Thank God It's Friday

A Brabander in Amsterdam? The internet knows how to handle that. The 27-year-old Sheida Alhoei has been a full-time content creator for over four years and she is indispensable in this world. As a former makeup artist, she is loved for her clever makeup tricks, but certainly also for her relatable actions and a hefty dose of humor. I always enjoy that immensely, so I thought: I need to talk to this girl. What does she do all weekend? We are going to find out. And no: it’s really not just drinking matcha and going to Pilates.

Dear Sheida, the very first question we always ask in this column is: if you could give your life a score, what would it be at this moment?

“Normally, I would rate it quite high, but due to some personal circumstances, I will say… a seven for now. But I really can’t complain, you know. I am very grateful. Actually, I have a separate life, which is not comparable to many, but I find that very enjoyable. I am healthy, I feel good, I get to do fun things. Unfortunately, there are sometimes things you have no control over, but overall a nice seven. Seven and a half, maybe even.”

Okay. The weekend then. It’s Friday afternoon, 5:00 PM. Where are you, what are you doing, and what’s in your glass?

“That really varies from week to week. To be honest, I have zero structure in my life. Now I can pretend to be interesting by saying: ‘Oh, every Friday you can find me here or I'll do that,’ but with my work, there's very little stability. Besides, I live all over the place, so that creates a lot of variation. I have a bit of three lives: either here in Amsterdam by myself, one with my boyfriend when he's in Amsterdam, and one when I go to him in Curaçao where he lives. I must say that when I am in Amsterdam, I really enjoy going to Gelderlandplein on Friday afternoons. I live nearby, so I go grocery shopping. To the butcher, to the greengrocer. Just stocking up on nice things for the weekend. In that respect, you can tell I'm from Brabant and quite a hedonist. For me, the weekend is all about coziness, and that includes food. On this day, I also try to walk a bit before the weekend starts, because I'm really bad at sports. Then I can tell myself ‘I've exercised a bit,’ haha. I actually don't go out to eat much anymore. For me, Friday night is now a guilty pleasure night where I sit on the couch with a snack and enjoy watching reality series.”

So, an average Sheida weekend mainly consists of chilling?

“A lot of chilling, yes. I must say: on Saturday, I do try to do something fun. Not too crazy right away. Usually, this means I go to Albert Cuyp with a friend to get some nice snacks, or we go for a walk. That’s why I’ve been trying to do random activities with friends lately. So really something you don’t do that often, soon I’m going bungee sports with a friend, for example. You know, where you hang from an elastic in a hall. Saturdays are perfect for that kind of thing.”

And what do you like to wear on these weekend trips into the city?

“When I go to Gelderlandplein or a place like that, I'm really good at putting on a tracksuit and throwing a blazer over it. Then it feels much more like I have my life in order. Or a sports legging with a blazer, that's often my look. When I'm going to do something fun, I'm actually the opposite. I love to spend two hours on my makeup, doing my hair, and wearing a bodycon dress. But no: I'm not a fashion girlie. My focus is more on the makeup and hair, that outfit comes later.”

Is that makeup moment also a key part of your weekend routine?

“For me, makeup is really a little therapy moment. I love taking the time for it. It's so wonderful to see your look come together through the whole process. And honestly? It can't be crazy enough. Because I have more time and events, it feels more acceptable to wear heavier makeup on the weekends. That's the best part when you have an event on those days: suddenly I can go all out with the false eyelashes and wear a heavier foundation.”

You live partly in Curaçao, of course. Does your weekend look very different there than in the Netherlands? What things do you do there that you really can’t do here?

“Sometimes I find it funny that in Curaçao your whole week feels more spread out. Here in the Netherlands, many of my friends do the same work, so they don’t have a nine-to-five job. Meanwhile, here in Curaçao, we live more the life of my boyfriend, who tries to have that. Then you live much more towards the weekend than in the Netherlands. What I notice is that I (it sounds very wrong) drink a lot more here. At home, I hardly ever drink, but there I can suddenly drink two nights a week. It feels a bit more like enjoying life there. Then I go to a party earlier. It’s much nicer to be at a club on the beach in the evening than here in a sweaty bar. In the Netherlands, I already have enough events for work, so you have less need to go out. It’s definitely more relaxed in Curaçao than here. Everything is more spontaneous. People are quicker to go out on a Wednesday night, even if they have to work the next day. The music there is wonderful. I love dancing and being silly, so I always look forward to that.‘

When you are in the Netherlands, is there a particular hotspot where you are always found?

“Well, not really yet. Funny that you ask that, because I realize I’ve only lived in Amsterdam for a year. I don’t really have those fixed hotspots. I live near Beethovenstraat, so yes, I quickly go to Jondani or Williams. But those aren’t really places you’d call hidden gems. I go there because that’s what I know. Twin Olives is a place where I religiously go a few times a week to get my hummus and things like that. I also really play out Gelderlandplein. That sounds very decadent, but I don’t know that many places yet.”

And at home in Den Bosch? Is there a particular spot you always want to go to?

“Yes, I want to go to Korte Put. That has been declared the coziest street in the Netherlands, I believe. It’s a small street with terraces on both sides, and it doesn’t matter where you sit – it’s always cozy. Winter, summer, under the heater with a blanket. If I were to go to Den Bosch, I would want to go there. I really left Den Bosch with pain in my heart. Not because the city wasn’t nice, but because Amsterdam is easier for my work and my life in Curaçao. When I still lived in Brabant, I noticed that quite a few people looked down on that. They prefer not to go outside the Ring, so when I moved, I promised myself that I really didn’t want to become that. But yes. In the end, I also became a matcha-drinking nut, which wasn’t the intention.”

Then Sunday. Is that your day of rest? After all the Dutch events and parties in Curaçao? Or do you try to fill that Sunday up anyway?

“Sunday is the most chill day of the week. This is family day for me. In the Netherlands, I am always found at my parents” place. If my boyfriend isn’t there, I even try to stay over at my parents’ on Saturday. That’s the quality time I miss since I’m away a lot. Then I go to my parents at the end of my day on Saturday and stay overnight. Usually, when my boyfriend is in the Netherlands, we go to them on Sunday morning. Then we get in the car in our tracksuits. Home is so cozy. My mother is Dutch and my father is Iranian, so that means a lot of good food and coziness. Couch hanging is how you can describe my Sunday. Oh, and cooking. On Sundays, I sometimes cook for my parents. They’ve done that my whole life, so I try to give that back.”