In between work and rush

recap of this weeks' pictures: {clockwise} Merci Paris - the same picture framed together with my new led Eiffel Tower lamp from Hema - one of my monochromatic looks - Niamh posing for me on Sunday, Erwin Olaf inspired - another look and me posing on my doorstep - the save-the-date card came in my mailbox on Wednesday

It's been a very hectic week ; had 2 deadlines and truck loads of work for school before the upcoming holidays. On top of that, I've tried to train for tomorrow's Electric run in Antwerp ; I'm feeling quite tired and warm and I really hope I get through this weekend and Monday before I can officially crash.

It hasn't been long since I've had a warning from my doctor and on top of that I need to mentally prepare for surgery somewhere in 2016. I like to delay it as long as possible but Mr C and my doctor aren't to keen to hear me out.

So this is why I've been 'lazy' posting blogposts although I've got so much to share ; thank God for Instagram ! 

So easy to share something every day, right ?

I've been very happy to have finally seen the results of last Summer's engagement shoot with Lynn & Kenneth ; they've sent me their save-the-date card and I'm thrilled with the result !

For those interested ; we've been using the works of Wedding Paper Divas to make the card ! 

I'm pleased with the final result ; the image is sharp and the colors seem pretty ok as well.

Like to see more and we're not connected yet ? Follow me and maybe I'll follow you right back ; here's the link to my Instagram-account !

Soft Tones

One of my school assignments was to get inspired by a (favourite) photographer and making some pictures in his/her typical style.

As I've always been a big Erwin Olaf fan, I didn't need to think long who I would choose for this particular project.

Looking and submerging myself into his GRIEF series, I knew I just had to make something like this.

Of course I'm no professional (yet) and I can't even imagine comparing myself for 1% to someone with an incredible talent such as Olaf, I guess I've captured the spirit and tone of those particular series. Having the perfect wardrobe at home with all these demure, beige, camel or mokka tones, the one thing I didn't need to look for was a stylist.

I asked my friend Niamh to be my model - I just knew I could count on her - and so we made a couple of shots to recreate this GRIEF-inspired mood. I did not want to copy the GRIEF pictures to perfection, just wanted a somewhat similar atmosphere, maybe STRONG would be a better name to baptize my own series for this school task.

I hope you like them - any type of constructive feedback is welcome - just let me know what you think about them.

For this shoot we used :

grey knit by Zara

black skirt by Zara

purse by Hermès

Pussy Bow blouse by Just in Case 

Lift me up !

my natural lashes - lifted, no mascara #nofilter

I'm pretty excited ! 

After a couple of weeks of intense lash treatment and pampering, I've had the courage to try something new to boost my glance. Made an appointment at Nail Couture 43 in Antwerp, to lift my eyelashes and curl them just like you would when having a perm at your hairdressers.

In less than an hour your own natural lashes look more perky and playful and I have to say, it makes your gaze look younger. It's an easy process where your lashes get an uplift and some subtle colour ; after the treatment it's key you don't splash your face with water or cry {and if you cry just let the tears flow, don't rub your eyes} for 48 hours. 

I had my treatment on Wednesday and today, Friday that is, I'll brush them again with my tiny lash brush and add some mascara for the very first time. The picture above shows my lashes just after I had the treatment ; today they still look awesome and even the mascara does not cake the tiny hairs together {hate it when that happens} so I'm beyond happy ! 

The lovely lady at Nail Couture assured me I could even use my Talika treatment as I did before ; hopefully it will keep my lashes growing and healthy.

Conclusion ?

Well after having had lash extensions for so many years I think this is a more natural approach to enhance your look ; the products are only used every 6 tot 8 weeks - causes less damage to your own lashes and does not look fake.  The extensions made me look boudoir-ish and ready for decoy but is this what I wanted to achieve ? 

Hell no ! I just want a nice and fresh looking glance, somewhat cheeky but never overdone.

Not even the shortest extensions made me look less fake ; they were still ridiculously long ! 

I can always opt for some fake lashes for an evening out when the light is softer and you want to add something extra but during daytime hours I just want to have a nice and clean look.

If this is your aim too this lash care might just be it for you to consider.

And even though it's still October, you might just check your calendar and start booking your pre-Christmas & New Year's Eve appointments, making sure your rendez-vous at your local salon is assured.

Instagram ; tips & tricks to gain more followers

a small recap of my own Instagram account


Are you yearning for more interesting people to follow you on IG ?
Here are some tricks that actually might help you gain more loyal believers for your personal account :

1 // post at least 1 picture every day on a regular (hour) basis - best times to do this are 8AM- 5PM and 8PM

2 // as we mentioned in 1 ; post at least 1 picture but not more than 4 a day. Try not to post 2 pictures after one another. You can keep some pictures 'on hold' so you have a personal stash of images you might use later

3 // If you're goal is to reach more followers worldwide, use English as your 'lingua franca' : search for correct orthography  via Google or online dictionaries.

4 // Don't overdo it ! Hashtags are necessary but overkill never has a winsome effect ; use about 4 hashtags max and make sure they relate to the images posted. You might even consider a personal hashtag for ex. #seeyouatninestreetstyle
for all fashion pictures taken on the street. It makes your followers so much easier to find all pictures related to your account and lead them to 'like' older posts and discover new ones too !

5 // don't share everything at once ; trigger followers with a single picture on your Facebook page and lead them straight to your IG account ! A snapshot of your latest IG might do the trick as well !

6 // link to your blog or event in your bio - do this 2 to 3 days max. Change it to trigger again and again ..

7 // Show some of your private space but don't overdo it. Link a personal image to a nice place you often visit yourself ; "having a coffee with your best friend @ Barnini"   - >  tag place ! This might actually get you new followers through the tag used for Barnini.

8 // If you repost an image of someone, don't use the regram app but take a snapshot en tag it with #repost + @name of that person. It makes it so much more personal for your account as for the person involved.


Now go get busy !
Have a great weekend !

Close Up

skirt HM // jumper Isabel Marant // sneakers Nike

click brands to order online 

Midweek Style

Currently moving back and forth between Antwerp and Amsterdam ; it's quite busy and luckily I've had the chance in finding some great stuff for Fall, online. The H&M patent brown leather skirt was one of my greater finds ; it looks so elegant and edgy at the same time. Works utterly perfect with heels as well as sneakers. Hence my most recent pair of Nike's ; the Pegasus model is just wonderful for this season. Somehow it looks less jazzy than other models (like the favored Stan Smith's in fashionista stratosphere) ; it actually appears more chic and stylish teamed with a pencil skirt. Don't forget to hoard tights and leggings for crisp mornings and evenings. Although it's marvelous to sit and enjoy your cappu al fresco during this Indian Summer, we're headed for Autumn and it's terms pretty soon. You just don't wanna go out one morning and freeze your a** off ! (I like to be prepared being a biker girl myself)

Étoile Isabel Marant white v neck tee
€110 - lagarconne.com

Zara coat
€88 - zara.com

H M brown knee length skirt
€185 - hm.com

Emilio Cavallini black patterned pantyhose
€62 - luisaviaroma.com

NIKE leather flat shoes
€79 - barneys.com

Longchamp black sling purse
€165 - harrods.com

Isabel Marant black leather wrist watch
€745 - net-a-porter.com

Hermès preowned jewelry
€745 - shop-hers.com

Wool scarve
essentiel-antwerp.com

INDIE HAIR tech accessory
€8,19 - etsy.com

Byredo edp perfume
€125 - net-a-porter.com

Christian Dior sheer nail polish
€29 - johnlewis.com

photo credits http://carryoncocktailkit.com

click here to order 

Just wanted to share this ; how amazing is this kit ?

Loving everything about it ; just clicked to find a recipe for a Moscow Mule and look what I found ? 

This amazing and fun kit to carry on your long transatlantic flights ; want to order this straight away. 

Not only will it make my hubby smile but this is also a perfect gift for friends this upcoming holiday season ! 

Moodboards

click to get a closer look ! 

I am a big fan of Polyvore ; joined them a couple of years ago and using their boards to create my looks on them. So funny to see what you were wearing 1 year ago ; you can actually see your style sense evolving and changing. 

I never like bold prints anyway so this is something you might never see in these moodboards. Being a big fan of clean, monochrome looks I'm trying my best to not appear in what might look a copy/paste look over and over again. No groundhog day-effect for me. 

My basics are pretty simple and mostly dark toned (pants, skirts, shorts) ; by adding a touch of silver or pink gold (obsessed with that color), I'm trying to crack open the code to not look the same every day.

And just like Coco Chanel teached us, before you go out, just take off one more piece and you're good to go. That's my mantra ! 

These couple of looks you see above are the ones I was wearing on those dates ; if you are on Polyvore, check all my previous looks out ! 

Or even better, get connected through my Instagram and see some of the looks in print ! 

Diamanti Per Tutti

I've actually assembled a nice modest collection of daily jewelry from the past DPT collections.
Somehow they know just perfectly what's in fashion right now and offer affordable gold + diamonds jewels for the modern woman.

Because you can't just always wear your most outrageous sparkler ; sometimes it does not feel right. Entering the world of DPT was such an eye-opener for me ; I've first heard about them when Sofie Valkier, our most famous blogger worldwide, designed a small collection for them. Loved her arrow bracelet instantly, and, even more, the possibility to choose every item in pink gold.
So slowly, my personal collection grew and now I can say I own a nice and affordable every-day-wear set to match any outfit.

In the picture above you can recognize the arrow bracelet {just underneath the deer's head} - a geometrical hanger end a half moon ring.
These are my favorite key pieces as well as my 2 tiny bracelets I wear constantly {sometimes seen in my Instagram account} and I'm pretty sure another piece is going to join my collection pretty soon.
Loving their new Suzy cuff from their latest collection !

Something Old, Something New ..

I wanted to change my wedding ring for the longest time ; it's a trinity ring by Cartier and somehow it never felt right to me. Now don't get me wrong ; we decided to wear weddings bands 2 years after we actually got married. The emotion behind it was not set on our wedding day. Maybe the rings were bought in a whim, under a slight pressure of wanting to show the world we were an item, a team ! 

God knows how hard we had to fight to become a couple in the first place.

Now I'm not a person who likes to wear loads of jewelry all together ; my basics are pretty simple.

A nice chunky watch (or elegant for an evening outfit) - 1 ring and maybe some bracelets.

And even then, I'm pretty sure putting something back in my jewel box before leaving the house.

Through the years fashion changed and almost a decade into this marriage, I've seen my style evolving into a monochrome, less is more look.

On top of that, I totally LOVE pink gold these days and especially for my skin type, it happens to be a better tone than the familiar classic yellow gold.

So I asked my favorite designer Anne Zellien to make a very simple pink gold wedding band with diamonds ; the result can be seen in the pictures.

Am very happy with the result ; Anne is known for her sentimental jewelry and this ring isn't any different. If you look inside the ring, you can see a line saying :

Mrs C since 2006 

How cute is that ? 

- Check Anne's lovely collection online through this link  -

Vogue France

The September issue of Vogue always seems to be the most important one of the year, but for me, personally, that just depends on who's on the cover, the main story or season.

French Vogue is always a bit more classy than their US counterpart and often it proves to be very chic and high-grade. 

So today, I got my October issue with Kate Moss on the cover - for a moment I hesitated between her and Christy Turlington - but Kate got the last call.

LOVE love LOVE her burgundy dress and boots ; it's just perfect to get adapted to Fall and in combination with the golden VOGUE typography, ever so pleasing.

On top of the magazine, we got a little extra ; a denim make-up bag imprinted with the VOGUE lettering. So nice and edgy.

Get your copy today from IMS, Stadsfeestzaal Antwerpen or a store near you.