust to them and stay more official. 

Being able to notice the beauty of small things around is called happiness.
Life is just a collection of moments, isn't it? 

The last thing, I learned about having many friends I want to share today is that it's ok if they don't have time to meet me! They probably really don't! I don't feel offended if I don't get fast replies to my messages or our 'let's meet for a cup of coffee' takes a few weeks ;) What I experienced is that the closest friends will find time when I really need them. And I don't expect from less close friends to be a priority. I think that if people enjoy my company sooner or later we will have a nice chat :) 
Everyone is busy nowadays so I guess being relaxed and having less expectations about people will eventually positively surprise you! 

Recently this quote is quite popular:

"You gotta understand the difference between someone who speaks to you on their free time and someone who frees their time to speak to you"

I don't agree. I think that if someone spends time talking to you he or she must enjoy it! Otherwise they would go and check Facebook ;) Time is the biggest value in our era, it's worth to appreciate when someone is giving it to us :)

By writing this post I want to say THANK YOU to my wonderful friends and people I met in my life. It's such an honor to have you all!

Do you have people you are grateful for in your life? Make sure to tell them!

xoxo
Natalia

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My Clarins Love

Hello Butterflies!
Today it's time for my first beauty post! The honor is given to two beauty products from Clarins. One skin care and one make up, for a balance :)
I must admit that I'm a big fan of this brand. I find their products in most cases working really well and the price of these luxury products is in the lower range.

So, starting with the right order let's talk about skin care first! You know the rule - first take care of your face then improve with make up :)

Clarins Santal and Blue Orchid Face Oils

I just bought a bottle of the Santal Oil a few weeks ago This one is made for dry skin. I picked this for a change to the Blue Orchid oil I had before and I'm not disappointed at all! I've got my Blue Orchid (which is designed for dehydrated skin, there is also Lotus Oil for oily skin type) a couple years ago. I was happy with the product and it convinced me to facial oils. Later I tried others oils, usually cheaper ones but with good ingredients, even organic but the quality was questionable and definitely usage wasn't a pleasure. So what's special about these oils?

After using Clarins oils my face the next morning is very soft and smooth. Sometimes I find it also brighter.  I didn't experienced this with other oils I tried plus Clarins oils don't leave oily, greasy skin which actually looks more dull and tired!

How do I use them?

Let's say if first - we all have different skin and needs so one product cannot satisfy everyone. But! The way you apply a facial oil might totally change your satisfaction from it. Most of us want creams to adsorb quickly so we can put face on the pillow or simply we just don't like feeling of fat covering our face ;) Facial oil brings immediately an image of fat leaking from your face but wait, there is a way!
First important thing is to apply oil on a damp face. I do it after shower almost skipping drying my face with a towel or (even better) way I spray my face with kind of toner. It can be rose water, moisturizing toner or micellar water (somehow I got many of them as gratis and this is one of not so many uses I could find for them because taking off make up is the last thing they can do!). Second hack is to mix a few drops of the oil with hyaluronic acid or a serum based on it. Why? Hyaluronic acid works as an emulsifier and helps the oil to be adsorbed into the skin. And the last, also important step is to massage it into your face. Yes, I know it takes time but you will  thank yourself in 20 years :) Plus it's actually a pleasure of taking care of yourself and honestly, we should learn more about skin cake from Asian culture! They practice face massage almost like religion! However I'm far from going nuts with it ;)
With the right application I found this oils to be even suitable under make up! Just don't use too much and let it adsorb well before applying foundation :)

Pros & Cons

Pros is definitely the effect it gives on the skin. The bottle also lasts for long time since you need a few drops for each application. As a person which pays attention to details I like the bottle itself too, it looks good on a shelf :)
Smell can be a plus or minus depending on a person. It has very specific, strong herbal smell which might be unpleasant. Personally, I didn't like it at the beginning but I got used to it and in Santal I even recognize lavender :) But surely you should try before you invest money into this product.
The biggest minus would be price I guess. Even in the luxury range it is not expensive however it's still a bit pricey.

Skin Illusion Natural Radiance Foundation

This one is my the most loved foundation so far. I'm coming to the end of the third bottle and I like to always have it in my cosmetic stock :) What I love about it? Again, (obviously) the effect it gives! It gives radiance to the skin and makes it look fresh and young. I use sheer setting powder on top of it to not take away the glow I get from the foundation. I find it looking great on photos too!

More technical details - it supposed to be for all skin types and has medium coverage. I'm not sure how it would behave on oily skin during a hot day. I wouldn't probably use it for such an occasion. But for cold days with translucent, mattifying powder I guess it might be working well too. The coverage isn't full so don't expect Estee Lauder Double Wear effect. However it's not a sheer one either. I have a feeling that the mica particles work well reflecting light so we actually see an illusion of perfect skin.
I recommend to give a try to this foundation. Don't expect it to be the longest lasting and most covering foundation you have tried but for regular days might turn to be perfect. Personally I enjoy glam and radiance my face gets when I wear it.

If I think about minuses of it I would say smell, I don't like it but it's not too strong. Another bigger disadvantage is that the lightest color available in practice - 105 Nude (in theory there is at least one lighter but I haven't found it reality) seems to be a bit to dark or too yellowish for me but I'm very pale person. Another minus could be the price.

My face with both products in day light

That would be all I want to say about these two products. I don't think it's a proper review rather my impressions from using them for some time. I think they are worth attention but rather overlooked in the internet beauty world ;)

Thank you for stopping here! I would be happy to hear your opinion about the products and/or about the blog :)

xoxo
Natalia

Do you need to be stylish everyday???

I took my time to select the name of my blog (actually my channel) and at the end I came up with Be stylish everyday - why?  there is a  few reasons for that. The first is quite simple - I wanted to share my everyday outfits. But when I thought about it deeper there is more than just my everyday styles. Why to bother to make yourself stylish everyday? Can't you just put on whatever? Of course you can ;) but being stylish is way more than just vain and narcissistic dressing up!
Would you believe if I tell you that dressing up can change your life?!
How? Let's list it :)
First and the foremost, the most important thing that I can't stress  enough is that the way you look affect the way you feel. It might sound silly but it has a big power! I bet that every girl (a man probably too!) feels great when going out for a special event, wearing nicely with proper make up completing the look (ok, in case of  guys skip make up and shave instead). So why not do it on everyday basics? Sure we are not going to wear this sexy party dress for work ;) But it doesn't mean that you can't be smiling to your image in the mirror before you leave for work! Important is to make sure that the way you dress is actually your style not a hard approach to look stylish. You won't be feeling good in something that you don't like or aren't convinced to. Being stylish dosen't also mean blindly following of the latest trends. You can stick to classic elegance maybe broken with a bit of casual style. The result? Good looking, pulled together you. Trust me, once you think about yourself in positive way your day is going to be better because you started it in a positive way. By feeling good about yourself you are automatically happier and more confident. And confidence, as we all know is a treasure which can change your life. It can help you to get your dream job, make friends or even meet the love of our life! And here we come to the second reason why dressing up is necessary. No matter how much someone wants to deny, people still will judge by appearance - meaning clothes and emotions on your face. If you want to be at a certain place in your career you should dress appropriate to the business you are aiming for. It's a tiny thing which reveal your professionalism and seriousness about your life goals. Basically it speaks how much you care! And it also speaks how mature you are. If you are a student you don't need to place yourself into jeans and whatever t-shirt and stay this way until life force you to change. In terms of career I would say that being well, professionally dressed is a first step to the future promotion.

The reason is simple, the more professional you look the more trust people will give you. The most obvious example would be a rocker with tattoos sitting in a bank and convincing you to invest your money into something. Have ever thought why people in banks don't look like a hippie?? (personally I have nothing against them!). We, humans like to categorize things around us including people. It's just a mechanism which makes our brain less busy in processing information and give kind of safety feeling when something is categorized as "safe", "good" or "watch out". That's why white lab coat is used by specialist even they don't need it. Like people selling glasses or pharmacists giving you painkillers. There is no point in wearing protective clothing for them but it give respect as they are specialists ;) I could talk about it endless but I assume that if someone reached to the end of the post,  you've already got my point.

At the end I would like to cite a fashion quote of unknown author:
"Life's too short to wear boring clothes" - so make sure you get the most out of yours! :)

xoxo
Natalia

Welcome ♥

Hello Butterflies!

In the first post on my blog I want to make a little introduction :) What this blog is going to be about? Primarily fashion, in addition to my You Tube channel Be stylish everyday. I decided to start a blog to talk about things I don't talk on You Tube like... my thoughts about fashion and style, make up and some heavy topics called life ;) I want this blog be more diverse than my channel, more random stuff that make me as a person.
I hope you will enjoy and stay with me longer!

If you are interested please have a look on my You Tube channel :) I would appreciate your feedback ♥

xoxo

Natalia