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Yulia Zmeeva: "I want to try, but I'm afraid - it's about a modern woman for me"
#ВместеМыОгонёк — and this is not just the name of a section on our Instagram, but this is the essence of what Ogonyok has become in his thirteen years. For a long time, I conceived the idea of an open conversation with our guests, and today I am launching a series of interviews with them - people who admire, inspire and who have become an integral part of Ogonko. Yulia Zmeeva became the first heroine. She is a practicing psychotherapist, is interested in interior design, is raising three children — Emilia, Olivia-Maria, and Leonard — and has been entrusting her image to us for many years. Yulia and I met in her new apartment (incredible beauty!) and over a glass of sparkling wine we talked about the modern woman, the ability to seduce and, of course, about shopping and favorite things...
Yulia, describe yourself in one sentence.
what am i I think that I am quite light and flexible.
What is your strength?
I love people, I am very empathetic and if I like people, I literally grow into them.
What do you like in people in response?
Naturalness, eccentricity and unpredictability. I love when people open up from an unexpected side for me, unexpected in a good way.
What is your favorite flaw in yourself?
(Laughs) I'm shy, I can be confused very quickly.
What talent would you like to have?
It speaks beautifully: capacious, ornate, as if weaving lace.
What is your favorite food?
I really like cheeses, they are different - just like people. Sometimes I want to open the cheeses, which for some people smell bad or look bad, layer by layer. This is probably due to the fact that I like wine (laughs), and cheese is the most correct accompaniment for it. In general, I like to eat bread with cheese and wine - it is simple food.
That is, you can not ask about your favorite drink. White or red?
Yes, this is wine, and our relationship with it is changeable. Earlier, I was literally offended by those who, knowing me, came to visit with a bottle of white wine. She told them: "You know, I like red, tannic, complex, tart wines." But over time, listening to myself, I realized that I also like white wines, and in general I like different wines to suit my mood, and now is generally the period when I like sparkling - coffee and cream.
Your favorite place?
I love my home. And I finally liked being at home alone.
At what moments do you feel full of energy?
When I spend time with my friends and family — my husband and children. It is much more difficult to spend quality time with the family, because the family is big - we all have different paces, interests, we are all different. But it succeeds when we do something together, everyone is included in the joint process and everyone has a good time.
A modern woman is...
...first of all, open mind. This is a woman who knows how to be flexible, no matter what difficult conditions life offers her. "Yes, okay, why not try it? And I'll try!". It's scary, but this is "I want to try, but I'm afraid", for me it's about a modern woman. Also, I would like to see more femininity in modern women, so that it is not lost. For me, it's about seduction, and it's about the ability to seduce not with looks, but with intelligence and humor.
What is the most difficult thing for you as a wife?
I really like this sentence: a husband can do a lot if he wants, and he can do everything if his wife wants it. (Smiles)
Do you carry your husband's things?
Of course, this is a favorite outfit. He is skinny, black T-shirts and there is a favorite sweater.
What is beauty in yourself for you?
I believe that beauty comes from the inside and the appearance is very damaged by tension. The more the head is unloaded, the better everything is arranged in it, the more relaxed the face.
The first thought you wake up with in the morning? (My favorite question)
When I wake up, I ask myself the question: can I now not engage in morning chores and devote my time to myself?
A thought that puts you to sleep?
I'm not sure that I fall asleep with my thoughts (laughs). Thoughts tend to prevent sleep. Most often, before going to bed, I think about how effective I was during the past day, what I did and what I could not do to be more in touch with myself.
What does your ideal dinner look like?
My ideal dinner, I hope, will happen very soon - at my home, at a common table, with my beloved friends and invited people unknown to me, preferably with a different mentality, maybe even foreigners. I prepare this dinner for the guests and share my gastronomic skills with them. Such a gourmet dinner.
What would you prepare for your guests?
I would probably cook seafood in a cheese sauce with truffle, grilled doversol fish and baked figs with ice cream.
What are you proud of?
Pride is not a characteristic of mine at all. But I am proud of the fact that I have a family, a good enough family. Although I always have a question, am I good enough for this family? This quality — comparing myself to other families and other people — is not my best quality, but it gives me the opportunity to distance myself from myself (laughs) and say to myself: "Yes, everything turned out fine for you, you can even say, cool!"
What concession in your youth made you feel cool?
I believe that I broke out from under the wing of my parents, stability and guardianship quite early - at the age of eighteen. There was a good offer to go to Kyiv to work — and I wasn't scared, this intrigue pulled me in. I am proud of this.
How did you dress in your youth?
Oh God! (laughs) I dressed very eccentrically, brightly, sexually. My children, raised by me already in the second aesthetic, find photos from my youth and ask: "Mom, were you a collective farmer?". Even my red or crimson manicure in the photo causes dissonance in them.
What motivates you to buy things?
Sometimes it happens on the road - it often happens with Ogonka. I go to get a loaf, and in the end I find myself without a loaf, but with a bulky bag of all kinds of cool junk. In Odessa, I visit you only and literally in a couple of places. But it's not about shopping, it's about communicating with people. And if I need something for a specific event, I know exactly where to go, and I try to call Jordan in advance (laughs) - he will definitely come up with something.
What is your favorite thing from Ogonka?
The last time it was cool leather culottes. I really like Anna October, I like POUSTOVIT. And Rejina Pyo dresses.
How would you describe your style today?
Restrained, but at the same time with elements of hidden sexuality, you can even say hidden sexuality - for those who know how to reveal it. And probably multi-layered.
What is Ogonyok for you?
For me, Ogonyok is the people it is filled with, it is character. This is the place where I will definitely always be offered stylish, timeless things. This is a home — you have it right there, just like in an apartment. This is a house to which they invite, but not everyone. It's nice to be his guest. I feel that I can be proud of the fact that they are always happy to see me there.
The end
I am very happy and very proud that Yulia is ours. I try to avoid the word "client", I just like to say "our man". Below, I am happy to share the book and podcasts that Yulia mentioned during the interview. It's a pity, everything that we managed to discuss during these two hours at a beautiful dinner table cannot fit into one interview.
PS Yula's taste in choosing sparkling wine is also impeccable, so I'm sharing it with you at the very bottom.
Here is Julia.
Book: Nathan Hill "Nokk"
Podcasts: "Take care of yourself" [podcast about mental health of mothers];
"Book Bazaar" [Meduza literary podcast];
"Expekto patronum" [Arzamas book podcast for children and teenagers];
"In previous episodes" [KinoPoisk podcast];
"Rosenthal and Guildenstern" [popular scientific Meduza podcast about Russian language and linguistics];
"Big Money" [interview of Evgeny Chernyak about business with businessmen];
"eschyonepozner" [weekly talks of Nikolai Solodnikov with interesting people].
Sparkling:
