Carolien is laying it all bare

I have to make a little ‘confession’ to you. Last weekend we were due for our annual KonMari session: turning the whole house upside down to organize or throw away all the stuff. If you've never done this, believe me: your house and mind literally feel a lot lighter afterwards. But then came that life-threatening message from May about the sample sale of Winonah Milano. Must.not.give.in.to.my.cravings. It's Saturday morning and I've already been at it for two hours, cleaning out my wardrobe, which is really long overdue. But then the clock keeps ticking closer to the start of that sale... With a heart rate of 110 and a slightly shaky voice, I mumble to Jon that I'll be out for just a moment. But luckily, the excuse was more than worth it: I scored three beautiful items for rock-bottom prices, including that cashmere suit. How do I sneak this bag inside? I decide to come home with my head held high and calmly explain to Jon that this was really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, plus that I've already gotten rid of a lot of things that no longer give me a ‘sparkle’. And with these new items, I'm already sparkling for days.

Ooh, how happy that spring weather makes me. The city is waking up from its winter slumber and everyone seems to have an instant good mood, myself included. I immediately feel like pulling out my floral dresses and hopping from terrace to terrace non-stop. But of course, Otis needs some shopping for the new season too. Through my best friend, I discovered the kids’ site kixx-online.nl and immediately fell in love with this outfit from One Day Parade. But you can also find brands like CarlijnQ, Moodstreet, and Tumble 'n Dry, of which Otis has quite a few hanging in his closet. This season, it looks like I'll be shopping less for myself and more for Otis, I'm afraid...

Fun beauty fact: 70 to 80% of most beauty products consists of water. Of course, your skin needs this, but it also means that the ingredients are diluted and therefore less effective. For years, I've been a huge fan of facial oils because they contain a higher concentration of active ingredients and thus work more effectively on your skin. I keep testing a new variant, although I'm very enthusiastic about my latest facial oil from Combray. The ingredient Oxofulleram protects against skin aging, and no added perfumes, colorants, or preservatives have been included in the oil. For now, I don't need to test any new oil.

There it was, a highly coveted invite from the most beautiful couture house in the world: whether I wanted to come to the Dutch headquarters for an ‘Inside Chanel‘ tour. That morning, I changed outfits at least four times before I put together the perfect outfit. Sophisticated but with an edge, plus of course a beautiful Chanel bag to complete the look. I received a mind-blowing presentation that took me through the history of Gabrielle Chanel, including all the references that Karl has woven through all the collections to the founder (for example, the Boy Bag is named after Gabrielle's great love, and ’Coco‘ was her nickname during the time she sang and danced in cabarets and revues in Paris). By now, I am a walking Chanel encyclopedia, so for anyone with pressing questions: you know where to find me!