How I Did It: Wearing Hot and Chic in Nordic Territory

Beautiful Gowns at Independence Day of Finland is haute couture, but everyday high-street style is what we need casually. Pixymissymindy interviews the Jyväskylä residence and Tourism graduate, Pauliina, now 27, to follow how to stay warm in the winter wonderland.

1. Jyväskylä usually gets -25’c, how do you wear stylishly in the winter time?

First of all, on wintertime the most important thing is to stay warm! Well, how do you stay warm and stylish; It’s all about the layers and materials. Couple of years ago I got introduced to Uniqlo’s heat-tech underwear which are really soft and light AND you can get them in different colours! These underwear are so light you don’t even notice them under your favourite jeans.

Pauliina in Lanzarote, 2009

Then I’ll wear usually dark coloured pants/jeans and some (mainly broken coloured) cardigans made from good material mixtures. My favourite brand for winter wear is Benetton. They have quite good material mixes, for example, wool, angora, cashmere, cotton…etc. Materials need to be breathable and warm, because you change your location from freezing degree outside to very warm house/shop inside. It’s not stylish to sweat when going back indoors, eh? Only woolen shirts are too hot for me and this material tickles skin quite a lot. Benetton shirts are thinner, have nice cuts and patterns and they are really warm. I like to buy good quality clothes which also last much longer.

I buy winter jacket every second year ...usually. Last winter jacket was from Esprit and the newest one I have, is from Benetton. My newest jacket has feathers, a long neck and a hoodie, so it’s extra warm. The weather can change quickly so with this jacket I’m even prepared to face snowstorms. Long neck covers half of my face on -20 to -30 ‘C and protects my sensitive skin. Having a belt in the jacket is a nice detail,because it makes your figure look more feminine and not that snowmanish. You always can make the final touch to your style with woolly hats, mittens/leather gloves and scarves.

Last but not least are the shoes! They can add the final touch to your style. Now I’m still searching for new black leather winter shoes which could fit with most of my outfits and would be walk-able (not too high heels this time). My last winter boots were till my knees and had lamb wool fully inside. Really warm and usable when there’s lots of snow, but not that stylish. I used to live more far away and the shoes had to be walk-able and warm. But now, that I live in the city center I can choose much fancier shoes. Actually, I’m dreaming about these Marc O’Polos leather boots, but it’s going to stay as a dream, because of the price over 200 € (whoa!). They are not that useful for winter time as well, because there’s not any lining. Good winter shoes need to be warm, walk-able and stylish! Shoe materials from outside should be real leather and from inside some kind of woolly lining or big enough to wear extra socks. The bottom of the shoe should be anti-slippery for example rubber. There’s a real challenge to find perfect shoes in Jyväskylä, where there’s not that good variety in stores and brands (or they are sold out quickly). I would not consider buying shoes online, because it’s already kind of hard to find shoes that fit to my feet properly.

All the winter wear last longer when you handle your clothes with care. It’s preferable to take your winter jacket out to balcony when there’s minus degrees. Then gets all fresh and you’ll get the dust and any smells (parfums etc.) out from it. Leather shoes should be cover with anti-wet sprays or gel, because if leather shoes get wet even once they won’t keep you feet warm anymore.

2. Which fashion magazines inspire you all the time?

I would say Elle magazine at the moment and for interior decoration, it’s Deko

magazine. I also follow Kookaïs facebook page…etc. I used to order InLook magazine.

3. Tell us about your daily beauty products.

I have extra sensitive skin so moisturizing is really important! I use lot of oily whole body cream to maintain the balance of my skin. But for my facial treatment I use Lumene products, which are made for sensitive Nordic skin. I like Lumene products, because they have good price and quality. They use lots of natural ingredients and cherish the Nordic natural beauty. On winter time skin will get extra dry, because of heating indoors and dry minus degree weather outdoors. I have Lumene’s SOS facial cream which brings relief to dry skin in only 5 minutes. So not that red couperosa skin on wintertime. When I want to treat myself I buy l’Occitan’s products, but at the moment I don’t have any (only lip balms). I also have Dolce&Gabbana’s Light Blue body lotion, but this I save only for elated moments.

For nails I always use Mavalan’s products like nutritive nail cream and nail polish. For colour my nails I usually love Dior’s or Chanel’s nail polish. They last long and are rich in pigment. For lips everyone use Blistex, especially Daily lip Conditioner (with aloe vera) keeps lips soft and moist even in the driest weather. Every now and then I’ll do facial mask to get dead cells off my skin and to make fresh feel. Almost all my cosmetics at the moment are from Lumene, but when I’ll get employed I will purchase maybe something like Clinique (a bit more expensive than Lumene) etc. Because it’s made for sensitive and allergic skin. For my eye lashes I’ve already used Clinique’s products and now I’m using black coloured Kanebo 38’C.

For parfum, I used to have Kenzo’s l’eau and Bvlgari’s Green Jade. This summer I bought Flora by Gucci and for this winter I change back to Chérie parfum by Dior. This odour from Dior brings back the memories from my time in Paris and Green Jade brings back the memories from Lanzarote. Even though I told many of my daily beauty products, I think the beauty comes from inside. The most important is to have a healthy diet and to do versatile exercise.

Pauliina's hand made berry jame!

4. Introduce one of your favourite pubs of Jyväskylä night life.

From my nearest pubs I like most Poppari (which was before Jazz bar) and

Hemingway’s. Poppari has the best jazz gig’s in town! They have most cultural and relaxed atmosphere. If you want to meet musician’s, artists or art people, this is the place. Also my ex-room mate and jazz singer is working there as the bar tender. In Hemingway’s I can find lots of friends and familiar faces. There’s extra polite staff, live music and relaxed decoration. People come here to meet each other, play games and listen to acoustic live music. They have nice variety in drinks, but quite high prices. But the staff makes sure you’ll enjoy your stay with smile and serving drinks also to tables.

From upper city I prefer Sohwi (which locates near University’s main campus), which has good a bit academic feeling for a pub. They have good food, music (live performance at times) and good prices for drinks. Really relaxed atmosphere and people from all ages like it. From upper city I would like to mention Green Fairy which has good range in beers and you can ask anything about beers from the staff and they have the answer. Very polite staff!

5. Your future dreams are…………?

My future dreams are that my family and friends stay healthy, I’d find a meaningful

work and I could travel more. When having a good work it’s easier to plan future! :)

Photography: Pauliina