A Good Hair Day

What do brunettes miss most about a great party?
The invitation.

Now do I have your attention you blondes out there? Because this will save your day. 

Winter can be hard on beautiful blonde hair, like yours and mine. The cold dries it and the sunlight that gives blonde hair the delicious sun kissed look is seen rarely.

But there’s no need to get desperate and resort to hair dye. John Frieda’s Go Blonder shampoo and / or conditioner really does what it says on the bottle, namely “gradually lightens hair without harsh chemicals”. And it costs about a fiver (and with Boots’ £2 off on professional hair care offer less than a glass of wine). Top it up with Frieda’s Blonde hairspray and get ready for compliments. Oh, and you’re welcome. 

Once you pop, you can't stop

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

Finland is not known as a great exporter of cinema. We have given the world Aki and Mika Kaurismaki, director brothers whose films are rather enjoyable if you’re into European art house cinema and long silences. Finland also threw up Renny Harlin, the director of such films as Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger and The Long Kiss Goodnight, but whose biggest achievement in the eyes of many, was to marry Geena Davis.  

Looking at this history, it was refreshing to see something nicely mainstream but still so very, very Finnish in the cinema last night. Rare Exports is a Christmas fairytale of sorts, set in the northern Finland where, as we all know, Father Christmas resides. But this is no Santa Baby, the real Santa is a monstrous cannibal with massive pair of horns and an army of violent elves who kidnap children and slaughter innocent reindeers.   

It’s a perfect holiday watch for anyone enjoying a little twisted take on the painfully dull reality of December. And bring along anyone over 12 (well yes, the BBFC rated this 15, but what do they know? A little nudity and swearing never hurt a teenager), they’ll love it. A visit from Santa will never be the same. 

Rare Exports, in cinemas now.

Leaking the Inconvenient Truth

The witch hunt is on for Julian Assange. He is arrested, his bank account has been closed and he is very conveniently being accused of rape in Sweden. Various lunatics politicians even call for him to be assassinated.

Is it just me or does this sound just a tad, err, undemocratic? So far the Wikileaks have given us some embarrassing private descriptions of world leaders, but  they have also revealed some rather more serious facts about international politics.

Why shouldn’t we know about these things? Why shouldn’t we know about war in Afganistan, the war funded by our tax money, being all but lost and the country being corrupt and far from democratic? Why shouldn’t we know that half of the world governments are seriously worried about Iran’s and Pakistan’s nuclear weapon development?  Or about the influence of the Russian mafia into politics? Or that Berlusconi is making secret deals with Putin? Or that Tories promised before the election that they would run a pro-American regime and buy more arms from the US if they came to power?

Everybody knows that the public is only told the minimum. The unofficial policies can be hard to justify,  sometimes they are borderline illegal. I have worked for government, I know. However, this is not an excuse. Even the unofficial policies HAVE to stand scrutiny. And if you get caught, you should take responsibility, not go running around calling for the messenger to be shot.  

We have been lied to by our politicians. Because we can’t handle the truth? Because we are too stupid to understand the reality of politics? Are the politicians trying to shut down Wikileaks to protect us? Or to protect themselves? Take a wild guess. 

The release of more than 250,000 US embassy cables
has embarrassed governments around the world. 

My High Street Crush - COS

Christmas is just around the corner and with it, the real reason we love the holidays and the whole hullabaloo: the January sales. Starting right after Christmas we are even given a bank holiday to dedicate for shopping – how considerate!

The looming sales mean that I try to abstain from shopping around this time of the year. And it is REALLY hard, especially as my high street crush COS is just around the corner. COS is owned by H & M, but for obvious reasons they don't go around shouting about it. The clothes are good quality materials, they look and feel design but come with a high street price tag. I reckon the classic COS clothes (with a nice little scandi twist) even kind of justify as a sensible buy. And guys: it's worth checking the suits too. 

So far COS only operates in a handful of European countries so if you don’t have a store in your country, don’t forget to include it in your itinerary on next holiday. And if you live in London, go check it out. But remember, you have been warned: it can cause an addiction. 

Give me a C! Give me an O! Give me a S!
Give me a perfect dress for winter!

There for You (When the Rain Starts to Pour)

You know sometimes you just get the feeling that you have the most awesome friends in the world? Well I do. My friends do awesome things. They write books, change politics, help others, create art and fashion. They are great journalists, unbeatable entertainers and superb PR wizards. Many people will find them annoying because they question things and demand a change. And I’m really proud of them.

I recently interviewed my friend David for a new Finnish paper called NHL. The article is about tackling homophobia in schools by educating kids about LGBT history: its heroes and heroines, the people who have made the British culture what it is today but have either had their identity written out of the history books because their sexuality wasn’t acceptable, or who have been written out all together.

Besides being a teacher, David is also the founder of A Day in Hand campaign that aims to inspire same sex couples to hold hands in public. The campaign is inclusive: anyone, straight or gay, can support the campaign by holding hands with  someone of their same gender and uploading the picture on A Day in Hand website. It’s so simple. To promote love and equality through the innocent act of holding hands.

But it takes a lot of work to get these great things to happen. To organise campaigns and events, lobby politicians, donate your time, create videos, blogs and articles and collect signatures. It takes passion. And I’m so proud to say I know many people with passion. As they are the people that will change the world.   

Read more about tackling homophobia through education from the November issue of Normihomolehti (NHL), out this weekend.

Support A Day in Hand campaign and upload your hand holding photo on the campaign website. Nominate A Day in Hand in the 2011 Pink Paper Awards.   

http://www.adayinhand.com/

Not Enough TV

Recently I have been feeling somewhat lost in the television universe. That is kind of strange as I work in television, watch it hours on end in the office and follow the industry news with great enthusiasm. But somehow I seemed to have missed several programmes I really rather like. I’m watching more and more box sets at home. You know, what I want when I want to. Kind of like when you still had a VCR  and you would programme it to record the programmes you liked. We haven’t come that far really.

But I was not happy with my box sets. I felt restless. I had missed the third season of Skins. And then I found Seesaw. Seesaw is an online on demand TV service that offers catchup programming from Channel 4 and Five. But more importantly, it has also got a nice big catalogue of (mostly) free archive programming from both channels and BBC. It’s like a treasure box! The original Queer as Folk is there as are Skins, Misfits, Footballers' Wives, Bleak House, Peep Show and Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle.

Try it and you’ll soon find you have lost a day or two. Me, I found peace. And I no longer miss my VCR.   

Queer as Folk was the coolest thing in television in 1999.
Btw, how weird is it to watch Aidan Gillen in The Wire? Weird!  

Princess for a Day - Or Maybe More

So finally the fairytale is coming true for the commoner Kate Middleton and she is getting her prince and half of the kingdom! I somehow missed the news yesterday morning and was more than baffled when a friend texted me and offered to fly to the UK for wedding. Was I getting married? And would I forget if I was, I wondered?

It was nice to see how all the terrestrial TV channels could finally air their Kate & William love story specials. It was especially interesting to see how they got around the fact that the shows were obviously recorded months ago when they had no idea of when or how would Wills finally pop the question.

It was also heartwarming to read and hear all the comments on how this royal wedding will bring the whole nation cheer and happiness in this time of recession. Indeed, if you lose your job and there’s no more benefits to claim, it does fills you with joy to see two privileged, super rich youngsters to marry, probably on your tax money...

Don’t get me wrong, I’m wishing the happy couple all the best. And I’m planning to buy a lot of wedding kitsch. Be warned, it will be a wedding overload in the press this Spring. It didn't take long from elle.uk to try and get us all into the wedding mood. Somehow, they did managed to forget the most gorgeous bride of the all, and she is a queen too!

Madonna: the cool bride 

  

I want my Lanvin!

H&M is treating us with another one of their designer collaborations. With an impressive history of guest designers such as Matthew Williamson, Jimmy Choo and Sonia Rykiel, the Swedish fashion giant really knows how it’s done. And is there anything better to bring us just before the Christmas party (and present!) season than Lanvin dresses, tees, accessories and even some men’s wear?  

Designed by Lanvin's artistic director Alber Elbaz, and menswear designer Lucas Ossendrijver the line is called Lanvin <3 H&M (that’s Lanvin loves H&M to you non-facebookers). The collection will be released on 23 November, the prices start from less than a tenner (ok, that’s for lipstick, but still) and I looooove it.

Check out the collection on Vogue website, as usual H&M’s own site is a  mess... And below are my favourites. 

Christ in a Coke Bottle!

Last Sunday night I was chilling out with my lovely boyfriend, reading a Sunday paper or doing something else so obviously cultural (like watching Dallas) when we were rudely disrupted by a knock on the door.

Now, I wasn’t expecting anyone and if that’s the case I simply do not open the door. Firstly because I don’t like unexpected visitors. Secondly because I live in Bermondsey. My boyfriend on the other hand is a country boy at heart and went on to open the door.

“Hello. I’m here to talk to you about Jesus”, the man on the door said (I told you so, never EVER open the door, I was thinking).

“We are both atheists”, my boyfriend replied.

“Oh. I’m not here to convert you or anything”, the man on the door continued, “but could I leave you some reading?”

“Sure, goodbye”, was the answer and the door was closed again.

So we got the November edition of the Awake! with the theme of the month appropriately being Is atheism on the March? And what do we learn?

A new group of atheists has arisen in society. Called the new atheists, they are not content to keep their views to themselves. Rather, they are on a crusade “actively, angrily, passionately trying to persuade the religious to their point of view".

Err, how did I come by this publication again? Surely not from a Jehova’s Witness actively and passionately trying to persuade the others to his point of view?

Awake! is full of articles about the bible, spirit and religion, and suddenly – a story about Natural Gas as an Energy for Home. What? Have the Christians finally found science? Are they trying to fool us into believing that the rest of the articles are based on science as well? What’s going on? Do they know that we are watching Dallas and J.R is just about to buy a refinery?

I found no answers. But the eternal wisdom never to open your door to a stranger lives on. Amen.

Do they know we're watching Dallas? 

Here's Looking At You, Kid

Not long ago I holidayed in Finland. I was staying with a friend with no TV so was having to entertain myself by other means of media. In her bookshelf I came across My Story, the memoirs of the Hollywood star Ingrid Bergman. 

Written and published in 1980 with cooperation of Alan Burgess, the book was delightful reading. Bergman arrived to Hollywood late 1930s. Even at that time the Hollywood starlets were cosmetically enhanced (Rita Hayworth’s hairline was famously lifted to better her looks) but the film mogul David Selznik decided to try something different with Bergman. She was sold to the press and audience as she was: with thick eye brows, bad teeth, too tall, too fat and with her real name – “film star au naturel”.

Bergman's own words are entertaining reading. She seems genuine and lovely, although perhaps prone to fall in love easily and ready to sacrifice a lot for romance. She was practically barred from the States after divorcing her first husband and leaving her daughter behind to be with Roberto Rosselini, her second husband. 

She writes about the pressures to be thin, her weight struggle and love of ice cream (not perhaps totally unrelated issues). When down, she wrote to her friend that she was "constantly smoking, drinking more than ever and had gained four and a half kilos".

How refreshing! Today’s movie stars are so dull and uninteresting with their macrobiotic cucumber soup diets and 3 hour a day workouts. No wonder she was favoured by Hitchcock and loved by the public. Salut for the real screen legends! 

Ingrid with Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca

With Cary Grant in Hitchcock's Notorious

With her second husband Roberto Rosselini and their three kids: Roberto, Isabella and Ingrid

Growing old gracefully in Ingmar Berman's Autumn Sonata, her last feature.

Trendsetting Force of Alexa

I’m usually a very reluctant trend follower. When enough people rave about a great new bar, film or band, I’m far more likely to be turned off by that than to follow the tip. I think shockingly many people like to be part of the herd and allow media to tell them what they should think is good and / or cool. I should know better. I used to be a journalist. Many of my friends are journalists. And as much as I love them, they are not super human nor aesthetic geniuses.

But as hard as I’ve tried, I can’t help but liking “the it girl of the moment” Alexa Chung. I’m not sure she’s the super friendly, down to earth, laid-back, modest girl-next-door who “doesn't make much effort with her appearance and doesn't have a beauty routine” that the glossies (and her agents) like us to think she is. But she DOES have a great style. And it IS her own. Obviously it is easier to dress well when you have got a LOT of money but the examples like Cheryl Cole have shown us that money doesn’t buy you style.  

Check out Alexa’s Today I’m Wearing blog on the Vogue website and her style gallery on the Elle.uk.

It's all about cardigans, shorts, skirts and socks with Alexa.

Britain, Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

The coalition government has finally unveiled their monstrous “spending review”, cutting public spending by £83 billion. The cuts will effect welfare, higher education, social housing, policing and local government – pretty much every walk of life and, I promise you, every one of us living on this island.

The critics (and Labour of course) have warned of the consequences cuts of this scale will have on society. And they are not wrong.

In the early 90s, the global recession hit especially hard on Finland. Around 20% of our foreign trade had been with Soviet Union and its collapse added just that little something to the economic disaster that was created during the yuppie years of the 80s.

The unemployment rose from pre-recession 3,5% to 18.9%. A couple of banks collapsed. The coalition government in power tried to solve the situation with excessive cuts on public spending. Sounds familiar?

But that's just numbers. The recession left us a generation who graduated to unemployment and after a few years became unemployable. They are still on the dole. It left us another generation who grew up in poverty during the recession, with constant uncertainty about mom's and dad’s job, money and even family unity (anyone who is claiming that chances in the economic situation don’t effect relationships is either really rich or stupid). We called them children of the recession, kind of like children of  the revolution, but not cool.

The Finnish welfare state was effectively being dissolved and the burden of that can still be seen: more mental problems and alcoholism go untreated. There is more poverty, which always brings along its dear friend crime. The economy recovered but unemployment is still high, hovering around 7 - 8 % with youth unemployment currently a staggering 22,5%.  

Everyone knows that the UK economy is not doing so well and that some cuts needed to be done. But the cuts made by the coalition government are done for ideological, not economical reasons. Every country in the world has got debt. Hell, most of us has got debt. But if you would decide stop buying food for the next five years and instead triple your mortgage payments, you would be considered mad.

People get the government they deserve, they say. But are they ready for the aftermath? 

The boys club stick together. RIP Public Services.

The Art of the Shoe

This is why I love London. Something so wonderful but at the same time so very dangerous has appeared on Oxford Street. Selfridges has opened its Shoe Galleries.

Shoe Galleries have been designed by an architect Jamie Fobert and the area is supposedly bigger than Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall. It is the biggest shoe department in the world, stocking 55 000 shoes at any one time and 4000 shoes on display from over 150 brands. It will obviously offer you big brands like Jimmy Choo, Louboutin and Dior but the high street labels like Topshop, All Saints and Office are there too.

You think this is heaven? Imagine the sales. 

World According To Google

So Google has decided to read our minds. Or direct our minds. Take your pick. Anyhow the new Google Instant tries to guess what you are searching for while you type.

To make sure not to offend anyone or to give kids naughty ideas, Google has however put together a blacklist of words it does not react on. Or it will, but you will have to press enter to see your results.

And how interesting is the blacklist! These are some examples of the words/things/thoughts Google wants us to avoid (the list is changing, they have now unblocked for example the word lesbian, well done google nerds!):

Penis

Paris Hilton

Pimppi (Vittu however is allowed)

Vagina

Adult

Bastardo

Cocaine

Pamela Anderson

Shemale

Transexual

Pissing

Nude

Xx (unlucky for the band, eh?)

Go on, give it a try yourself! The full list can be found from here: http://www.2600.com/googleblacklist/

Kissing My Vitamins Goodbye

I have recently made a fundamentally life changing decision to give up vitamin pills. I know it doesn’t sound quite as impressive as giving up drugs, alcohol or cigarettes, but believe you me, it is a big deal for me. I have been taking my daily multivitamins for as long as I can remember. I’m one of the “vitamin fanatics”, people taking supplements once a day or more (and I’m not alone, apparently 32% of us in the UK fall into this category).

My belief in omnipotence of vitamin supplements was passed down from my mother, who still keeps sending me little pill bottles for Christmas. On top of that I really liked believing in the magic pills that would make me forever young (vitamin E), happy (St John’s Wort), lose weight (Green Tea pills) and, of course, give me a super strong immune system (not rare for me to have four colds each winter).  

However after a lot of debate with my very smart and cute boyfriend and reading some research (and this great article from The Independent), I have come to a conclusion that I can, shock horror, actually get all the vitamins I need from my diet.

More and more studies are also showing that there’s no evidence of any benefit from multivitamin intake. And quite worryingly, overdosing on some vitamins can actually do you, especially your liver, more harm than good. God forbid, my liver does not need any excess strain on it.

So if you see me shaking in the corner, not to worry. It’s just new, less toxic me, getting over my vitamin withdrawals. 

Soho Magic

I love Soho. I know many Londoners find it touristy and uncool, but I know you can pretty much find anything you need from the hedonistic hub of our dear old London. 

As we did last night with a good friend of mine. Sushi overdose at delicious Kulu Kulu on Brewer Street was unavoidable. The only thing you can do after that is to retire to the Friendly Society on Wardour Street for some more wine and get your feet up in their little snug. Good times.

He makes the most luscious prawn tempura hand rolls

At Kulu Kulu the sushi is prepared in front of you and delivered on a conveyor belt

12 plates later, that's us done!

Richard digesting at Friendly Society

For the White Nights of Summer

How beautiful was the Dolce & Gabbana SS 2011 collection at Milan fashion week? Underwear as outerwear has been a trend for a good while but this collection took the concept to a new level. Tonnes of white lace and fabrics that looked like they could have been cut out of grandma's old curtains (in the best possible way) defined the collection  inspired by “sensual kind of elegance and tradition that characterises the typical trousseau of Southern Italy”. And an almost all-white collection is a clear signal of the colour we are going to wear next summer.

Not So Hot on Holiday

I’m overly excited about my upcoming holiday in Spain. Not only is the weather forecast SUN SUN SUN  when in the UK it’s misery misery misery, I’m also going to stay with a dear old friend of mine. 

Packing for your holiday is an acquired skill and something that oh so many people get oh so wrong. And according to a recent study done by  money saving website DiscountVouchers.co.uk, the tourists from Birmingham and Midlands are just the worst of them all, followed by Newcastle and Scotland. Americans were voted as having the worst fashion sense in world (Germans, Greeks and British came close), Italians the best.

The biggest fashion errors were thought to be socks with sandals and exposed beer bellies. Skimpy trunks for men, thongs for women, football shirts and logo overload were also considered to be bad taste.

I think we all agree, except that socks and sandals is one of the greatest (and comfiest!) trends of the moment. But just to make sure, I think I’ll leave them for my return to the chilly autumn. After all, the study did show that the best dressed British tourists come from East England (and Yorkshire).

Socks so chic! Prada Autumn 2010 Collection

Colour By Numbers

There’s a one thing every Finn packs with when moving abroad: a cheese slicer. Because no one does them like  Fiskars do. Sharp and easy on the eye – just right. And because we Finns are so proud of our little things, I have now got three of them, gifts from friends and family. But when there is a Colours range, who cares, keep them coming!

Live Fast Die Young

I want my pop stars spectacular! I adore Courtney Love, Elton John, Lady Gaga, Britney and Boy George.  I loathe Leona Lewis and all the other boring X-Factor wannabes, including the judges. And I’m not alone. We are all fascinated when the pop stars go into meltdown. There’s a website where you can guess when Britney is going to die and no matter how much we burn the candle from both ends ourselves, there’s rarely any sympathy found for the “poor millionaire pop stars” and their addictions.

So it’s not really a surprise that a study done in Liverpool John Moores University shows that rock stars drop dead younger than the rest of us. But to find out that the life expectancy of an European pop star is only 35 years, sounds rather harsh. The yanks don’t do much better: a North American star can expect to die at 42 years of age.

The study looked at 1050 musicians, that had featured in the All Time Top 1000 albums list between 1956 and 1999, covering rock, pop, funk, R&B, electronica and new age genres. It found stars were more than twice as likely to die early and even more likely to die within five years of becoming famous. About 25 years after shooting to fame, European stars returned to the same levels of life expectancy as the general population while North American stars continued to experience higher death rates.

The main reason for the premature death of a pop star is obviously consumption of too much drugs and/or alcohol. I find the whole thing utterly depressive. Not that I really want to be a pop star but I know that if I was, I would definitely consume too much drugs and/or alcohol. But to die in your mid thirties? That’s so last season.

And I’m not the one to preach to the kids (or adults) what to do and think, but isn’t it just a tad questionable that the pop royalties are still being presented to us as role models? And don’t go saying they haven’t chosen that role. If they hadn’t, they wouldn’t be selling shampoo to us. 

Britney's back!

Elton John in his heyday, you got to love the look!

Princess for a Day?

I’ve never understood the traditional wedding dresses (I don’t really get the whole fuss about weddings in general to be honest, but more of that some other time). I’ve never had a dream of being a princess for a day. To dress in white, looking like you just jumped out of a Disney movie and marry your prince. The wedding gowns are useless after your wedding day, they cost a fortune and most of them really look rather dreadful.

A good friend of mine got married this summer so we went wedding dress shopping. Luckily she is my type of girl and even the sight of the Bridal Boutique at Liberty’s gave us both the chills - and not in a good way.  She found a beautiful dress in the end, the wedding was a hoot and they are now living happily ever after. 

Now I think I’ve found my fairytale. The story was told on New York Fashion Week. The Marchesa’s S/S 2011 show was full of most gorgeous, breathtaking and stunning dresses that just knocked me out. I still wouldn’t wear a wedding gown but the princess inside me was born.  

The Evil Has Landed

So the most evil (looking) man in the world has entered this island. As a woman and human, I’m absolutely appalled that my tax money is being wasted in his visit when he really should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity. We don’t see the UK government bending over backwards to please other hate clerics, do we? If Catholics want him here so badly, why doesn't Vatican foot the bill for his visit? 

And just to make matter worse, on the eve of Pope's visit, one of his cardinals compared Britain to a third-world country blaming it for secularism and pluralism and stating that the UK is marked by "a new and aggressive atheism". 

Pope himself reminded us of his that his love indeed has got boundaries just two days before his visit by claiming that gay marriage laws “contribute to the weakening of the principles of natural law” and to “confusion about society’s values.” He is known to believe that all gay people possess a tendency towards evil.

Read the anti-pope  letter by signed by 50 public figures from the Guardian website:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/15/harsh-judgments-on-pope-religion

If you’d like to join the anti-pope demonstrations:

http://www.protest-the-pope.org.uk/category/events/upcoming/

You evil little man....

Autumn Coat Picks

Yes, it’s getting chilly out there! If you got totally bored with your winter warmer last year, it’s time to get a new one. Pick one of these trends to be in vogue. 

Camel Coat, the biggest trend of the autumn by Stella McCartney 

Military is back -again, loving Matthew Williamson's Military Wool Coat

Aviator jacket is big this season. Think Top Gun. By Acne. 

Capes are possibly my favourite coat trend EVER. This trench cape is from H&M

Sexy Seventies

I’m loving the Marc Jacob’s S/S2011 collection at New York Fashion Week. I don’t care what anyone says, the 70s style was awesome! I love the floating dresses and massive accessories (although they are terribly difficult to travel with, don’t you think?). The accessories are also the cheapest and quickest way of updating your look. So go on, ebay your hair straighteners, get your hot pants on, and get ready to disco!

Check the collection on the Vogue website: 

http://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/show.aspx/catwalk-report/id,9762

Abba was real hot in the 70s

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Boss?

Today I did a training course, provided by work, about Influencing Skills. I didn’t become a master of manipulator, as you might guess, but instead I did learn how to communicate effectively with different types of people. And hopefully learned what in my style of communication may confuse or annoy people (waving those hands around, get too passionate about things and making up my own procedures to reach the common goals).
In the end of the day we had a look at case studies, fictional, of course. One of them being a case of a highflying negotiator, making a lot of money for the company, closing deals, but failing to communicate with rest of the staff. Sound familiar? I thought so.


We all know these super achievers with zero emotional intelligence. They don’t like to be told what to do. To get them do what you want, you should get them to believe it was all their idea in the first place. You should give them options and let them decide.


Except that I don’t think that is right. I don’t think we need to give in to these egoistical rhinos who don’t care whose feelings they hurt and whose dreams they destroy on their way to another success. Who make workplace unbearable for a dozen of people just so they can get better results.

It’s not rocket science to treat people with respect. I think that rather than understanding their despotic manners, companies should offer them treatment, like they do to alcoholics. When they have reached a sufficient level of personal development, they could be released back to the society, even work environment. Reformed. Humanbeings.