Gifts Under 200,- Euro

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Christmas is coming. That always warms my heart. I must admit we don’t celebrate Christmas extensive in our family, at least not how I want or image celebrating Christmas. I image a big tree, a big dinner, all family members gathering, laughter and a lot of presents. But unfortunately for me, it’s just me and my Madre ( because our family lives either in Ukraine or Mother Russia ). Also, we are Russian Orthodox, so for us Christ was born in January. But we live in Holland so we basically celebrate everything double. The more the merrier. Anyways, let’s talk presents. It’s always nice to give something to your friends and loved-ones on Christmas, even if it’s only a card! But since we’re so into fashion ;p ; I have made a list with affordable ( somewhat affordable) designer items. Now I would not mind getting them and I image most of you would not mind getting these lovely items (this is me hinting ;p)

Take me to places i have never been before.

I want to say something so embarrassing that even the leaves start blushing and turning red...

L is for the way you look at me

Birds flyin’ high, you know how I feel. Sun in the sky, you know how I feel. Breeze driftin’ on by, you know how I feel. It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, It’s a new life for me. Yeah, it’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me. Ooouh. And I am feeling good… I have been listing to that song every morning now. I can’t find my book; The Secret. I have been reading it again. I always loved the philosophy of The Secret, but I never really committed to practicing it. Can’t remember why, I felt an urge I suppose, but I really wanted to change the way I was thinking and feeling. I always sweat over the little things in life, and if something bad happens during the day; then I will carry that with me throughout the day. I struggle with peace in my mind. I think we all do, but its, as if my mind takes it to a whole nother level. But since I have been practicing asking, believing and receiving. Its seems like the universe is moving people and circumstances to deliver what I want.  

“ Your wish is my command” I just love that quote. Even though, some bad things happened recently – I have managed to overcome them. And I believe it is because my mind was on a different frequency, which attracted more of what I wanted to have in my life. So I am feeling good. 

Into The Woods

“Though it's fearful, Though it's deep, though it's dark 
And though you may lose the path, 
Though you may encounter wolves, 
You can't just act, 
You have to listen. 
you can't just act, 
You have to think. 
Though it's dark, 
There are always wolves, 
There are always spells, 
There are always beans, 
Or a giant dwells there. 

Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons.

   

 “Is not this a true autumn day? Just the still melancholy that I love - that makes life and nature harmonise. The birds are consulting about their migrations, the trees are putting on the hectic or the pallid hues of decay, and begin to strew the ground, that one's very footsteps may not disturb the repose of earth and air, while they give us a scent that is a perfect anodyne to the restless spirit. Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."

[Letter to Miss Eliot, Oct. 1, 1841]” 
― George Eliot

Natural Make-up Tutorial

My natural face make-up tutorial. You guys, thank you for stepping by again! We really appreciated it. There are sooo many of you guys who inspire us every single day. God bless creative souls! Today I have a make-up tutorial that I can share with you. My first one… then then thennn. It’s very simple, it involves some foundation, contouring, little bit of bronzer, brows, mascara ( I usually don’t apply mascara but I wanted something extra this time) and of course lips. I will guide you through my make-up tutorial. Maybe you will go: ‘Yass, I like that’. Or maybe not... ;p. But let me know!

Yellow Monochrome Essentials Winter-fall

I could not help myself; I had to share these beautiful shades of yellow as well. Only autumn can bring this out in me. I love shooting in the Amstel Park, it’s such a good park, It has a variety of different trees and plants and also more of a forest vibe. I love it, we have done many shoots there. Also, it’s not crowded and it’s pretty big - so you have a lot of space and people are not staring at you when you pose ;p. Anyways, the reason why I am talking about this park is because green goes well with yellow, and today’s post is about yellow monochrome winter-fall essentials. I have been using yellow shades in combination with green a lot, as you may noticed – or not ;p. But, here are some of my favorites items so far.

If you love this COS jumper that I am wearing over here, then my friend, you can still get it! Yet, only in a darker green or grey – because I bought my jumper last year. Different collection is suppose. 

Green Monochrome Essentials

Every year, especially in fall, I obsess about one monochrome color. Last year my color of chose was green. It all started with my Celine Trio bag. The name of the color is unpronounceable, So I am just going to call it lime greenish. After that, this beautiful green Cos sweater came along and somehow everything came into place. Cos has the same sweater now available but in a darker green. I am thinking of getting the sweater, but maybe not in green, but in grey. I wanted white but they don’t have white available. I was feeling  the white monochrome as my color of chose this winter-fall season. But I am not feeling something particular yet in white. So amma wait. Anyways, that does not stop me from looking at other colors, especially beautiful shades of green. You will find gorgeous essentials in this post and I hope it will inspire you guys, and of course help you see what’s out there.

Green Monochrome 

Impulsive, a tad bit rebellious and open minded

Nesrine and I decided that we wanted to dye our hair just little bit. She wanted to dye her ends blue and I wanted to shave 3,4  cm of the back of my head, bleach that part and then dye it in a color. I bought blue as well. Although I did not shave ( more like cutting it very short) or bleach it yet, sooo stay tuned! But Nesrine did. She didn’t bleach it, but she had lightened her ends into a dark blond, earlier this year. Surprisingly the dye did really take, she slept with the dye and this is how it turned out. She is in all black everything today. Love the look, a little bit dark and goth like but still fabulous. She also answered some questions btw!

She is wearing this beautiful long black dress from (h&m) I think. With a gold belt that accentuate the waist, very lovely (similar here). The jacket, I don’t even know where the jacket is from, such a good jacket (similar here). River island boots. That’s pretty much all I know about the outfit. But if you see something and you are like ‘I need’ I will make sure to find out where she bought it. 

When in doubt, wear red.

When I was little, I desperately wanted glasses. Really, I wanted any kind of accessory that would make me stand out and look special, and at the time I romanticized glasses. So I hoped and hoped and hoped for bad eyesight. I basically wished my way to horrible vision because in second grade my parents took me to the optometrist, who in fact informed me that I needed glasses.

Oh, happy day! For approximately two weeks, but I was teased mercilessly. I started hating my glasses, regretting that I ever even wanted them and switched to contacts. If you wear glasses, it's easy to feel like you can hide behind your frames

But I grew to love my glasses again, the outstanding frames are more an accessory to me. I treat shopping for glasses like I would treat shopping for a purse or new shoes. Glasses are awesome. They come in all shapes and colors, and you can mix and match based on your mood or outfit.

And that’s why I fell in love with the online webshop FIRMOO with a wide range of fantastic and very affordable (!) frames, and also a friendly and helpful customer service. It is almost too good to be true.

So after spending a long time on choosing frames I made a decision and placed my order. I have to admit, my expectations were not high… After 1,5 weeks, I received the package. This is pretty fast as the package was sent from China! The quality and fit really surprised me !

Make sure to take a look on FIRMOO and take your 15% coupon code which you can use sitewide.

Love,

Burcu Dere

Inspired to do new things

I am not really the one that dresses up every single day. It’s just not me, not because I don’t like it, but probably because I am lazy, don’t have the time, don’t want to make the time or simply are not in the mood. But, sometimes when I am off and don’t have anything to do that day, no other engagement. I will spontaneously create a new look, get inspired by a look and try to recreate that look or style in my own way. You see, sometimes I think that my inspiration is interesting and by sharing this with you guys you can maybe get inspired too. Maybe play around and try to do new things.

This music video was my inspiration for trying out this hair style. After that I started to play around with the make-up. I wanted red lips! and basically a lot of contouring and highlighting. I also used fake eyelashes, the individual ones. Only, I am in love with the ones that have three individuals on one lash. Can’t get them anywhere in the Netherlands. At least, I can’t find them. The ones that I have used, I bought them in Istanbul at the Watson store. Kat Graham made a tutorial with her mua using those lashes and I was sold. Anyways this is the original look that I have created spontaneously, and I call it original because when I try to recreate it, it’s just not quite the same ;p

I recreated the look and my friend did take pictures of me but I really, really did not like them. So instead of showing you that, I am going to show you the pictures of his outfit. Casual, black and fun. You have seen Rodney already in one of mine autumn posts so he is no stranger to the blog.  

Moments 'Barcelona'

We only went for 4 days to the beautiful city of Barcelona, with only 10 kg of luggage and on a low budget haha. These are the moments that we shared on our little trip and that I also wanted to capture for you guys. So, short story: It was my first time in Barcelona. It was really hot, but I am glad we went even only for a few days. Now I have a idea of the city and the things you can do there. A lot of shopping opportunities which is super fun. Yet we held our grounds because we were on a budget. We did not go to the beach because we did not feel like we were beachbody ready ;p I was really worried that they would take my umbrella away because we were only aloud 10 kg of hand luggage (because we were on a budget haha) and the umbrella did not fit in to my mini luggage. Also, we did not eat any churros or tapas, but we did eat Italian and Chinese. The Chinese restaurant was bad but on our way back to the hotel I found 5 euro’s on the ground. I felt very luck and if I found your 5 euro’s that you have lost, I am sorry I have spend it on food. Last but not least we stayed in this marvelous hotel. The Guitar Grand Passage. Quoting Booking.com : ‘Example is a great choice for travelers interested in architecture, food and shopping.’

Yes please.

Last February

Just some memories that we haven’t shared on our blog yet. This was in February when we were in Istanbul on holiday. I didn’t have all the pictures, just the ones that I took on my camera and Iphone. But I really wanted to share this green/ yellow obsession of mine that I had. It all started with this green COS sweater. If you have read my previous post back in autumn y’all would know what I am talking about. These color combinations give me life, I am not even kidding. Looking back at my pictures, I amma be like: Style is my thing. Not always, but sometimes I still got it. The weather was very lovely in February when we visited Istanbul and we would just go out and explore. I love that about city trips, I feel so inspired and I want to dress up. I really need to work on myself, I feel if I would lose some weight and live a more healthier lifestyle, that I would be much more comfortable in my own skin and wear things and styles that I like. I feel limited by my body and it is my own doing. But anyways, I hope you guys like my color combo tho... and I hope that I inspire you guys in some way!

Wearing: Cos sweather (similar here)/ Miu Miu glasses (here)/ Celine trio (similarhere)/ H&M maxi dress (old)/Nike air force 1( not quite but similar)/lips mac heroine. Burcu is wearing a Mango coat military vintage looking (similar)! Burcu’s jewelry :Albert cuyp market in Amsterdam. There is this lady with red hair who sells Buru’s most worn jewelry./ Hat h&m.

My Father inspires me, because he is a very genuine man

Another beautiful, talented, creative and inspiring friend of mine, Kimberly.

Describe yourself in 3 words or more :

Spontaneous, Carrying and Ambitious.

What makes you smile?:

Theater and Art.

What kind of peace of clothing screams you and why?:

over-sized t-shirt, because its goes almost everything. Leggings, jeans, skirts. Also, you can

even wear it as a dress and can also layer it up or down.

Book or movies/series kind a person?

Movie series.

Hard work pays off (4th semester, AMFI)

Dear readers,

Today I want to share something of Burcu, the other half of this blog and basically of me. This girl works so hard at school. If you didn’t know by now, she studies at the Amsterdam fashion Institute in fashion and design. Moreover, let me tell you this, we have an expression in Dutch ‘ petje af’ which basically means RESPECT! The expectations they have of their students and the amount of work the students have to do is out of this world. So if you are interested in this study, I would do your research first and maybe stalk some students for the ins and outs, like Burcu for example :p. Ok, besides all of that I wanted to share her work with you guys. I mean we haven’t been really active on the blog but that’s not because we lost interest it’s because we were really busy with school.( I graduated ) Furthermore, this is the result of hard work, of her hard work.

Some things stay and so things go

I have wanted a Kenzo sweater ever since it was a fashion must have in 2012. I clearly remember Andy Torres wearing the sweater at NYWF in that same year and I was sold. I loved everything about that sweater, the color, the tiger and the pop of Kenzo in it. But unfortunately for me I didn’t really  have that money to spend back then and when I finally did manage to save up some money, the sweater was already gone… and my other attempts kinda failed as well. But some years later on a simple stop to my second home ( deBijenkorf) I saw fresh new Kenzo sweaters hanging in the most beautiful colors, so naturally I started walking towards the Kenzo corner and then I saw this beauty and could not stop myself from trying it on. It was a perfect match, a little bit tight around the fatness but we can work on that this summer. 

Big, Beautiful and Fabulous

Dear readers,

It’s been a while, can’t say I am back again, but I am trying. I love photography and I love taking pictures of people that inspire me. I feel blessed that I have met this person and that we have stayed in touch even though our paths went different directions. And now, I can call him my friend. A friend that is different, and a friend that taught me to challenge the beauty ideals. Because It is easy to see the world in the most obvious way and it is more challenging to look at the other side and create your own form of beauty and set your own standards. I asked if a could take pictures of him and  I asked some question to give you guys a little bit of inside about my beautiful friend. I hope that he will inspire you guys like he inspired me. So without further ado, meet Ali!

I've got the "blues" for you..

From Istanblue with love <3

Twenty shades of Konstantina

I first ever heard of Konstantina Tzagaraki on lookbook. This very beautiful tall girl with dark hair has an amazing sense of style and a mesmerizing face. You can find her on lookbook and Instagram, she is most active there. This goddess from Greece brings it! She brings inspiration to the table, she brings style, creativity, feminism and fashion. I would consider her someone who dares to be different than the rest, she standout from the crowd. And more importantly, the reason why I am sharing twenty different shades of Konstantina is because she also stands out from other fashion bloggers in my opinion. If you have followed the blogger community from the beginning you would probably agree with me that most popular fashion/ style bloggers are now more focused on designer brands, making a name, establishing a business, its less about the style ( which what most of them began with) and more about business. That is totally fine but it takes away my interest…