Ulia Ali

March 27, 2017

TRAVEL

Week 30: Utah. Stein Eriksen Lodge Review

Ulia Ali

March 27, 2017

TRAVEL

First of all, I cannot believe that I have been leading Pastiche.today for one year already! I have been amazed by the amount of support and love I have received, and still cannot believe with how many of my favourite brands I have been privileged enough to work with. Thank you very much!

To celebrate my blog's one year anniversary, Ben and I decided to fly to Utah for a little, snowy adventure. We were lucky to stay at the, I dare say, legendary Stein Eriksen Lodge. The hotel is a luxurious, 5-Star, 5-Diamond, chic, Norwegian-style property with ski-in, ski-out access to Deer Valley Resort.

Deer Valley Resort is not only one of the top skiing destinations in America, but in the world. Hence it was chosen as a site for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. By the way, the hotel was founded by Norwegian, Olympic-Gold medalist, skier Stein Eriksen, and there is a huge display of his trophies and awards in a beautiful, hand-painted case in the Main Lodge.

The hotel has a beautiful chalet-chic decor - cozy, warm and gorgeous. Each room in the lodge has a unique Nordic design, but all of them have dark-wood furnishings, amazingly comfortable beds, stunning views and spacious bathrooms with Molton Brown amenities.

My husband and I were staying in a luxury suite with a full kitchen, dining area, two enormous fireplaces, huge bath and walk-in shower, and our own private deck with a hot tub overlooking the snowy mountains! I can honestly say that it was an incredible experience to relax in a hot tub with steaming water, after a long day of skiing, breathing that fresh mountain air, taking in the breathtaking, picturesque mountain view, while being super warm and cozy.

Stein Eriksen Lodge is a top hotel, therefore if you don't think you will be able to stay there just yet, at least make a reservation at one of their celebrated restaurants: Glitretind or the Troll Hallen Lounge. The food is original and delicious, and their selection of hot cocktails (I am a sucker for any good variations of mulled wine or Irish coffee) is PHENOMENAL, and I don't use that word lightly :)

There is also a huge, heated outdoor(!!!) pool, which is so cool! The experience of swimming in warm water while white, fluffy snowflakes land on your head is quite surreal, and should be added to your bucket list.

And of course, the hotel has a beautiful spa, with many individual massage rooms that bare the names of Scandinavian Gods.

By the way, Stein Eriksen Lodge is a year-round mountain resort, and it is worthy of a visit in summer as much as during the ski season.

Park City is a charming city and has deserved a name of one of the most beautiful and prestigious places in the United States, so I definitely recommend you to explore it! While you are waiting for my upcoming Utah posts, here you can find my Park City summer adventures and a visitor's guide I prepared for you. Enjoy and let me know if you visit Park City!

Ulia Ali

March 17, 2017

FASHION

Week 29: NYFW Recap. Fashion Week 2017 Video Diary!

Ulia Ali

March 17, 2017

FASHION

I am so excited to finally share my NYFW 2017 video. Vlogging is something I have just started to approach, and I am hoping my videos will become better and better. Fun fact: I can act and play a role, but when I have to be myself in front of the camera, I get super nervous and shy. Let's see if I can overcome this :)

I have also added a few photos from the Shopstyle Social House Event, which was amazing! All the influencers were able to choose some clothes to wear during the Fashion Week, drink champagne, get a manicure, make up, style their hair, and get so many gifts. The whole SSSocial house was packed with surprises and beautiful bloggers.

My favorite blogger Annabelle Fleur from VivaLuxury.

Annabelle is the sweetest, and even prettier in person!

Week 29: NYFW Recap. Invites, Perfect Hair, Survival

Ulia Ali

March 13, 2017

BEAUTY

Today I am going to tell you some of the Behind-the-Stage Fashion Weeks Secrets. How to get invited to NYFW, how to have perfect hair a few days in the row, and HOW to survive the lack of sleep during the fashion madness!

HOW TO GET FASHION WEEK INVITES?

When I just started blogging, I thought getting invited to fashion shows is extremely hard. And it is if you do nothing! Luckily, I had blogger friends who have been leading their blogs for years and who kindly shared some advices, and I made my own research to discover other useful steps you can take in order to get invited to New York Fashion Week shows.

1. Start at least one month in advance

I had to miss out on some great shows because I was travelling almost the whole January, and didn't communicate fast enough with representatives. Don't repeat this mistake and start emailing brands 1-2 month prior to Fashion Week.

2. Fashion GPS Radar App

Get the most useful app Fashion GPS Radar. It not only gives you a list of shows, emails of PR people, but after some time automatically adds show invitations to your schedule that you can accept (or ignore).

3. Email YOUR people

Like anything in the world, fashion world is about knowing the right people. Think of the brands you already collaborated with, shoot an email to one of your old friends who is working in Fashion PR, or simply ask your trusted blogging friends to share some contacts, or take you as their +1. Yes, sometimes they let you take +1. I sneaked my husband to all my shows :)

4. NYFW Schedule

Find websites with the NYFW schedule. Many of these schedules contain contact information. For example, I used Fashion Week Online to get some emails.

How to look good during NYFW?

Depending on how busy your schedule is during Fashion Weeks, you might not be able to style or even wash your hair every day. Running from an event to showroom and then to runways shows, and doing it all over again back and forth, can be extremely exhausting!

Luckily, I have found a salon, Julien Farel, that creates KILLER blowouts and hairstyles that last perfectly for a few days in a row. I have partnered with Julien Farel before for Valentine's Day, and was so impressed that my hair, usually so flat and not that fresh only after 1-2 days, stayed absolutely flawless for 5(!) days. And honestly they still looked good after almost a week, and I just had to force myself to wash my hair because I felt it was too long.

That is why I chose Julien Farel salon to style my hair for NYFW. I highly recommend their stylist Aizhan.
Check out the salon: 540 Park Ave, New York, NY 10065. You will love it!

And last, but not least is my energy secret. Of course, you have to drink a lot of water, and can consume tons of coffee, but I have found out that I feel better just drinking one Berocca vitamin mineral supplement from time to time. Usually I take one when I wake up super sleepy, and it gives me an instant energy boost! Plus it tastes like a lemonade :)

I hope you liked my little NYFW secrets, and they will prove to be useful to you in the future. Let me know if you have any special tips? I would like to hear!

Week 29: NYFW Recap. My REVOLVE & Cynthia Rowley Looks

Ulia Ali

March 7, 2017

FASHION

MY LOOK 1:

I wore this comfy, yet stylish look for Francesca Liberatore NYFW show. The show was beautiful, and I could spot so many famous bloggers and TV personalities, like Dorothy Wang from Rich Kids from Beverly Hills, in the audience. I have made a little collage with my favourite looks from Francesca Liberatore's beautiful FW 2017 show.

I wore this 70s inspired Tularose dress with a white fur jacket, and I can imagine wearing the dress on a beach vacation as well. So easy to style it! Revolve always has the best selection of clothes and brands. If I could shop only in one store for the rest of my life, it would be, without any doubt, Revolve.

I also wore my new Christian Louboutin pink bag for the first time. It was another gift Ben gave to me when we were in Copenhagen. And Ben was also the one who took all these photographs and the upcoming video!

MY LOOK 2:

Dress - Cynthia Rowley (its not on sale YET, but I will link it when it's available) |
Bracelet - Hermes | Shoes - Christian Louboutin

Another NYFW look that I wore for some meetings and a brunch at my favourite Russian restaurant Mari Vanna NYC. This teal blue dress with embroidered flowers is by Cynthia Rowley, and it is so pretty! Kind of reminds me of my Marie Antoinette Theme Week (click here to see my Marie Antoinette inspired looks!)

Thank you Shopstyle for the dresses!

Week 29: NYFW Recap. Fohr Event and My Looks

Ulia Ali

March 3, 2017

FASHION

Have you seen my first two NYFW looks here? Today I continue sharing my looks of the day. For the Hakan Akkaya show, I was so privileged to attend, and showroom meetings I rocked this pyjama/lingerie trend. The whole look is by Walter Baker, who is one of the NYC designers I absolutely love working with.

MY LOOK 1:

FOHR EVENT:

I will tell you a secret: I sometimes prefer events and parties to runway shows! Often they are more intimate and exclusive, and you get more chances to meet and talk to some truly inspiring and beautiful women. I was lucky to have a blogger friend Sarah Jessica from FASHinNY to introduce me to some wonderful people and brands. She was the one who told me about FOHR. BeFOHR event was actually the party that launched my NYFW adventures.