No, this is not a sponsored article, but I just want to write a glowing review about ICI Paris. The last time I was there, I had a child who had drawn inspiration from Mars. Or from Pluto, I want to get rid of that. But it was full of pits and bumps. And oh yes, in two days we will celebrate the fiftieth birthday of my dearly beloved. Nothing to worry about, said the saleswoman. Apply the base for your eye makeup at the scene of the crime, then the concealer from Bobbi Brown and finish off with a fixing spray and you're done. She was right.

Last Saturday, I was at ICI Paris in Heemstede at five past nine. Douglas opened at 9:30 AM, ICI at 9:00 AM, Google told me, and I was in a hurry because my sick mother was waiting for us but had given me a shopping list with the 999 lipstick from Dior and a good eyebrow pencil. The door opened right in front of us. At 9:05 AM. With apologies. Normally we really open at 9:00 AM, but we have a cash register malfunction. She pointed me to the bronzing powder from Sisley, the eyebrow pencils from Shiseido, the new fragrance from Narciso Rodriguez, the fact that the Sisley scented candles were half price (immediately grabbed because SO delicious), and while she was packing, she especially told me to take my time to make myself up with everything that was available in the store. Kid in a candy store, you know it. I left with the most festive box, exactly the samples that make me happy (a lot of Sisley and Shiseido) and the warmest handshake because in the meantime I had of course told her what was going on with my dear mother.

So do you really want good beauty advice and a good feeling? Go to ICI Paris, especially the ones in Leidschendam and Heemstede are my favorite.