Natasha's GIFT GUIDE(for women) TO MEN

Thank me or in some cases please go ahead and hate me, but I am going to help you, young men out there get a good present for your crush/girlfriend/wife/f-buddy/etc.

I am assuming that a good boyfriend/husband/man-friend/etc. will be able to spend around $50-$75-$100 + on Christmas/New Years/Valentine’s Day/Anniversary gift. This is just a median.

When buying a gift, remember not to think “I like this, so will she”. No!!! Think of what she’d like, since obviously she will be the one wearing it. Keep the gift receipt (just in case).

First and foremost, the gift has to be romantic! Yes, practicality is amazing – but girls want to feel like they are so sexy that their bf thought of them this way when purchasing this gift. Mostly, this concerns you - married men, who wish to get their wives an amazing skillet from Williams Sonoma. If you keep on giving her those gifts, you will probably soon enough understand why your wife isn’t having sex with you, but the skillet :)

So, here is my clever list of what a female would like (I am not making it a universal female wish list):

Tiffanys – You can surprise your love one with a cute bracelet or perhaps a pair of earrings by a barnd that known to every girl and will be treasured for years. Below is the link to check out something you can afford all under $250. You are looking for a silver line
http://www.tiffany.ca/Shopping/CategoryBrowse.aspx?cid=563629&mcat=148204

Chanel Compact – make-up is always a cool gift. Moisturizer, in my opinion, isn’t. Unless, it’s a highly rated one or an award winning one. Thus, get her a blush or eye shadow compact at a nice counter like Chanel, Dior, NARS, Guerlain, etc. (go to Holts). How do you know what colors to pick? Pay attention to your “loved” one for once, and see whether her cheeks are flashing with pink or bronze. Well, and that’s how you know it – s.i.m.p.l.e. For eye shadows, go with golds. Almost any woman looks good with golden eyeshadows (get a set of 4 in a compact). However, if you girl is a “all naturel” girl- stick with the nice moisturizer or just forget about it at all

Calendar with photos of her and her friends, family, and you (mark the dates on calendar)- This a super cheap gift (around $20+), but yet so sentimental and thoughtful of all. Make your own calendar with pictures of you 2, or just some dear to her pictures. For added bonus, enter some special dates (there is an option) into the calendar (eg., the date you met, the first time you did her laundry, etc. – be creative!)

Dress – I find it beyond nice when a man can gift his woman a piece of clothing, especially a dress. Once again, see what kinds of dresses she wears. Don’t get her a deep V-neck dress if she wears “preggo dresses” for example. Make sure to know what size she wears! (but don’t ask her directly – duh!)This might be tricky though with all kind of different sizings in stores, so please include a gift receipt

Cardigan – The same thing as a dress, I find it super cute. For the ones who are not in the know what a cardigan is , I will explain – it is a sweater that has buttons in the middle or a buttoned sweater. It can be made in different fabrics. Don’t get her a plain cardigan, get her something with beads or tasteful rhinestones or frills (all has to be moderately tasteful). Include a gift receipt.


Lingerie (bra and panties) not funky!- Even though I heard that men don’t care about underwear – we do! And believe me, you men do too – since nude synthetic up- to- belly-fully –covered-ass panties don’t excite you that much. Go with classic colors or get some animal prints if you’ve got a wild girlfriend. My pick is to go to Calvin Klein, Jacob, or Victoria Secret(This kinda thing can lead to pregnancy, hehe;))


Swarovski – Personally, I am against Swarovski since their products are not very high in quality – the stones always fall out eventually. Nonetheless, they’ve got tons of interesting earrings, necklaces, rings, and bracelets

Top/blouse – see dresses and cardigans

Little purse – that’s always something that a girl wants. Go with black or bronze for a successful buy. If you can afford, go with “presentable brands/labels” especially if she is 25+

Bracelet with a charm (which you will complete with additional charms as the diff. holidays approach)- Start a tradition . I think this a great , super doper romantic idea! – Get your lovey-dovey a bracelet with a charm (Swarovski, Tiffanys, Links of London) and with each holiday surprise her by adding another charm to that bracelet

Book- might be a good idea, but not super romantic. It’s not something she can wear and think of you


A big No-No! Department store gift sets! Horrible! Maybe somebody finds it truly amazing that their Celin Dion perfume matches their body wash and moisturizer, but that’s an overkill. Just get a perfume on it’s own!


Oooh, perfume- that’s a nice gift! I can recommend the perfume that I just adore (so do my friends). It is called Olene by Diptyque available at Holt Renfrew for $144

Opt out for a Gift Card, unless you are planning to present it in a box of chocolate or in a plush toy. Also, hopefully I won’t be rude by saying DO NOT buy a gift card to Michael Kors,Holts, BCBG, or any other med.-high end store if you are planning to spend around $50. Since obviously, you can’t buy anything there for such amount. Those $50 can you a nice top or perhaps lingerie someplace else.

Do not go Luis Vuitton (if you don’t have the means of purchasing a purse or something) if you wish to get her a” Designer Label” by purchasing a pen or a key chain for $300, just because it was in the range of your budget. This is simply stupid :)

Personally, I am the worst “gift receiver” since I exchange more then 50% of my gifts (yeah, you guys know it! Go ahead and blame me!) It’s just I think people didn’t put enough effort in understanding me and went to get what they wanted :)

In conclusion, I would like to repeat myself and remind that giving an actual gift of something (not gift card or spa card or a star (lame!) will be very appreciated by your lovely lady

Happy holidays!...and shopping...and be patient and strong-willed when picking a gift, because she's already got you one ;)

HEADBANDED GOSSIP GIRL & MISS S-A HEADBANDS

It may come as no surprise that I started watching Gossip Girl recently, since there is at least one headband present in every episode. As a headband maker, I was excited! It’s no secret that headbands represent some sort of sophistication, elegance, and individuality and that’s why I adore them. Moreover, they always add this groomed look to a lady.

I remember googling “headband” and one of the first links would always be related to Blair Woldorf or GG TV series. So, now after being a GG maniac (don’t ask) – I know why. The girl, Blair, brought back the headband to the world of fashion! I find it quite interesting how one famous character/person wears a piece of such , in a way, untraditional accessory (I am not talking your usual plastic or wire headbands in black or some other neutral color) and all the viewers want to follow that trend, because they finally see that someone “cool and beautiful” pulls them off so well.

I must say that I applaud the stylist for matching Blair’s headbands so well with her outfits. And I love the fact that mostly the headbands are not the same color as the rest of her outfit, which proves the point that you can just accentuate one piece in your wardrobe. Regardless, it’s not for everybody and not everybody can pull it off.

For example, Blair’s “team of 13-16 year old followers” (that’s what they seem to me) wear headbands in the series quite often as well. Sometimes they look nice in them, but sometimes it feels like they “pretty much had to” wear them.





Of course, I won’t hide the fact that I would love to get at least one of my Miss S-a Headbands headbands on the show. I strongly believe that my headbands would work very well with characters’ outfits and characters themselves.

I’ve noticed that GG features plenty of Jennifer Behr’s headbands (the mogul headband lady from US, who is probably #1 famous in the “headband” industry). Even though, we are considered competitors in our little industry – I would still like to compliment her work: beautiful, glamorous, and classy.





Often I hear questions from girls like: “I have short hair, can I still wear a headband?”, “I have bangs, do you think a headband will still look nice on me?”, “How can I match a headband with my outfit? It’s so hard”, etc. and of course many girls say that it is just not for them – I don’t judge, that might be true and not for the, and beyond their comfort zone.

The resolution of how to wear a headband with short hair is pretty simple: just wear it as you would with medium/long hair. I think it accentuates the piece on your head even more- which is fantastic!
There are couple of good examples that I found on internet:




Matching headband with your outfit can be tricky at times, I agree. The most important tip to remember is to at least color co-ordinate it to your wardrobe ( not exact color-wise, but at least shade wise). However, that rule can totally be broken. If you think that your red headband looks great with a green dress – go ahead. Can be a nice contrast! Plus, a black or grey headband basically can go with anything.
Below are examples of SJP wearing headbands in SATC 2 (diff. colour outfit + diff. colour headband) and just one pic of her hairpiece.





For my headbands, there is no specific guide on how you should wear one. Just wear the way you like it and the way it suits your face shape. Short and simple. And remember, if you have any questions, mail me at miss.sa.headbands@gmail.com  and I’ll be glad to help you out!

Love,
Nataliya

Recently I started to notice that I am not a big fan of people who have strong personal(!) opinions. Those people who think that everything in this world should be the way they think of it.

They also have their dumb theories of how they are enlightned with the power of being correct all the time, and like to spread the word about of how you are so weird that you are doing a specific task this way, but not their “universal” way.
I don’t understand people who are not willing to change their ways. Especially, if they are wrong and it never benefits them.

Yes yes, that’s my negative post. Sometimes, I just have such occurrences with such people and afterwards I come out of the room with a million questions bombarding my head of how such a person is so stubborn and ignorant! As well, knowing that those people are usually big gossipers who spread the stories in their own words underlying their “right and wrong” in the story.

Cole Haan Pink Wish List