Urban safari - welcome to the jungle

Today’s a good day for an urban safari. Just take some of the hottest trends of the season - a safari style dress in eartly tones trends, a matching mini bag and whit platform sneakers, then mix them with some good mood and voila! I’m also wearing my new and already favorite Happy that it’s already summer and the quarantine ended so we can now go enjoy the weather, I put together a comfy outfit that makes me feel comfortable and went on a big big walk downtown.

Complete outfit: HM

This exact shirt dress is unfortunatelly not currently available in this colour but rather in dark and light blue denim, also there is a similar but sleeveless green one here. I’m wearing one of the many different layered gold necklaces such as this one. The white sneakers are from autumn 2019 but I managed to find similar ones. The bag is from 2019 as well but this one is very very simalr to it. And scrunchies like mine are also available, in many other colours and prints as well. :)

The sky was so beautiful and as a sunset lover, I just had to take a picture.

Top this with a cozy candle-lit dinner at a fave restaurant, grilled zuccini and glaring the beautiful city lights and it is almost perfect. And because I’m me, the evening was only complete after I listened to some fave rock’n’roll later in the early hours of the night.

5 reasons why we all need to travel more

travel time

5 reasons to travel more

We often look at travelling and vacations only as a fun time we have once or twice or if we’re lucky - a couple of times a year. But it is actually a lot more than just some time off that you spend doing basically nothing but having fun.

Here are some photos from a vacation in Greece that took me to amazingly beautiful places and made me become more aware, appreciating and open to new experiences. I knew it’s always so with travels but yet I was very surprised to find out how much a trip can really change me and so I realized that many of us often underestimate the power of traveling. So let me take you through my 5 reasons why we all need to travel more and what I think makes travelling so important in our lifes.

1. The more the better & little by little

   First of all, I think the “once or twice a year is okay” approach to travelling is most of the time wrong. A vacation should not be a one off event you are impatiantly waiting for. It should rather be a small reoccuring event that takes place each time you have a weekend to spare or even a day. This way traveling will give you the chance to more often get this nice feeling of being refreshed and clear minded as well as to develop the view that fun can happen anytime and so we should always be open to new adventures.

2. Clearer view on life

   Traveling is an opportunity to get a more distant and better view on your lfe and priorities. Having moe spare time, enjoying the sunsets etc. is a good chance for you to forget for a while about all the stress and pressure and finally think as clearly as you are actually able to when no circumstances are troubling you. So that’s the best time for big decisions and developing new ideas since you’re at a 100% capacity you now.

3. Productivity and ideas

   The freedom that being away from home and most of the people you know gives you is also important. You get a feeling of being a lot more capable and stronger. You’re a lot more likely to believe in your plans and big dreams if you distance yourself from daily duties and habits - not for any other reason but because you have 24 hours to do what you want and you actually realize how much you manage to accomplish within a day.

4. Happy times

   Travelling is great for bonding and rebonding with your closest people. Being too busy and having too many thing to do often stops us from spending enough quality time with the most important people in our lifes. When travelling you can talk, walk and discover new places together, try some new weird sport or dish and you will surely laugh together and discuss random fun things that probably never even occur to you in daily life. And that’s a really nice experience!

5. Broaden your horizons

   And last but not least, travelling is a way to broaden your horizons and get to know other cultures and lifestyles. This will enrich you and show you how different other people’s habits and traditions are, how many of these new things you are curious about and how much you can learn through travelling. And this will make you want even more and more trips, more new stories and more new places!

Thanks for reading, I hope I managed to inspire you to travel and enjoy little adventures more. :) I’d expect to hear in the comments about how much fun you had.

- Nicole

Last minute Christmas gift idea - for him, for her, for friends/family

Hello everyone, ready for the holidays? Are the lights everywhere? Does the house already smell like cinnamon? Have you started the “Home Alone” marathon? :D

Nail polish: Catrice Cosmetics & Golden Rose cosmetics

Christmas themed phone case: HM

Candle Holder: Royal Coppenhagen

1. Dreams do come true

...especially if you help them do. That's my favorite kind of gift to give, it's always unique and easy to come up with and it's guaranteed to never fail. Perfect, I told you. But it's only suitable for certain people that have decided to tell you some even small dream of theirs. The thing is you must have at least one friend/relative that has always wanted to visit France for example, or get a dog, or go diving etc. They have shared this dream but never actually found the time, courage or money to make it come true. So now it's your turn to do it. They will surely be happy and excited and you'll be part of a great memory in their life.

2. Ticket to ride

One of the things we find it hardest to pay for is actually experiences. Yes, they’re great and memorable but since we cannot see and touch them, we feel a little bit like paying too much for something imaginary. Sooo what I suggest is to get a ticket as a present – no matter if it is plane tickets for a trip, a SPA giftcard, a concert or theme park ticket – these are all really interesting ideas.

3. Homemade is best

This only works for you if you indeed have some special gift or craft talent but it’s a really cool idea. Maybe you’re good at drawing, creating scrapbooks, singing or anything else. Then put some effort into creating a custom made personal present - draw a card or painting or write someon a song. It sound simple but in many cases these are the presents we value most since they are most personal and shwo us how much people care. After all, remember that Christmas is all about caring and loving the people around you, not just buying stuff.

4. Sweets & giftcards

I know it may sound funny but I have had a chance to try out this approach multiple times and it worked so freaking well each time. You know that for some people no present is really good, they don’t like surprises and you never feel like they really liked the present you gave them. Then what do ypu get them? How do you make them smile? Luckily, one universal thing we all enjoy throughout the holidays is good food and treats. So my never-fail idea for a present is a generic giftcard accompanied with lots of cool treats. The giftcard is a delicate way to tell someone both I don’t know what to get you and I want you to have something nice as a present from me. And I think that the best thing to combine with it is some sweet treats or of course vegan sweet treats. You always know your close people’s love food brands are and it’s easy to choose their faves. Of course you could also choose some high end brand (e.g. botique chocolate brand) and add a more classy touch to it.

Thank you for reading, I hope I helped you out in the big search for presents!

Happy holidays! <3

- Nicole

Happy 1st birthday to AROCKCHICKLIFE.COM <3

On 20th of July was my blog's 1st birthday and I wanted to celebrate well. :) I reviewed all my blog posts, social media posts, reavaluated everything and made some plans for the future of my little space of Internet.

I also wanted to share my celebration with everyone around so I bought chocolates for my family, friends and colleagues, I dedicated a whole weekend to blog themed partying, I had a shopping spree (which I'll write a new blog post about very soon haha) and also wrote this article for you.

I'd love to mark my 1st year of blogging by sharing some facts about me and my life with you. And because the theme is 1 I will be sharing my 1 favorite thing in different categories.

1 favorite quote of mine: "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" - Mary Oliver. It's all up to us to do great things and to make our dreams come true. We should just be more focused and more brave. <3

1 favorite fashion decade of mine: the 50s. Have you seen Grease? Because if you have, you don't need no explaination :D Good Sandy, bad Sandy - both rocking amazing outifts. Everyone is stylish, everyone is following trends and you can mix chic with rock'n'roll which I love. 

1 favorite color of mine: Pink. I loved it as a kid, then I stopped, then started again in high school, then forgot about it again until millenial pink happened :D and now I'm in love with it again.

1 favorite fruit of mine: Apple. I think that's my all time favorite fruit since like forever, especially green apples.

1 favorite music album of mine: Definitely Maybe by Oasis. I love music, I listen to music all the time and I have looots of fave songs and albums. But this was the first time I learned a whole album by heart in like a day and the first time I was really influenced by an album creatively and it really is a big thing for me.

1 favorite song of mine: Heros by David Bowie. This tune is just amazing. You can play it on repeat for hours, for years and it won't get old. It's pure perfection.

1 favorite clothing item of mine: Dress. It's easy to style and could look both formal and super casual. I think this is the clothing item that gives you widest range of options for styling it and if you find the perfect black dress I swear coming up with outfits get's five times easier

1 favorite accessory of mine: A clutch. I'm not going anywhere without a pocket journal and lipstick so I value bags a lot. But let's be honest - the cutest bags of all are clutches, especially when in bright colors or cool prints.

1 favorite makeup product of mine: Lipstick. The most esential makeup product for me is lipstick. It gives you a great choice of colors and outlines the best feature of a person - their smile.

1 favorite fashion designer of mine: Ellie Saab. I have lot's of favorite designers and it was very hard for me to choose only one but her beautiful and almost magical collections are amongst the greatest things I've ever seen. Wearing a piece of art must be an incredible experience.

Tha's it for now guys! :) Hope you enjoyed this blog post, thank you for reading and supporting me throughout tis 1st year of blogging. See you ahead on this amazing journey and keep on chasing your dreams!

- Nicole

Let's talk about why girl power matters.

Just a word or two from me about the positive changes in society. ♀ ♡

So let's talk about sex, one of the sexes in specific. Women.

I don't know if you know but we are currently making history. We are living in a time when we're witnessing an almost never seen before wave of empowerment and women supporting women. Which is INCREDIBLE and I just feel so lucky to have a chance to witness it. And what's even better - to contribute to it. Because YASSS sis, you rule, you rock, you can do it, you're strong, you're pretty, you're smart!

Since the dawn of time we've been seeing and experiencing the classic - women tear down women. In any way: in movies, in songs, at school, at work, in life, everywhere - and it's been awful.

But why the damn hell? Why have we chosen to show this? To do this? Why did we as a society ever even create this trend? Since it's just crap!? It has been a major deviation from good and meaningful existance. Thank God we finally found our way out. Through honest pure friendship and support!

So I dare you: call, shout, whisper, text something supportive to another woman! Now! 3,2,1.. progress! <3

- Nicole

Why we should stop being "busy" ♥

Do you know what it is? This a sunrise you miss out while being too "busy"preparing for work, eating breakfast, scrolling through your social media.

Do you know what it is? It can be anything. That one thing you regret missing out. Come on, there's at least one that comes to mind immediately.

Think about all the things you are missing out because you're too busy doing something else which is pretty often more or less meaningless. We've all been kinda stuck in this Fight Club quote lately "We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like."

We have started talking about being busy as if it's something great. We have started showing off with not having enough time for something. And we pride ourselves in this, which is the worst. We feel important and valuable, we feel needed here and there, we feel that our lives are full of things. And at the same time we're also kinda honestly sorry that we skip parties, don't call our friends as often as we want to and we don't have "me" time.

You, me, all of us. I'm glad to have finally saw it, and I'm decided to finally fix it.

Because why the hell do we do it? We do it. It's all on us. If there's someone who can change it, it's us. Stop filling up your to do list, tell your friends you miss them, meet them, now, skip a task to go out for a walk, leave your phone at home, wake up earler and have our cup of coffee while watching the sunrise, walk barefoot in the park, watch an oldtime movie. ♥

- Nicole

My new favorite place to shop - NYX Cosmetics

The first ever NYX Cosmetics store in Bulgaria, Sofia opened doors last month and it quickly became one of my favorite places to shop. With great affordable prices and amazing products that I’ve been dreaming of for so long, it sure couldn’t be any better. <3

I couldn’t attend the grand opening of the store since I was at work all day but I made sure to visit it as soon as I could in the weekend. And let me say my visit went very well and took more than an hour haha because I just fell in love with everything and couldn’t stop looking around.

Let’s start with the cool videos playing on the screens inside and outside the store that feature some super talented and Insta famous makeup arists for example my favorite girl Leigh Dickson. Next thing to mention – all the products were so cool and I swear I’ve never seen more shades of makeup ever in my life. Although I still haven’t tried as many as I would like to, I surely will so stay tuned haha.

I bought some very useful and quality products that you’ll see in the photos below. And I also got a contour palette as a present because there was a promo campaign after the opening of the store. I’ve never contoured before because I’m not really into that trend but I occasionally use the highlighters and I like them a lot.

Thank you for reading guys. :) I’d love to hear your opinions on the store so make sure you share them in the comments.

Also do you like NYX in general? What is your favorite NYX product? What other makeup and comsetic brands do you use?

- Nicole

Easy last minute Halloween costume ideas

Not all Halloween parties call for a super expensive and impressive "I'm a special effects specialist who invested a hundred dollars in my costume" kinda look. Sometimes it's just a home party or a squad hang out and you want to come up with a pretty cool costume idea that is also both easy and cheap. And here comes this post to help you out on your important mission.

Below are 4 simple last minute Halloween costume ideas that you already have in your closet. All you need for a great look is to creatively combine some clothes and add some makeup.

Vampire

A trendy and simple take on the classical favorite would feature any black badass outfit. If you have something even slightly vintage looking that's a win but just a little black dress would also do the job. To finish the look add some makeup - smokey or cat eye, red lipstick, some fake blood and fangs and you're ready to party!

Rings: H&M

Liquid lipstick: Essence

Eyeliner: Maybelline

Minnie Mouse

I made this cute headband a couple years ago inspired by the ones they sale at Disneyland. It was a fun diy project, I really love how it turned out and I'm happy to wear at any given chance. I paired it with an outfit in red and black but it'd look even better with a polka dot top or dress.

Leather skirt: Terranova style

Nail polish: golden Rose

Lip pens: H&M

Eyeliner: Maybelline

Party at Gatsby's

Seriously everybody's favorite since the 2013 movie. I can't count how many people I've seen dressed in a 20s inspired outfit for Halloween or some themed party. And the fact that this cool look is so easy to pull off and affordable makes things even better. Any lace, sequined or fringe dress or a dress + top combo works and you can get creative with accessories.

Lace dress: Shein

Seqined top: Terranova style

Wednesday Addams

When we talk Halloween and spooky stuff Wednesday is one of the first characters that pop up in my mind. I love this outfit because it's super easy to recreate and at the same time you know everyone will recognize the character in like 2 seconds because it's a cult movie we've all seen many many times. And let me tell you the red nail polish + black lips combo is a dream come true for everyone who loves make up so have fun with it.

Skirt and blouse: H&M

Nail polish: Golden Rose

Lipstcik: Essence

Eyeshadow: Bourjois

Thank you for reading and I hope my ideas will help you look great this Halloween. Make sure to tell me if you used them as inspiration, what you dressed up as and how you spend Halloween in the comments below!

- Nicole

4 ways to style and wear a band t-shirt

Here are some fresh, trendy and easy to recreate looks. Hope I'm helping you style a great band tee outfit by providing you with some inspo. ❤

#1 Classic black jeans.

Guns n Roses t-shirt: Hottopic. Customized and cut by me :P

Black jeans: H&M

Boots: Tally Weijl

Choker: Dollskill

Earrings: ASOS

Rings: H&M, Forever21, Orsay

Watch: Marc Jacobs

#2 Denim and shorts.

Guns n Roses t-shirt: Hottopic. Customized and cut by me :P

Denim jacket: Calliope

Boots: Tally Weijl

Choker: Amazon Fashion

Vintage Backpack

#3 Badass leather shorts.

Guns n Roses t-shirt: Hottopic. Customized and cut by me :P

Leather shorts: H&M

Boots: Tally Weijl

Choker and Bracelets: Amazon Fashion

Rings: H&M, Orsay

#4 Trendy skirt

Guns n Roses t-shirt: Hottopic. Customized and cut by me :P

Velvet skirt: H&M

Boots: Tally Weijl

Necklace: H&M

Earrings: ASOS

Rings: H&M, Forever21, Orsay

Watch: Marc Jacobs

I've been loving band tees long before it was cool and all over the internet. Now I walk around the street and there are so many teen girls casually wearing Nirvana or Arctic Monkeys tees and it's totally cool for everyone around. But let me tell you it was not that easy to pull off such a look like 10 years ago. After the 80s band craze and everybody rocking band tees all the time it gradually became less and less popular to wear them.

So there I was trying to come up with a cute band tee outfit idea in the 00s. The only people to wear band tees a lot were real metalheads, mostly men and teenboy squads, and it was not really common to see a girl wearing a band tee. Respect to all the few brave girls who proudly started this trend together with me! So yeah, it was a pretty hard task for me to rock a band tee without getting some surprised looks. Who cares tho. It was fun and I was often pairing the outfit with loud rock coming from my earplugs.

But now that it's popular and trendy to wear band tee outfits I gotta say I feel like a queen. AC/DC shirt and a leather skirt? Yes! Stones tee and high heels? Yes please! Every choice is a good choice and the braver the combo the better the outfit.

- Nicole

New hairstyle & hair color

Hello, happy October and happy autumn! As part of my preparation for the new season, the fall trends and all the projects and events coming up for me, I decided to make a style change. So I recently got a new haircolor and hairstyle. Up until now I've been rockin' a long blonde hairstyle with dark ombre roots in my natural brown color. My hair was super long and hippie style, I actually liked it a lot but I felt I wanted to try something new. 

I had a pretty clear idea what I wanted my hairstyle to be. I wanted a lighter color and textured hairstyle, shorter bangs and a pinch of 'wild thing' haha becasue I'm a rock chick of course. I did my best to find photos of a color and a hairstyle I liked and then headed for my hairstylist appointment.

And here comes the best part. It's because I've been going to the same hair salon for about two years and the results are just always stunning. My stylist Petia always listens to me when I'm explaining to her what I want for my hair and then she does her magic and Voila! I look exactly as I wanted to. Thank you very much, Petia! :) And this time it was no exception, I was so happy when I got home that I immediately started taking selfies of course haha. If you're following me on Instagram, I bet you saw them in my stories. :D And now I'm ready for autumn and trying out different dos which I have decided to start doing more often in the future so stay tuned for more hair related blog post and photos!

Thank you for reading guys! I'd love to hear about your fave hairstyles, latest haircolor and hairstyle changes and more so tell me in the comments below! :)

- Nicole

Alice, welcome to Dolce & Gabbana land (Milan fashion week S/S 2018)

Fragrances: Versace, Calvin Klein, Betty Berclay, Nine West

Nail polish: Golden Rose

Sunglasses: H&M

Rings: H&M

Bag: Michael Kors

Last Sunday Dolce & Gabanna's new collection blessed the runway at #mfw #Milanofashionweek in Milano with royalty vibes, bold prints, metallic elements and overall beauty. Not only did all the outfits look great, but all the details were breathtaking. So I can guarantee you we'll be having a red+gold+queen glam spring and summer of 2018.

Lace, embroidery, sequins and shiny jewelry were the signature characteristic accents of the new collection of the brand. Game card and royalty references were everywhere to be seen - from the runway stage design to the choice of hairstyles and makeup. Dolce & Gabbana rocked the social media game with the #DGQueenOf❤️ hashtag. I watched the whole show live on Instagram and I liked it so much that I seriously couldn't help but rewatch it like twice later haha :)

Here are some of my favorite looks although I can honestly say that all the outfits looked stunning.

Dolce&Gabbana Spring Summer 2018 Women's Fashion Show. #DGSS18 #mfw #DGQueenOf❤️

A post shared by Dolce & Gabbana (@dolcegabbana) on Sep 25, 2017 at 9:50am PDT

Dolce&Gabbana Spring Summer 2018 Women's Fashion Show. #DGSS18 #mfw #DGQueenOf❤️

A post shared by Dolce & Gabbana (@dolcegabbana) on Sep 24, 2017 at 6:07am PDT

Dolce&Gabbana Spring Summer 2018 Women's Fashion Show. #DGSS18 #mfw #DGQueenOf❤️ #DGLuciaBag

A post shared by Dolce & Gabbana (@dolcegabbana) on Sep 25, 2017 at 8:04am PDT

Dolce&Gabbana Spring Summer 2018 Women's Fashion Show. #DGSS18 #mfw #DGQueenOf❤️ #lamoreèbellezza

A post shared by Dolce & Gabbana (@dolcegabbana) on Sep 25, 2017 at 5:53am PDT

Dolce&Gabbana Spring Summer 2018 Women's Fashion Show. #DGSS18 #mfw #DGQueenOf❤️

A post shared by Dolce & Gabbana (@dolcegabbana) on Sep 25, 2017 at 8:54am PDT

Looking back at today’s show #DGQueenOf❤️ #DGSS18 #mfw

A post shared by Dolce & Gabbana (@dolcegabbana) on Sep 24, 2017 at 10:53am PDT

Dolce&Gabbana Spring Summer 2018 Women's Fashion Show. #DGSS18 #mfw #DGQueenOf❤️

A post shared by Dolce & Gabbana (@dolcegabbana) on Sep 25, 2017 at 5:54am PDT

- Nicole

23 THINGS I LEARNED BEFORE 23

Hello guys! So I recently celebrated my 23th birthday and I took some time to reflect on the past years. I happen to be a little bit of a thinker so I thought a lot about how I have changed throughout the years and how far I've come in terms of following my dreams and being happy to just be me.

And here are the 23 things I have learned in my life so far. Hope it will be interesting for you to read these and that they will inspire you or teach you something. Enjoy!

#1 Smile. Always smile. It makes everything better.

#2 This quote by Dr. Seuss — 'Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.' is just so true.

#3 Whenever you're sad or confused just look at this. This is happiness: http://imgur.com/gallery/I1TBl29

#4 'It is not happy people who are thankful. It is thankful people who are happy.' !

#5 Kindness is the best gift you can give to anyone. Spread it freely.

#6 Life is too short to not do what you want or not chase your dreams. Any minute you waste is a wasted chance to be happier.

#7 The best moments in your live will probably not be in photos because you'll be too busy having fun.

#8 If you're lucky enough to find a true friend, cherish that person/those people and never let them go, they're your treasure.

#9 The sooner you stop caring about pleasing people, the better.

#10 A good laugh and a hug can heal anything and instantly make you feel better.

#11 You are never too old for cartoons, jumping around when you're happy and openly talking about even the smallest things that excite you and you genuinely care about.

#12 You don't need to be perfect to be happy, look at all the people you love with all your heart and how their imprefections don't matter to you.

#13 It's totally fine if your brain is '99% quotes and lyrics'. You're probably a great and fun person to talk to.

#14 Things are not always what you expect them to be. So this is a list of only 14 things, not 23 although I said so. Life often surprises you and you should always expect the unexpected. Hopefully it'll be a good surprise.

So thank you for reading. :) I hope you found something you liked and will remember. Now I wanna hear your favorite quotes and inspiring statements in the comments below! :)

- Nicole

ROSE GOLD + BLACK LACE OUTFIT

The hot weather cannot stop me from rockin' a cool outfit. I found out that a loose top is the perfect desicion for summer days, then I combined it with a black lace bralette for a trendier and chic look. It is an H&M crushed velvet strappy top in rose gold, yes! the colour that is all over the place this summer. I really love it and I actually bought so many rose gold things lately that I'm not sure if I'll even have the time to style and wear them all :D.

Top: H&M

Black Lace Bralette: ASOS

Lipsticks: Essence

Eyeliners: Essence, L'Oréal

Rings: H&M, Forever 21

Notebook: Moleskine

Soo let's take a closer look at this little arrangement. I added some jewelry because I simply can't go out without jewelry, it kinda has this magical power to make every look ten times better. I also made sure to show you the color of the top up close so I snaped a photo of the fabric.

Metallic necklace: H&M

Choker: Dollskill

Now let's get to the second part. Here you can see some of my fave makeup products right now and the rings I'm wearing basically on a daily basis. So I'm using eyeliners a lot and after years of trying out different products I realized that my favorite are liquid eyeliner pens. They are so easy to use and the aplication takes only a minute, plus that the coverage is great. I hate it so much when you apply your eyeliner and it turns out looking grayish and the coverage is not good, so annoying! But I managed to find products that are really good. I am using two eyeliners depending on what look I aim for and I have an Essence Super Fine Eyeliner Pen for precise thin lines and a L'Oréal Paris Super Liner Blackbuster Eye Liner for a thick bold cateye.

I couldn't pick which out of those lipsticks to wear because they're all in very similar shades so they're all here. :D These are Essence lipsticks btw, all in nude colours because I'm loving nudes this summer. And right next to them are some of my fave rings that I got from H&M and Forever 21. They're honestly so cute I that can't stop wearing them and they're different size so I can even stack them up.

Another thing I really wanted to show you is my moleskine because it's with me practically all the time so it's actually part of all my outfits :D. I am a singer and songwriter and make sure to always have somewhere to write down notes and ideas. So this buddy is my best friend and it's full of rockin' lyrics you'll soon hear because I'm already working on my debut album. So stay tuned. ;)

- Nicole