For two days, the box with my new scent from Byredo stood unopened on my desk. I just couldn’t bring myself to break the beautiful seal on the packaging. Coincidentally it was my birthday on Saturday, otherwise the perfume bottle would probably still be wrapped. The box alone is a present. Today I saw that Garance Doré did a whole series of pictures about the ceremony of unwrapping. Rightly so. Beautiful things only become more so in beautiful wrapping. I will surely keep its box until long after I’ve used the last drop of this perfume. Ah yes, the perfume. Difficult to describe what it smells like. Except instantly familiar. Different every time I smell it. Is it powdery? No, sweet. Mhm, or spicy? More like fruity. Which sounds like a mix that should make you dizzy, but is simply delicious. Bal D’Afrique wears less like a perfume than a precious fabric. I bought mine at Anita Hass. Without the wonderful Yvonne, who stood by as I sniffed my way through the Byredo selection and eventually said: ‘Try this one, it’s my favourite’, I’d have never found it.

This is the haircut every woman has in mind when she picks up the courage to walk into a hairdresser to say: Make me look like Jean Seberg in „Breathless”, please. I know it’s the look I wanted when I wore my hair short. Except that my friend Nora pulls the style off in a way I never quite mastered. She’s not from Paris, but she might as well be. Her whole look is very French, based around a considered selection of classic pieces like slim black pants, striped tees, blue silk shirts and ballerinas, often finished with a bright red lip. So chic. Nora gets her hair cut at Salon Jasmin Kohlmayer in Munich. So next time you think about having your hair cut short, you know where to go to say: the look I have in mind is Nora’s.

By the way, Nora also bakes fabulous cakes. It truly was the icing on the cake of a perfect birthday weekend.

My birthday is coming up very soon. Okay, tomorrow. I made a crack in the dinner invitation about the fact that I will then be the same age as George Clooney was when it all started happening for him. I don’t know what Clooney’s beauty routine looks like. He so rarely invites me around his house to snoop around the bathroom. I imagine it involves slapping ice-cold water on his face and looking at himself lovingly in the mirror. Then he thinks about his friend Brad Pitt’s Chanel No 5 ad and laughs and laughs and laughs. If that’s it, it really works for him. The man has aged ridiculously well.

My beauty routine looks slightly different, but in celebration of tomorrow I’ll share some of the products that make me feel confident like Clooney. Some of them are recent discoveries, others long-time favorites, most of them I use every day. They come recommended by friends and professionals and through my own experience of trying a lot of stuff over the years.

Dr. Hauschka Powder Duo Summer Impressions in Cool Breeze – A compact bronzer powder for a nice summer glow that’s not in the least bit orange. I love the powdery smell, too. Unfortunately, Dr. Hauschka seem to have discontinued this product, adding one more to my list of beauty products that I want back. But I can recommend the Benefit Hoola bronzer just as much.

Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Mont Blanc – I was looking for a foundation that gives great coverage, but does not cake the skin, goes on lightly and gives a fresh dewy look. I found this one. Perfect.

Dr. Hauschka Eyeshadow Solo in Graubraun – I use the eyeshadow in Golden Earth every day. This one’s a bit more dramatic. What I like about the Dr. Hauschka eyeshadows is the soft shimmer. Plus, they last all day.

MAC Eyeshadow Matte in Omega – I actually use this on my eyebrows, a trick I learnt from my last visit to the MAC store. My eyebrows are blond, so a pencil would be too heavy. Instead, I stencil in the brows with a brush, using this matte eyeshadow.

& Other Stories Body Mist in Moroccan Tea – I took one sniff of this and got the body wash, the hand wash and the body scrub, too. Moroccan Tea smells like summer at the beach. I use the body mist for days when a perfume feels too heavy.

& Other Stories Lip Colour in Calamanco Coral – Another & Other Stories buy. A poppy pink lip color that will look even better with a light tan.

Chanel Le Vernis in Dragon – Ignore, if you can, the fur-lined sandals in this picture and focus instead on the deep red pedicure. I’ve been looking for a colour like it ever since I saw pictures from this Céline collection and found it at Chanel.

Essie Top Coat Good To Go – A reader tip – thank you Nora, thank you Katy! – and the reason my manicures now last longer than five minutes.

Clé de Peau Concealer in Beige – Can I blame the snake charms of the lady at the beauty counter in Barneys for spending this much on a concealer that I can only buy in the USA? Still, this is by far the best concealer I’ve ever used. Creamy, blends in perfectly and stays where it’s supposed to rather than creep into the creases around my eyes. It has even – gasp! – replaced Touche Éclat for me.

Erborian BB Crème au ginseng 5-in-1 in Clair – I was probably the last person to hear about BB creams, but when I did, I went all in. After a lot of research, i.e. reading dozens of beauty blogs, I settled on the one by Erborian with the „baby skin effect”. Yes, I’m that easy. And a big fan of this tinted moisturizer, which is great for days when you don’t want to wear foundation but still prefer something a little more than bare skin. The Erborian website seems to be down at the moment, but the good news is that & Other Stories are collaborating with the brand and will offer it from their online shop soon.

Boots No. 7 Protect and Perfect Beauty Serum – I bring back something from the Boots No. 7 range every time I visit. This serum absorbs quickly and doesn’t leave that rubbery feel on the skin that some serums do.

Petersen ikat bag The world is yours. For all the beauty essentials that I carry in my handbag every day.

I left for a two-day trip yesterday with no less than eight bags. Eight. There was the handbag. Small pouches for within the handbag for stuff like lip balm, gum, months old subway tickets, you know, the kind of things you really need to be within arm’s reach at all times. A bag for my camera. A suitcase. A wash bag. Individual cotton bags for shoes. The only thing that didn’t have a proper bag was my notebook. Sure, it has a sleeve for protection. But either I stuff it into the already too full handbag, put it in the suitcase or even carry it in a canvas shopping bag. This has to stop. It’s a nice computer, it deserves a nice bag.

Only problem is: So far, I’ve found very few nice notebook bags out there. They either look like you could take them on an expedition to the North Pole, where they’d protect the computer from a potential attack by polar bears. Or they look absolutely beautiful, but cost as much an expedition to the North Pole.

Maybe you can help me out. Where can I find a simple, functional, preferably uni-coloured and not too expensive bag for my notebook?

Two of my favourite things right now. A pair of pointy flats that I found at H&M. Yes, H&M. Who’d have thought they’d make such beautiful leather flats? You can still find them here. Mine will accompany me all through spring. As will peonies. Nature just designs the most beautiful things of all.

“Übergangsjacke” – now there’s a word that will almost instantly kill my desire to shop. The expression sounds better in English, yet the image I have of transitional jackets is of something practical, possibly rainproof, likely dull. I should say: had that image. Because Saviana and her college jacket from French brand Gat Rimon changed my perception of transitional dressing. The jacket’s casual, yet still dressy, thanks to the silver sleeves, it’ll keep you warm on cool evenings and be light enough to wear in the sun.

Saviana got hers at Wald, one of my favourite shops in Berlin, which is run by the lovely Dana and Joyce. They recently opened an online store. Unfortunately, this jacket is already sold out. But! They stock another one by Gat Rimon in silver. And the last word that will pop into your head when you see it will be “Übergangsjacke”. Promise.

So, I have a question for you. How is it possible that it’s the middle of May already? And also, where did the last month go? Actually, I can answer that. It disappeared somewhere between the keys on my computer. Work took over life. Every time I thought of sharing something with you here, there were things on my to-do list that I had to check off first, and by the time I had worked through those things it would already be the next day – with a whole new list of to dos. I was talking about this to a friend the other day. When did the amount of stuff we want to accomplish become so big that we started leaving paper trails of post-its everywhere? Probably the day we became our own bosses. There is a wonderful freedom in being self-employed, an opportunity you’ve given yourself that is exhilarating. Which is a pretty happy place to be. But that freedom also means that you feel a responsibility toward yourself to actually do, well, EVERYTHING and the main person to keep reminding you of that is: you. You’re also the first person to be disappointed when you, surrounded by post-its, feel like you’re losing track of where you’re headed.

When I got up this morning, I set myself a task: Ignore today’s list for 20 minutes and talk about shopping lists instead.

I went around to the new Lunettes store when there was still snow on the ground. They moved to a bigger location to have more room to show off the great range of vintage and modern frames, and they’ve added glasses for kids to the selection. And how cool are these sunnies from Very French Gangsters?

I was sold at the name alone. The packaging and little details like a star in the corner the lenses, which you can see better here, just add to it. What I love most about them is that they’re designed for kids without being too cute. If they did them for grown-ups, I know which frames I’d pick: Very Boss.

Ha!

Very French Gangsters via Lunettes, Dunckerstraße 18, 10437 Berlin

Oof. That’s the previous week in one word. And in a few more words: Work, work, work. Also: work. This week is no different. I’m trying not to go into full-on panic mode – why does a day not have 38 hours, WHY? – and look up from my desk occasionally and out the window. Because you know what else happened last week? Spring arrived. Glorious, sunny, barefoot-in-sandals temperatures spring. I’m high on this weather and I might even be wearing my sunnies indoors, if it didn’t make me look like a fool. These sunglasses here are from Very French Gangsters, a kid’s brand from France. Yeah, a kid’s brand. So the offspring get to look cooler than their parents. I discovered them at Lunettes a little while ago. I’ll show you more from my visit to their new store later this week. Until then, here are a few other things that have been distracting me from work.

*So that you grown-ups don’t feel left out, here are some sunglasses for you from Swildens that I like a lot.

*If you’re spending as much time at your desk as I am at the moment, and even if you’re not, these metal tins from Artilleriet would be nice to look at.

*Fine, I’ll admit it. I cry at commercials. The new Dove campaign about how women see themselves turned me into a complete mess.

*And because of the incredible thing that is the internet, there’s a spoof out already about how men see themselves. Laughing tears.

*Did you know that fabulous Paris store Merci now has an online shop? Hooray!

*The my own summer ring from “I need more rings” is one of my favourite pieces of jewelry. The girls now do the ring in gold as well. And they’ve done a neat little film to showcase their work. Bravo!

*Jenna Lyons is my hero. This portrait of her on Fast Company sums up why.

*This couple.

*I wrote about my love for pointy flats for Glam last week. The column (in German) is here.

*Soundtrack of the week: the self-titled new album from Junip, especially Line of Fire.

Alright, back to work. See you soon!

Black, olive, grey and a touch of nude – Sara Strand does easy dressing so well.

Another favourite from Konk, the ray leather and gold “Orbid” bracelet from Mari Couci.