Polienne

BLUES & BEANIES

2012-01-31T12:30:00.000+01:00

At the point these pictures were taken I might have had the blues for real. Annebeth and I met up right after a terrible exam but she managed to cheer me up in no time! She's like the ultimate source of world happiness. Really cool. Anyway, It was raining cats and dogs while shooting these pics but we still managed to take some pretty pics to show you my outfit.

I was wearing three of my sales buys here! Cute blue ASOS dress, over knee zip boots from Frida (you can unzip the upper part so you have a regular boot, very cool) and a €3 beanie from H&M that I've been wearing everyday since. On my nails I have a sparkly sequin-nail polish from American Apparel — it is absolutely horrible to apply and take it off — and it just looks so pretty :-)

Oh and by the way, in the last two posts only the last three pictures from the post about my sale shopping were shot with my new 50mm f/1.8 lens! Hope to show you some other pictures taken with it real soon.

Seeing this pic makes me miss my long hair...!

You can check out pictures of my "new hair" on my Twitter account.

dress [asos], beanie [h&m], bag [zara], boots [frida], coat [WE], scarf [lavand]

Let's end this post with some fun backstage pictures! Yay!
Check out the pics I shot for Annebeth right here.

Bloggerz no likey rain that spoils awesome photoshoots...

Yup, I'm totally feeling the beanie attitude.

COZY AFTERNOON

2012-01-29T18:00:00.000+01:00

Hi there! I published this post earlier today but then suddenly it turned out to be completely empty and of course I don't remember what I wrote. Let me think. Ehhrm.. It was about using your party dresses during the day time! I think it's so sad that girls have all those pretty and glamourous dresses hanging in their closets and not fully exploiting them.

On a random afternoon a while ago I wore one of my fave party dresses and dressed it down by wearing a cozy cardigan on it — yay for new wearing possibilities of party dresses! Other ways to turn festive looks into casual ones are adding over knee socks, wearing brogues or chunky knitted cardigans with it for example. Anything that doesn't shimmer and gives you a feeling of coziness is perfect for the deal. Some other ideas are wearing shirts underneath your dress, like I did here, or adding a cute hat or beanie to your outfit! I hope I inspired you to take your prettiest party dresses out for a spin too!

Oh and exams are finally over! Welcome back, social life and blogging business!
Sorry for the enthusiastic use of exaggeration marks but I'm quite happy! ;-)

PS: I went to the hair dresser earlier this week and these pictures make me miss my long hair so badly. I asked for chopping of 10cm — which they did — but they went a little crazy while cutting the layers I guess. I already cried a couple of times (only I tiny bit) but now I'm slowly getting over it. The ponytail however is so not done, as I look like a 14 year old now. *cry*

dress [zara], cardigan [we fashion], nail polish [h&m], dark green tights [hema]

SALES SHOPLOG

2012-01-28T16:19:00.000+01:00

We're almost at the end of January and that means sales are almost over. Despite my exams and isolation I still managed to do some nice sales shopping! In between exams I sneaked into a couple of stores and I also ordered some stuff online. I'm happy! Did you score some nice items?

Exams are finally over by the way and freedom (and blogging!) is here again!

Thanks for supporting me and wishing me luck all the time ;-)

Striped sweater [COS]

Knit sweater [New Look]

Overknee boots [Frida]

Minimalistic blouse [T2]

Best parka ever [Mango]

Half-long skirts [Zara]

Cute dress [Asos]

Last but not least: I bought myself a new lens. As I've told you before, my other (standard) lens was completely messed up so I brought it to the Camera Doctor. In the meantime I finally bought a lens that has been on my wish list for quite a long time! May I present to you, my new friend: the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8! I saw it on several photography blogs (like instant flowers for instance) and completely fell in love. Expect some pretttttttttyyyy pictures on the blog soon!

(sorry bro, for putting you on the blog. but I just loved the pic!)

SEASONAL MOODBOARDS

2012-01-27T10:30:00.000+01:00

Hi there! I just finished my exams and I am so relieved it is finally over! Now I know how it is to be a real student. Won't laugh with them anymore. Pinky promise. Anyway, I don't have a real outfit for you today but I do have some outfit inspiration!

My intention was to provide you with some good spring/summer inspiration but actually we haven't had a real winter yet so I thought it would be good if we were prepared for some late snow. So let's go through some winter inspiration first, and then shift to spring/summer!

Winter makes me long for furry materials and Norwegian prints! Even though we haven't had any snow in Belgium, I still wore tartan shirts and faux fur hats all the time. Any excuse is a good one!

Click here to check out the brands and prices.

Warned you about furry materials and cute prints, right? Besides the warm Fall colours like mustard, moss green and burgundy I am very attracted to nudes and creams in winter! Not very practical when paddling through some heavy snow or pouring rain but it is perfect for some inside cozyness in front of the hearth. Not to mention hot chocolate and a good book! Oh, and I do have to mention here that I am utterly in love with those cream classy Timberland boots ♥

Click here to check out the brands and prices.

Now let's move on to some hotter temperatures...

I guess I don't have to tell you that mint is very hot right now? This outfit straight to my closet please! I can totally imagine myself wearing this for my vacation in France this summer. The last thing I need is a sponsor? Must say that those ASOS loafers are quite tempting...

Click here to check out the brands and prices.

Another colour crush of mine for this spring/summer is baby blue! Oh. So. Cute. (Is it very obvious that this baby blue is just a disguised variation of mint?) Really love the combination with nudes and camels but it also looks quite good with flashy orange! Or just mint and mint. Anything mint!

Click here to check out the brands and prices.

BLACK AND WHITE

2012-01-25T13:30:00.000+01:00

As you are reading this, I'm in the middle of my last exam. I hope I'm doing fine ;-) Oh, and there's still time for you to put those thumbs up! UP UP UP! So, I hope that helped!

Gonna leave you with this simple but classy black and white outfit. The sweater-dress is one of my favourites lately, I bought it last month at H&M Trend and it's the perfect item for a day off: easy and cool. You might notice that half of the pictures are kinda blurry — sorry for that — but my camera is at the Camera Doctor now because of these focusing problems. I'm thinking about buying another lens as well, but you'll find out about that soon! Byebye! x

sweater-dress (h&m trend), rings (h&m), white shirt (unknown), shoes (new look)
clutch/iPad case (kipling), diademe (unknown), nail polish (pieces)

[GUESTPOST] :: A HINT OF MINT

2012-01-22T11:00:00.000+01:00

Here I am again! Since some of you, and miss Polienne herself, asked if I could do an outfit post, I thought I should give it a try. Especially because my new favourite dress just came in with the mail! I'm sorry for the sometimes awkward face, I think Paulien should teach me some modeling skills about how to behave in front of the camera. I always get shy, haha!

The weather obviously didn't cooperate while making an outfit post, but I conquered! Please enjoy.

Don't you just love the beautiful lace details on the front (and back!) of the dress? It's from the Petite collection from Asos and I scored it during the sales, yay!

This bag is my little baby! I got it for Christmas and couldn't be happier with it.

dress (asos), bag (romwe), shoes (sacha)

Have a nice day everyone!

Silke V.

ROCKSTAR GIRLFRIEND

2012-01-20T20:45:00.002+01:00

Winter aways makes me dress up less girly and more edgy. Same for this outfit: an oversized shirt, black jeggings, leather jacket and comfortable shoes. It's basically my uniform lately! Besides the regular and totally uninspiring study-sweatpants and study-jumper of course.

Wanted to tell you something more about the check shirt and the gorgeous leather jacket: Wrangler chose me to be one of their Local Heroes and I could pick two of my favourite items from this season! This was quite hard, as they have a lot of really cool denim stuff, and not just trousers: think shirts, jumpsuits and jackets. I've never owned a real leather jacket so I just couldn't resist. It has a great fit and I love that the washed colour is somewhere between black, grey and dark green.

Thanks for edgy-ing me up, Wrangler!

PS: no, I'm not a real rockstar girlfriend but I do am a DJ girlfriend. That's cool too, right? ;-)

leather jacket & check shirt (wrangler), jegging (pieces), bag (zara), sneakers (converse), hat (h&m)

NEUTRALS

2012-01-17T20:59:00.001+01:00

Please don't mind the tired face and shirt peeking underneath the sweater. I guess this wasn't my best day! Doesn't take away that the outfit is definitely worth showing you. Wore this on a rainy day in December and that is actually everything I have to say now because I really need to go back to my books! Big exam tomorrow and two exams the day after tomorrow. Ahhrg! Bye!

coat (jbc), jumper, bag, tights (H&M), skirt (COS), flats (new look)

Thanks to my friend Robin for quickly snapping these pictures!

MADEMOISELLE MOUSTACHE

2012-01-14T11:00:00.000+01:00

Good news, Antwerp lovers! Last month my friend Valerie and I discovered a new coffee place, Mademoiselle Moustache. We had heard of it before so we thought we'd check it out, as our regular coffee place tends to be quite stuffed and and this one is quite close to our university. The place charmed me a lot so I took some pictures to share with you — not only for the Belgians but also for my international visitors who plan on visiting Antwerp someday in their lives (you should).

I had the most delicious Chai Latte and Valerie took an equally delicious fresh mint tea. We had a hard time staying away from the pies, cakes and other sweets that looked very tasteful. Yumminess guaranteed, because everything is baked by Julie's House! What we really enjoyed, was just sitting there and enjoying the vintage looking surroundings. Fun attributes, lots of plants and I even spied some nice DIY's! Not to mention there are moustaches all over the place ;-)

Pretty awesome DIY, right?

Mademoiselle Moustache

Paardenmarkt 21

2000 Antwerpen

PREPPY COLOUR SPLASH

2012-01-12T10:33:00.000+01:00

Pictures by Valerie

This pants-ting is getting OUT OF CONTROL. You know I've had some pants-struggles over the past year (I just didn't feel comfortable wearing them) but in October I braved my 'fear' and tried on a simple black skinny jeans from H&M. They looked quite okay so I decided I just had to go for it. Last month I bumped into some black Pieces jeggings and as I've been always a bit curious about the "jegging" phenomenon, I took them home. Totally fell in love and ended up buying two black pairs, one blue pair and one grey pair! They are only about €17 a piece, very comfortable and they don't tend to stretch out a lot. The only disadvantage that I experienced is that they're a tad short for my legs but hey, you don't hear me complain!

This means that lately I've hardly been wearing skirts and dresses: pants are totally ruling my style nowadays. Count in the study-sweatpants too :-) This colour combination just randomly popped up in my head so I thought to give the colour block trend another try. Thoughts?

PS: There's a real nice feature about me at Dogs and Dresses where I'm described as 'one of Belgium's finest fashion bloggers'. I suggest you check that out right away! ;-) Don't forget to check out Elien's personal style and blogging skillz when you pass by, 'cause I'm a fan! Are you?

PS: new font! Yay?

jumper (vila), jeggings (pieces), shirt (new look), coat (jbc),

scarf (humanoid), boots (sacha), purse (thrifted, T2), nail polish (catrice)

[GUEST POST] :: LOVELY THINGS

2012-01-10T22:33:00.001+01:00

Since Mrs. Polienne is having exams right now and studying like crazy, I'm taking over! But don't you worry: she'll be back as soon as she is adapted to the light outside of her "study cave".

Maybe a litte introduction is at place, so you know where all this chitchat is coming from...

I'm Paulien's "sister-in-law" (not married, hence the quotation marks) Silke, and as I said before: I'm taking over the blog today! As a guest blogger, that is. In my head I'm always wearing a pretty dress but finding those dresses in stores is not my strongest point. (The fact that I'm a bit petite works against me as well.) Which means that you're not going to read fashion-related posts from me, I'm sorry!

Now, for all students who are in their caves like Paulien herself, or anyone else who craves for a little bit of light and happiness, here is my list of Lovely Things that hopefully will cheer you up like it does to me.

Enjoy!

Jordan from Oh Happy Day made this easy tutorial for a fun background with GIANT confetti! I think it would be a fun idea to do this at a party to take fun pictures. Personally I would love giant confetti for my birthday, because the small ones are a pain to clean up ;-)

Latest make-up find: blush paper! Yes, I said paper! No need to use a brush to apply your blush anymore. You just rub the paper in circular motions on the apple of your cheeks. Wouldn't you love to try this out?

(maicouture)

This picture of model Ollie Henderson, photographed by Simon Upton.

No words needed ♥ (fashiongonerogue)

Another DIY, this time for vintage teacup candles! I actually made this for my sisters as a Christmas gift, and they loved it. The hunt for more teacups is open now, as they look really pretty in my room :-)

(heygorgeous)

Don't we all love to taste some of the cookie dough when we're baking cookies? Maybe you have never thought about it before but it's not completely safe to do because of the raw egg (Salmonella-alert!). At Wollow Bird Baking they created a recipe for cookie dough without eggs in it.

Get your spoons ready!

This lovely cup set!

Sadly enough, already sold...

(myhauntedettic)

Bedroooom ♥

(nsmbl)

And I'll leave you with a little bit of fashion: a beautiful dress from Nasty Gal.

Have a nice day!

Silke

Hey little blogger friends!

I really hope you enjoyed this supercute and instant-happy post from my little "sister-in-law". It definitely gave me a smile on my face! It feels a bit like a Moodboard Monday but then on a Tuesday and... without me. Right? :-) I asked Silke if she would like to write some guest blogposts as I'm going through some heavy study days for the moment. She's not a blogger but she's doing pretty fine! So thanks, girl! I still have some outfits to show you and will try to post the next one soon. That's it for now: back to the books!

x Paulien

PS: you can follow Silke on Twitter, Tumblr and Pinterest.
She's fun and she loves unicorns, rainbows and cupcakes!

GLITZY GLAMZY GLAMOUROUS

2012-01-07T09:37:00.000+01:00

And BAM, there's me: all glamourous with fabulous fake fur and super high heels! Not what you'd expect to see here on Polienne, right? I don't dress up regularly but when I do, I totally go for it.

This dress is one of my last thrift purchases of 'last' year and suits my style perfectly: it has mini length and maxi upper coverage. I adore the turtle neck and was surprised to see that it fit me well (most of the time the combination big boobiez-turtle necks is not very classy)! Adding the beautiful shiny cardigan makes it still a bit preppy and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to pull out my awesome hairy coat again. As you can see, I could keep rambling on about this outfit :-) So let's just concentrate on the pictures now.

PS: I hate this font. Any tips for a pretty one?

faux fur (zara), dress (thrifted, T2), cardigan (magdalena), shoes (new look)

NEW YEAR'S DAY

2012-01-04T12:30:00.000+01:00

How amazing is this view and this sweater? This was my outfit on New Year's Day. Our main activities were driving back home from the wonderful village of Spa after partying all night long, stopping at McDonalds for some hangover foodz and crashing down in the couch with mummy's tomato soup.

It's safe to say that this marvelous snow white jumper is my best thrifted item ever BY FAR. It was love at first sight when I made my weekly stop at T2 somewhere in the beginning of November. My intention was to wear it to celebrate the first snow in Belgium but we haven't seen a flake yet so I couldn't resist pulling this beauty out of my closet. It is the softest sweater I own and it has some gorgeous sequins on the shoulders and — speak no more! I believe in a thing called LOVE.

Back to my books now x

sweater (thrifted, T2), bag (zara), check skirt (h&m, old)

hat (river island), boots (unknown)

...AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2012-01-01T23:18:00.000+01:00

I'm keeping up tradition and wishing you the best by posting a picture of myself being silly last night! Hopefully everyone had a wonderful night and will have a more wonderful new year. May all your wishes come true!

My boyfriend, myself and 5 other couples rented an apartment in Spa, a wonderful little village in the South part of Belgium (The Ardennes) for New Year's Eve. We had a great time dressing up fancy, stuffing ourselves with loads of great food and being silly all night long. I wore a vintage dress that I bought months ago but saved for this special occasion! Isn't it THE PRETTIEST DRESS? <3 And it's vintage <3

dress (vintage), jacket (jus d'orange)

I tried fake lashes for the first time! Obviously I've worn them a million times for my job but I've never tried them out myself. It was quite a fumbling but after 15 minutes I finally managed to keep them on! You like?

FOOD PORN!

My boyfriend is a great cook and together with his team (Na-a, not me! I suck at cooking) they prepared an amazing dinner for the twelve of us. Thanks a million times: you did a GREAT job.

Oven snacks.

Salmon in brick pastry with spinach.

Pork tenderloin with gratin dauphinois, pepper sauce and green beans with bacon.

Apple strudel with cinnamon ice-cream.

(We had a birthday girl, hence the candles!)

Yummy, right?

How did you celebrate?

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

2011-12-28T19:18:00.003+01:00

This year I had about 4 Christmas parties/dinners/drinks to attend and because I was feeling way too lazy to pick a completely different outfit every day, I just wore this look for about 3 times. No money wasting on several Christmas outfits here! I was happy to be able to just quickly throw on this look every day after studying in my sweatpants all day long. Not feeling glamorous at all lately :)

This gorgeous dress and matching jacket were a gift from my sweet mummy. Whenever we go shopping for her wardrobe I always manage to see something pretty for myself too. The saleswoman did a great job suggesting the jacket because I don't think I would have tried it in combination with the dress! Looks like I have my first Chanel look-a-like outfit in zhe pocket. Oh, and I forgot to take a picture of my nails but as you can see on the first picture I did put some effort in presenting pretty party nails! A lilac-like Essentiel colour on four of the nails and the Catrice Sand Francisco on the last one.

dress and matching jacket (jus d'orange), bag (vintage, jutka&riska), earrings & flats (new look)

Time for cosy Christmas pictures!

Our tree at home:

Our Christmas tree with looooots of presents underneath!

And this is what I got for Christmas:

Zara bag that I've been wanting for a long time now.

Rummikub! Oldschool games are just the best.

Great Shiseido matifying moisturizer (love that brand!)

Diesel Fuel for life, Denim Collection.

Christmas decorations all over the place.

This is my kitschy Christmas tree at my apartment in Antwerp <3

Sexy gift from Hünkemoller, thanks again! // Christmassy make-up

Food food fooooooooooood!

Comfy clothing on Christmas day - wearing my Converses and new Wrangler shirt <3

I love the fact that there are deers everywhere :)

More good food! // Oldschool Christmas stump

Wearing my new H&M collar // Antwerp is covered in Christmas lights too

Essentiel x Catrice party nails // Tree decorations

My boyfriend's HUGE Christmas tree (3 meters!) // Even more food

Happy holidays, everyone!

PS: Congratulations to Elien for winning the Lacoste sunglasses!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2011-12-25T13:07:00.001+01:00

No snow this year and no time for taking fun Christmassy pictures (I'm glued to my school books nowadays) so I just recycled last years wishing card :) Make sure to enjoy your holidays, have a very Merry Christmas and take this wonderful opportunity to stuff your face with delicious food. Best wishes to all of you!

PS: Anyone got some nice presents? ;-)

BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAYS // THE WINNERS

2011-12-22T19:00:00.000+01:00

Not Christmas, but TODAY is gifting day! Well, at least for 4 lucky readers.

Curious who won my blog birthday giveaways....?

1) PUMA RUNNING SHOES

Congratulations, Linde!

Hope you enjoy your Puma running shoes while working out.

2) PROFESSIONAILS & L'OCCITANE BEAUTY PACKAGE

Congratulations, Sarah!

Hope your skin and nails love this beauty package!

3) FILIPPA K PURSE

Congratulations, Steffi!

Hope all of your stuff fits the Filippa K purse!

4) LACOSTE SUNGLASSES

For these awesome Lacoste sunglasses I promised you that YOU yourself would be able to pick your favourite winner. So I asked you to be a little creative and show me why you would like to have them. Some of you told me a sad story, other wrote me a fun song and others just showed me lots of Lacoste love. It is really hard for me to pick a winner on this one so please, choose one yourself!

You can vote for your favourite entry on the poll at the right side of my blog!

1. Lippylash

Ik heb enkele jaren geleden een D&G zonnebril gekregen van mijn mama. Op vakantie ging ik even de zee in om af te koelen en een grote golf heeft mijn bril meegenomen en heb hem nooit meer terug gevonden. There are some lucky fish with my sunglasses now.

Ik heb lang geen duurdere zonnebril meer durven kopen. Ik heb me 2 jaar geleden dan toch eens een deftige zonnebril gekocht. Van T &Co. Kom ik thuis en blijkt het dat die man mij een te groot model heeft meegegeven ik had de bril op vakantie gekocht en kon hem niet wisselen.

Dus misschien wordt het eens tijd om deze geweldige zonnebril op mijn neus te hebben staan om te koude maar zonnige winterdagen te trotseren of de hete zomeravonden.

2. Britte

Glasses change everything:

Zo zou ik van een normaal meisje veranderen in een fashionista :D

3. Jessi

Ik draag al jaar en dag een bril. Niet tegen de zon, maar om te kunnen zien. Zonder bril is mijn leven één grote waas.

Als je een bril draagt, heb je in de zomer weinig keuze. Ofwel draag je een überlelijke zonnebril op sterkte, want 'afgeronde ray ban-achtige glazen kan je niet op sterkte laten maken', wist de verkoopster me telkens weer streng te zeggen. Ofwel zie je af ofwel knijp je die ogen dicht.

Ik koos natuurlijk altijd resoluut voor de laatste oplossing. Tot ik vorige zomer, na lang sparen, lenzen probeerde. Mijn leven klaarde plots op! Ik kon zien, zonder zo'n irritant ding op mijn neus! Het eerste wat ik natuurlijk wilde was een zonnebril kopen. Maar na een lange zoektocht heb ik moeten opgeven. Vorige zomer moest ik mijn ogen weer dichtknijpen, met pijnlijke hoofdpijn tot gevolg.

Al eeuwig droom ik dus van een sexy zonnebril waarmee ik vol zelfvertrouwen, EN lenzen in, de zomer in kan gaan. En deze prachtige Lacoste zonnebril met petieterig, doch super belangrijk detail zou mijn droom voor het eerst waarmaken.

En neen, ik post geen seutige foto met mijn bril op :)

4. Elien

5. Zouk

http://a-to-the-l-to-the-z.blogspot.com/2011/12/my-chance-of-sunglasses-from-lacoste.html

Some cool, sporty sunglasses from Lacoste and a beautiful, simple leather purse from Filippa K. Who can resist that? Well, I can't...

This giveaway is from the blog Polienne, a blog from a beautiful girl with a great style and lovely give-aways! (Yes, these are not the only ones, she has more give-aways!)

So, why do I want to win the sunglasses? Because they are so stylish of course and from Lacoste! Something a poor student like me can't afford. I always loved the ads from Lacoste. They are so colorful, funny, energetic, bubbly,...

And it is supposed to be sportswear, but it is pretty casual don't you think? I sure do love their collections. And those sunglasses would be amazing for next summer, at the beach or for strolling in my hometown with a light summer dress. Or for this winter with fluo colored winter clothing like on the last Lacoste ad.

6. Amberly

Since I was a young girl, I've always wanted a worn-in leather jacket, some killer shades, and ride off into the sunset, holding on to a handsome man driving a motorcycle... You know, be a rebel, someone who takes risks. And now that I am a grown woman, I own a cheap faux leather jacket, only been on a motorcycle once with a chubby boy in college, and have yet to find my killer shades.

I would love to own the Lacoste sunglasses because it would make my badass dreams come true!! My style is hard to define — I like to wear whatever I am feeling each day. Some days I wake up and want to be a lace and floral princess, other days I want to wear all black and be artistic. I feel these sunglasses would fit perfectly in my indescribable style!

I've always had a love for the little alligator that is the Lacoste logo. I remember wanting to get the polos so I could have him wander around with me all day! Lacoste is known for their sportswear, and even though I am not very athletic, wearing these glasses would make me want to ski down the tallest mountains, ride on the back of super fast speed boats, and feel the wind in my hear in a shiny sports car! Their retro, yet classic design will be timeless for years to come, and the big frames will help offset my large forehead!

I love Britney Spears' song 'Toxic' and the video gives off that bad-girl vibe that I think the sunglasses would help me achieve...so because of this, I've rewritten some of the lyrics to match my strong desire to win the sunglasses!

Baby can't you see?

I can't see

I really wished, you warned me,

It's dangerous

And I need some shades...

There's no escape, I can't wait, I need some sunnies, Paulien gimme it

It's dangerous, and I shouldn't be without it...

Too bright, can't see a thing

Losin' track

Spinnin' round and 'round...

Do you feel me now?

With some Lacoste sunglasses I can get by

They're sexy, I'm looking so fly

With a shiny pair always by my side

I'm feeling badass, I won these in a contest!

Yeah, you know I'm badass

Paulien hooked it up, yeah!

----

These were the 6 fantastic entries! All of them are very creative and different, right? Let me know about your favourite one before the 28th of December 8pm! So contestants: get all of your friends here to vote for you ;-) Curious to see who will win the Lacoste sunnies in the end!

STRIPED ROMANCE

2011-12-18T13:30:00.000+01:00

Took outfit pictures again with Photo Queen Annebeth! That very day was actually the first day I realized it started to get REAL cold. Same for Mrs. Styling Dutchman, but luckily for her she was totally cold proof with hat and mittens and I had to face the icy wind with a thin faux leather jacket and a hoodie. Brrr.

Despite the lack of layering I was quite happy with this outfit though! Took out my thrifted pink dress for a walk after a long time AND wore my pretty COS jumper. Can't get any better for me.

Now back to study mode! My exams (I'm a University student now, remember?) are starting in January and I'm like COMPLETELY stressed out as I haven't studied A THING for more than two years. Creepy. I guess I'll have to get my study mojo back so from this weekend on I'll be locking myself up with my books in my room. Evidently this means: less blog posting. But I've been saving some outfits for you since November so I will have sòmething to post, though the accompanying text will be poor. Unless you want to hear everything about my exciting study stories of course! *yeah right*

* twirl twirl *

faux leather jacket, grey hoodie (h&m), striped sweater (cos)

old pink dress (thrifted, T2), scarf (lavand), ankle boots (sacha)

Don't forget to join my THREE blog birthday giveaways!

To win a pair of pink Puma running shoes, click here. (until 20th of December)

To win a beauty package from Professionails and L'Occitane, click here. (until 21st of December)

To win a pair of Lacoste sunglasses and a Filippa K purse, click here. (until 22nd of December)

COMFY AND COLOURFUL

2011-12-14T18:35:00.000+01:00

Talking about Christmas atmospheres: I totally feel like a reindeer with them branches growing out of my head! <3

This is what I call real Sunday-material. There are Sundays when you really HAVE to get dressed — unlike the ones where I stay in PJ's and sweatpants all day long — but you still want to feel comfy and cozy. Most of the time I just throw on every piece that looks soft and wear a big chunky cardigan over it. This time it worked out quite well and it even looked a bit sophisticated! Ok, I added the floppy hat just because it would look good on the picture, but still.

These pictures were taken in the first days of December, when it was still sunny and warm. In the meantime Fall has finally arrived to Belgium (I'm not kidding) and it's pouring non stop. If it was only a bit colder, then it would be SNOW! I have a confession to be made: I cannot wait for some snow to fall down. It would suit my Christmas tree just perfectly! ;-)

cardigan (sass & bide), jumper (mango), skirt & hat (h&m), boots (zara), coat (kirilove for vero moda)

Don't forget to join my giveaways by the way!
There's something to win for truly every kind of girl out here.

In order to win these very stylish Lacoste sunglasses and Filippa K purse, CLICK HERE!

To win this wonderful Professionails + L'Occitane beauty package, CLICK HERE!

To win these awesome Puma running shoes, CLICK HERE!

It would be great if everyone here would take a shot at winning these AWESOME items!
I wish every all of you very good luck!

x Paulien

BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY 4 [LACOSTE + FILIPPA K]

2011-12-12T23:42:00.001+01:00

Last but absolutely not least: the fourth birthday giveaway here on Polienne! After the fancy sporty package from Saturday, the girly beauty package from yesterday we now finally have the trendy HIPSTER package too! So if you're just a really cool person, you better check out this giveaway 'cause it will totally fit your style.

We have the one and only Lacoste AND the one and only Filippa K teaming up with Polienne today! These two very nice items are the cherry on the cake after several giveaways for the blog's second birthday.

Let's start with the Lacoste sunglasses. First of all I think they're just incredibly awesome and I wish I could keep them to myself. Now that confession is made I can continue with several other accolades.

The first outfit with these Lacoste glasses that pops in my head is a ski-outfit actually. Might be the fresh Christmas tree I'm looking at or the ski-jackets I'm browsing through at some online shop but I honestly think they would rock any Wintersport outfit! They're cool and chic at the same time; which makes them a great pair of timeless sunglasses.

A festival outfit, a beach outfit or even a running outfit. They just match everything! What's not to like?

Secondly I have a gorgeous leather Filippa K purse to offer to you! This cutie is the ideal bag-in-bag. I have one of my own and I carry it everywhere I go! My keys, my iPod in-ears, my bus tickets, my lip balm, my gum... Basically half of my life fits in that pochette ;-) Besides being super functional it is also a real beauty: the soft leather and big zipper are pure heaven for a the hidden minimalist that's in every one of us.

I think every one of us needs this practical and pretty Filippa K purse in our lives. THERE! I said it.

I'm not going to make these two drop-dead gorgeous items very easy to win ;-) There will be two winners and those winners will have to work for their items! Yes, that's right: I want you to be creative again.

Besides being a follower of Polienne and showing some love for Lacoste and Filippa K I devised two other tasks. And for once, not every winner will be chosen randomly...

1) Be a follower of Polienne! (GFC or Bloglovin')

2) Go and FOLLOW that Lacoste Twitter account! (or FB)

3) Go and LIKE that Filippa K Facebook page!

4) Filippa K task:
This little leather bag is perfect for carrying around small random stuff like pens, bus tickets, lipstick, lighters... But I'm wondering what exactly would you put in it? Make a picture of your future purse content and post the link to it in your comment! You can use Twitter/ImageShack/... to do this.

The winner will be chosen randomly and the picture will be posted on Polienne.

5) Lacoste task:
The pair of sunglasses are a very much wanted item but I'm curious WHY exactly you would like to win them. You just love the design? Are they the perfect addition to your wardrobe? Your other (cheap) sunglasses just suck? Show me your creativity and use whatever you want to convince me YOU must be the one to get your hands on this pair. You can make a picture of yourself with your ugliest glasses, a collage on how you would wear the glasses, a little story why you should deserve them... Truly anything you want. ACT COOL!

I will choose the 5 best entries and organize a poll on Polienne so you guys can vote yourself!

6) Leave a comment with your name, email address and link to the picture/reason for winning.

7) Good luck!

Note!

- please feel free to tweet about this giveaway ;-)

- this giveaway is open to my European + USA readers only.

- the giveaway is open until the 22nd of December.

- you can enter for both items.

I think it would be so much fun if lots of you would participate this rather unusual but fun giveaway contest!
So please go for it and let your creativity and imagination work!

BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY 3 [PROFESSIONAILS + L'OCCITANE]

2011-12-11T11:40:00.000+01:00

Attention, beautylovers! It's part-time here on Polienne! As I wanted to reach my reading public to the fullest and not just concentrate on fashion for once, I chose to do a more unusual birthday giveaway on Polienne. The 3rd giveaway is a fantastic beauty package that will definitely help you through Winter!

The cold dehydrates your skin and you really have to take extra care of it. French beauty brand L'Occitane, that is known for its natural beauty and care products from the Provence, has the perfect solution for this: an ultra rich face cream with extra shea butter that will protect your fragile skin during all seasons! In the box there is also a hand cream sample for dry skin.

Second, there's a very nice nail care set from Professionails, a brand that you've probably read about before on my blog. I've modeled for two of their campaigns and I have some Professionails prettyness in my own nail polish collection. I can assure you: the quality of their nail polishes is AWESOME. The set focuses on your feet: there's a cool relaxing gel to put on after a tiring day of shopping, there's three nail polishes to create the perfect French manicure and another glamorous red polish that would be ideal for Christmas. Besides from this there are several attributes like files to keep your toe nails healthy.

Tadaaaaam ;-)

What to do in order to win this great beauty package:

1) Be a follower of Polienne (Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin').
2) Follow the Professionails Twitter (or Facebook) and the L'Occitane Twitter (or Facebook) page!
3) Leave a comment with your name and email address.

Note!
- this giveaway is open to my European + USA readers only.
- the winner will be chosen randomly.
- the giveaway is open until the 21st of December.

Good luck!

PS: Don't forget to take a shot at winning these fabulous pink Puma running shoes!

BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY 2 [PUMA]

2011-12-10T10:00:00.000+01:00

Last week two lucky ladies won the adorable shirtdress and the cute pair of shoes from Mr. + Mrs. Tweed to celebrate Polienne's birthday. The good news for all of you who DIDN'T win last week, is that I planned on doing a second giveaway, as my blog turned two years old. Even better news is that I got so many reactions from so many cool brands that I have a second, a third and a even fourth giveaway for you! Let's turn this "birthday-giveaway" concept into a giant "holidays-giveaway"! So stay tuned for more!

But first things come first so it's time to introduce you to the second giveaway!

One of the most common New Year's resolutions to start the new year with, is more working out. Every year SO many people plan on practicing more sports and start going to the gym but how many of them already give up after two months? Almost everyone I guess. Personally I do practice lots of sports and I admit that's to stay in shape and not because I'm a real sports addict. The truth is: you have to work out for a nice body.

But I am convinced that you can look fashionable while sweating your ass off at the gym! These supercute pink Puma Faas 500 trainers will definitely draw the attention away from your red tomato face. Don't be afraid of the flashy pink colour (my sports bra is pink!) because it will totally brighten up your weekly hour(s) of sports.

Besides the pretty girly look, these Puma running shoes have a very special feature that almost every girl among us will like: they are designed to reduce cellulite and tone your legs all the way. HOW CAN YOU SAY NO TO TIGHT AND SLIGHTLY MUSCLED LEGS? I'm sold.

For more technical information for 'professional' runners you should definitely read this review!

I totally wanted to pose with them in a complete gym outfit but unfortunately they're not my size. They still would look soooooo awesome with my neon pink sports bra and flashy pink Urban Ears though :-)

What you have to do in order to win these cool Puma running shoes:

1) Be a follower of Polienne (GFC or Bloglovin').
2) Follow the Puma Twitter account (if you have Twitter).
3) Leave a comment with your name and email adress.

But there's a little bit of creativity involved this time! Go to Polyvore (or another website) and create your own (sports) outfit with the Puma Faas 500 running shoes. I'm just supercurious to see how your perfect and fashionable sports outfit would look like! Hey and don't forget to tell me what sports you practice!
Remember kids, being sportive = so 2012.

4) Leave me the link to your outfit in the comment.
5) Thumbs up!

Note!
- the shoes are EU size 38, UK size 5 and US size 7.
- this giveaway is open to my European + USA readers only.
- the winner will be chosen randomly and the outfit will be posted on Polienne.
- the giveaway is open until the 20th of December, right in time to start your new sporty year!

Good luck, girls!

FEELING CHRISTMASSY

2011-12-08T22:24:00.000+01:00

HO HO HO!

This post is aaaaaall about Christmas! Well no, actually, I'm just wearing a red jacket and wanted to get photographed in front of this Christmas decoration. But still: very looking forward although we still have to wait a little longer! The preparations are on in full swing and I'm loving it. Antwerp is getting covered with lights, stars and presents all over and me myself, I decorated my pretty Christmas tree just yesterday! Will show you the pictures soon of course ;-)

I'm wearing the same dress as last outfit post but I just love it and want to show you all the different ways you can style it! The red tweed jacket is one of my other latest thrifting treasures I told you about a little while ago. You can't find anything like this in a highstreet shop (says my experience) so I'd like to THANK GOD for vintage stores! It's quite thick because of the tweed and has lots of colours in it, although you don't see them at first sight. It basically matches any outfit and that makes it great quickly-throwing-on-in-the-morning material! I'm a happy girl.

PS: Sorry for messing around with the fonts all the time but I just can't find the right one!

Todays pictures were taken by Annebeth by the way! We met up with Elien from Dogs and Dresses (we're like the Antwerp Blogger Gang) to shoot our outfits. Really useful and fun too! Sometimes there's just no mummy, brother or boyfriend around and then I just tweet my Antwerp Fellas to take my pictures. So thanks girls!

One last fun picture I couldn't hide from you:

tweed blazer, grey dress (thrifted, T2), leopard brogues (forever21), purse (jutka&riska)

winter coat (WE fashion), faux fur scarf (H&M), nailpolish (catrice, 'snow motion')

PS: I planned on posting a BIG SURPRISE for you guys tonight but as the computer didn't want to cooperate I threw this outfit online. The surprise will probably be online tomorrow evening and involves some REAL cool stuff and 3 very happy readers. Curious anyone?

Ending this post (that never seems to get an end?) with a great Song of The Day. I just invented that title! Please go and listen to Mykonos from Fleet Foxes all night long. It's awesome!

PS: Have you already checked out my wardrobe sale? You should! Maybe there's something you like!

PRESS DAYS // THE SEQUEL

2011-12-06T18:05:00.000+01:00

Here's one last (and massive) post on the press days I attended last month! I had sooooo many pictures and I didn't want them to get lost on my computer without anyone ever watching them. So I thought I'd just share them anyway, even though it might be a bit late. There are just WAY too many pretty things in fashion. Habba habba... Here are my favourite SS12 items for now!

Sacha (wantttt!!! bothhhh!)

Alexa Chung for Vero Moda (wantttt!!!)

WE Fashion

Cycle

D.A.T.E.

Check out the pictures of the D.A.T.E. party at Magic at my Facebook page!

COS

Molami

Check out the pictures of the Molami launch in Belgium on my Facebook page!

Molami is a new Scandinavian headphone brand with a female designer and a great new concept (especially when you want to your headphones to be fashionable) and all of you ladies should check it out. Besides this gorgeous pair in some kind of silk fabric, they also have pretty in-ears and regular headphones. There's a fun video that shows you how to "unpack" the headphones so you can wash them!

You can find the video here!

Essentiel

MAC

Véritas (check out that left Céline-like purse!)

River Island

Alexa Chung for Vero Moda

COS

Jeremy Scotch x Swatch

Balmain

Sequoia

Supertrash

D&G

Marc Jacobs

Hunkemöller

Hunkemöller recently launched an online magazine by the way! Plenty of things to see and read: their newest collection and the inspiration behind it with catwalk pictures, sexy editorials that feature the Holidays collection, fun little articles and a behind the scenes movie. Check it out here!

Alberto Fermani

Professionails (with me in the campaign!)

Ambre Babzoe

Tommy Hilfiger

Essentiel (outlet)

Pinko

Supertrash

Huit

Dita Von Teese for Cointreau

Supertrash (wantttt!!)

Swarovski

Steve Madden

Craving for Spring, anyone?

LA PARISIENNE

2011-12-03T17:00:00.000+01:00

Nope, unfortunately these pics weren't taken in Paris but I did feel like a real Parisienne wearing this outfit. Lately I've been very very lucky while thrift shopping (T2 sales!) and this is dress is one of the gorgeous treasures I took home with me. More to come up: white fuzzy sweater, tweed blazer and tight 90s party dress. Who doesn't love finding des pièces unique that seems to be created for you?

Nothing more to say except that it's still not snowing here and that I biked without gloves today. Weird!

PS: Excuse me for the dead hair. Hairdresser asap!

PS: I uploaded a temporary wardrobe sale! Check it out here.

dress (vintage), blazer, beret (h&m), flats (new look), bag (river island), scarf (lavand), tights (veritas)

PS: I'm becoming a real Pixlr-O-Matic addict....

POLIENNE'S 2ND BIRTHDAY!

2011-12-01T12:25:00.000+01:00

Yesterday, the 30th of November, Polienne turned officially two years old! Oh joy, joy!

I'm so so happy that I've come this far along with you guys, my dearest readers, and that's why I organized a giveaway for you! Ten days ago I teamed up with the Belgian webshop Mr. + Mrs. Tweed so you could win one of these two fantastic items:

Who doesn't want these beauties in their wardrobe?

Lots of you participated the giveaway and I hope you are all curious who won!

THE SHIRTDRESS

Congratulations to Ninja! You will receive an email soon!

THE SHOES

Congratulations to Laurein! You will receive an email soon!

---

Presents are handed out, birthday is celebrated..

The only thing I still have to do is wish you a very happy December!

PS: Don't worry if you didn't win anything! There will be plenty things to get your hands on in the future of Polienne! And for now you can still comfort yourself with purchasing your favourite item at the Mr. + Mrs. Tweed webshop!

TUESDAY MOODBOARD?

2011-11-29T22:32:00.001+01:00

Soooooooooooooooooooooo...........................

At the very moment I decide having a serious shopping break and save some money, I see this dress. This drop dead gorgeous dress. Worn here by the ever beautiful Valentine and sold by Queens Wardrobe for not such a ridiculous price. And it is absolutely KILLING ME! *love at first sight*

I think I'm just gonna stare at it for the next two weeks I guess.

Thoughts?

dress (queens wardrobe), pictures (hello it's valentine)

THE GREENS

2011-11-27T13:00:00.000+01:00

Hoppaaa! Another outfit for you! Bright and happy feelings in November! Okay maybe the Pixlr-O-Matic application has something to do with it... And the superbright orange Catrice lipstick... And of course this pretty green-yellow-ish cardigan!

A little while ago I spotted this pretty cardigan in the WE Fashion store but didn't take it home with me. Now, WE Fashion recently opened a webshop and as I couldn't get that happy cardigan out of my head, I immediately ordered it online. Only ONE DAY LATER it was nicely delivered and it fitted perfectly! The quality is really good and I love the little details such as the small pockets and cute buttons. Definitely a keeper. I can absolutely recommend you this online store as their delivery system is awesome and their current collection is really nice and classy! I especially like their blazers, winter coats and party dresses. Some other fashionable items I spotted: a long sheer skirt, a red vintage-looking "Natalie Off Duty style" blazer, a cognac leather skirt and supercool lace up boots for Winter. HOT, I'd say. [SHOP ONLINE HERE]

Another worth-mentioning item: this fantastic and HUGE scarf! In September I went to an event organized by the Antwerp stores Fresh 34 and little sister Fresh 15 and discovered some new brands. One of them was Humanoid, a Dutch brand that is known for its soft, lush fabrics that all match each other in shades, structures and layering. If you love cashmere, leather, suede and cotton in a classy, feminine but still edgy way: go Humanoid. The large luxurious wrap scarf (like the one I'm wearing for example) is symbolizing the Humanoid feel from the very beginning. You should definitely check out their online store; I already spotted some awesome shoes, bags and knitwear! [SHOP ONLINE HERE]

Now it's photo-time!

cardigan (WE fashion), scarf (humanoid), dress (vero mode)

bag (jutka & risk), necklace, sunglasses, tights (h&m), shoes (unknown)

Don't forget to join the MR. + MRS. TWEED GIVEAWAY for Polienne's 2nd birthday!

Remember, you only have time until this Wednesday; November 30th. Go go go!

HEADWEAR PARADE

2011-11-24T12:36:00.000+01:00

new look

Short but fun (?) post today! It's my boyfriends birthday today so I want to put this computer away as soon as possible and overload him with birthday cuddles and kisses! So, what's this quick post about? A little while ago I noticed I actually have a lot of headwear accessories. I thought it would be a nice idea to gather them all in one post! Which one do you like best?

PS: okay, I honestly did not know ALL my headwear is from H&M, New Look and Asos :-) Apparently they have the best stuff!

h&m

asos

h&m

new look

h&m

asos

h&m

new look

h&m

new look

h&m

Don' forget to join my blog birthday giveaway by the way!

You can win a Mr. + Mrs. Tweed shirtdress AND a pair of shoes!

GO FOR IT, I'd say!

MY DREAM WINTER COAT

2011-11-22T19:28:00.000+01:00

Last week I met up with fellow blogger Annebeth for lunch and outfit shooting. She introduced me to this gorgeous old beguinage, right in front of my university! There were some creepy Jezus statues staring at us behind the windows but besides from that, it was really pretty! When we were done shooting and I jumped on my bike, Annebeth started to snap some more pics and this resulted in a great contradiction in pictures between old and new city. Me likes! We ended up with sooooo many photos and I had quite a hard time choosing... Oh, and Annebeth decided to go for the greener version of the beguinage; check her pics out here!

Now, let me tell you about this coat I'm wearing. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the coat of my dreams ever since I discovered it on the Zara webshop. Several days and even weeks of dreaming, checking it out in the store (and feeling it, moeha!), money counting and drooling went by and I waited and waited and waited. A little while ago I had some shopping time with my mum and decided to go for it.

I'm wearing it non-stop since and the funny thing is that everyone who sees it, wants to try it on and starts to play around with it. Creatures in my coat until now: a polar bear, a werewolf, a dementor and a rapper :-) Quite versatile I'd say... I wish you could feel pictures because those faux fur details are just incredibly soft. Softest thing I ever felt and this is approved by many of my friends! JEALOUS, ANYONE?

aaaand LENS FLARE! ♥

coat (zara), sweater (esprit), shirt (new look), bag, over knee socks (h&m)

sneakers (converse), scarf (humanoid), headphones (urban ears), nail polish (pieces)

PS: Don't forget to join out my Mr. + Mrs. Tweed giveaway RIGHT HERE!

BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY 1 [MR. + MRS. TWEED]

2011-11-20T19:00:00.000+01:00

GIVEAWAY TIME!

November seems to be Presents Month here on Polienne, and Santa hasn't even arrived yet! This time I teamed up with the brand new and übercool webshop Belgian Mr. + Mrs. Tweed, which is founded by the very stylish couple Kelli and Johan. They already have two stores in Belgium and recently opened a webshop with modern classics for men and women.

But there is more: they do not only sell clothes, accessories and shoes; you can even find beauty products (Essie nail polish! Lip scrub with Crème Brulée taste!) and great stuff for your home, like pretty candles and relaxing tea. On their website you can find the webshop with all the unique but affordable pieces, information about their boutiques, an online magazine and even a personal blog, where they both write about all kinds of fashion related things.

This giveaway isn't just a regular one; it's for a special occasion! On November 30th my blog (aka little baby) turns 2 years old already! I couldn't let this event pass by without doing anything so I chose to make it one big party and celebrate it with every one of you, my dearest readers. That's why there isn't just one present for only one lucky reader... there are TWO! I picked two of my favourite pieces from the online store (which was very hard, as you will see while browsing through all their stuff) to give to you!

Mr. + Mrs. Tweed

"SALLY" Shirtdress

(brand: Ganni)

The great thing about this dress that it is so basic and minimalistic that you can combine it in lots of different ways! Here, for example, the shirtdress is a wonderful addition to a chic/though outfit.

But you can perfectly pull it off in a comfortable weekend outfit too!

WAIT..... there is more!

Mr. + Mrs. Tweed

"LACEY" shoes

(brand: Kling)

Same thing for these vintage looking beauties: you can wear them in truly any style!

This outfit for example would be perfect for work:

But they look very pretty too in a more street-wise outfit for having a coffee in the city!

And actually I think they do a great job together too:

Convinced, everyone?

---

Now, in order to get one of these two wonderful items in your closet you only have to....

1) ...be a follower of the Polienne blog
(Google Friend Connect and Bloglovin' are both okay!)

2) ...check out the Mr. + Mrs. Tweed webshop
(there is sooooo much more pretty stuff - true story // CLICK)

3) ...like the Mr. + Mrs. Tweed Facebook page
(which is regularly updated with fun stuff // CLICK)

4) ...leave a comment with your name and email address
(or you won't get to win anything, duh)

5) ...tell me WHICH ONE OF THESE TWO ITEMS you'd love to have
(I know, it's so hard to choose!)

As Mr. + Mrs. Tweed ship all over Europe and the rest of the world, this giveaway is open to all of my readers; the international ones too! You have time to join it until the 30th of November, my blog's 2nd birthday, (that's in 10 days!) and the winners will be picked randomly and contacted by email.

I'd say: SPREAD THE WORD!

(tweet it! facebook it! pin it!)

---

Some more awesome Mr. + Mrs. Tweed stuff:

PS: it might be possible that one of these two items will be sold out by November 30th, as the Mr. + Mrs. Tweed stock is not unlimited. In that case the winner can pick another item that's about the same price.

MY OWN TIMBERLAND BOAT SHOES

2011-11-19T11:30:00.000+01:00

Back in the days, when I was still a kiddo, every guy at school who wanted to be cool had a pair of old school dark brown Timberland worker boots. When I grew older the hype died a quiet death but let me tell you: they are more than back. Last week I attended the press days here in Belgium and I've never seen so many classic boat shoes in such a short period! It was very clear: our feet will be covered with boat shoes next Spring and Summer. Timberland is of course one of the main Kings of the Boat Shoe and they go even further than selling the classic shoes in trendy colours.

At Timberland you can design your own boat shoe. How cool is that? On their website you can first choose the model you like and then customize it to your own needs. The colours, the laces, the seams, the sole... Everything is in your hands. There is even a possibility to put your initials on and inside the shoe to make sure your pair is absolutely unique! Make sure to check out the Customize Section on their website; you can play for hours with the colours and materials!

Timberland gave me the opportunity to try out this great new "DIY project" and this is the result! Pastel colours + preppy style = such a good combo. I really love how they turned out, as it always a bit excited when you order stuff on the internet. Maybe I should have made a winter version because I just cannot wait to take these cuties out for a walk! I'm afraid they will have to wait a couple of months in the shoe closet...

Thank you Timberland & UPR Belgium!

To pump up their "hiking image" I selected a few of my faves from the online store. They're cool. I think they're cool. ADMIT IT! I just discovered they have heels and sandals and all kinds of other stuff too, but in the end I just really fancy the classic ones! Tight jeans, a wool coat and you're ready to go. Hello horror Winter?

I think I'm in love with this white Winter beauty....!

What do you think about the brand?

www.timberland.com

URBAN STYLE

2011-11-17T21:47:00.000+01:00

This outfit has everything I crave for on a quite chilly and very lazy Fall day! It's warm enough, extremely comfortable and has just the right urban touch. The (really cool) sneakers were a gift from Converse and UPR Belgium and let me tell you: they totally understand what I need. I'm a comfort lady (in opposition to loads of heels-addicts) and you can make me happy with anything that's flat and easy to walk in! The faux sheep wool and mountain-shoe-style laces are a gigantic plus of course.

I wore this outfit for a shopping afternoon in the Netherlands with my mum, little brother and his girlfriend. First we had to get through a gigantic traffic jam, then we went for hot chocolate and cinnamon bagels and finally we went shopping for a few hours. Luck was on my side as I found the perfect winter coat that I was craving for a few weeks now! You can check it out at my wishlist. Soooo pretty, warm, perfect and now MINE! ♥

poncho (vero moda), plaid shirt (thrifted, T2), striped t-shirt, black trousers (h&m),

leather tote (mango) sneakers (converse), scarf (lavand), nail polish (pieces)

PRESS DAYS // PRINT!

2011-11-14T21:54:00.001+01:00

Print lovers, attention! Pattern and prints are absolutely HOT next season! And what kind of prints... The crazier the better! What do you think about some bananas, unicorns, flowers, sea shells, kisses, flamingos, hearts, fruits, tartan...? My opinion? I'M A FAN! And what I fancy the most: combining all these wicked prints and go out like one happy gal! Now, talking won't get your imagination working but pictures definitely will! So please enjoy these crazy prints and I hope you feel as happy as I did while making this post!

Bananas // Kid Vanilla

Tartan // Ray-Ban

Fruits, sea sights and chunky baroque prints // Dolce & Gabanna

Sweet kisses // Magdalena

Crazy unicorns! // Kid Vanilla

Tiny fish feet! // Vans

Gorgeous flowers // Ted Baker

Sea shells, fishes and beach landscapes // Sperry

Classic polkadots // Betty Barclay

If you happy and you know it, wear this shirt!

The typical Missoni print in new fresh colours.

Cute tartan // Sperry

Colourful dots and bricks // Kid Vanilla

Neon/grey stripes.

Whoever designed this must have been on paddo's. Love it! // Gottex

Flamingo's @ Ted Baker

Tartan chic

Stripes all over // Desigual

Some more flamingo's! // Vero Moda

Mermaid skirt // River Island

Mwah! // Magdalena
(also adorable in mustard with black kisses)

I heart you // Vero Moda

Crazy 50s print with cars, music and Amy herself // Amy Winehouse for Fred Perry

Happy happy happy / Who's That Girl?

More Missoni

Now, which one do you prefer and would you totally go for next Spring and Summer? My faves are the cool bananas from Kid Vanilla (that crazy sweatshirt is just irresistible), the sweet kisses from Magdalena, the cute flamingo's from Ted Baker and Vero Moda and the fresh tartans from Sperry!

Actually I just want them all in my SS12 wardrobe!

PRESS DAYS // 3 NEW FAVOURITES

2011-11-13T22:53:00.000+01:00

You might not believe it but these press days were my first ones ever! On one side I was quite excited to check out the PR agencies and meet the people behind them and on the other I couldn't wait to discover new brands. Glad to tell you that both goals were reached successfully! Oh boy, there were so many wonderful brands that I've never heard about and that I really fancied but it would be impossible to feature them all!

I made a "Top 3 New Favourites" of the ones that completely stole my heart AND that are quite affordable, which is very important to me. You probably know some of them (fashion noob in the house) but heyyyy, I guess you haven't seen their SS12 collection, right?! I present to you: Ted Baker, Clio Goldbrenner and Edith & Ella!

1. Ted Baker

This is a giant English brand that appears to be one of the fastest-growing leading lifestyle brands in the UK. They sale about everything: clothes, accessories, shoes, fragrances, eyewear... and I must say that everything looks really pretty ànd from a good quality! This SS12 they have some awesome prints waiting for us!

This dress. I need it in my life. Asap!

How cute are these FLAMINGOS?!

Same dress as the first one but in a wonderful bright yellow colour! Summer must have ♥

I checked out their online shop because I was really curious to see how their FW11 collection would look like. My opinion? Definitely approved! And they ship to the whole of Europe! YAY! These are my faves:

2. Clio Goldbrenner

This bag brand was founded by a 25 year old BELGIAN lady, yes that's right! I love myself some good Belgian designs now and then! Together with her mother she designed her very first bag collection earlier this year so this is her 3rd collection already. What I like about the bags is their great minimalistic designs and luxurious materials: you really wouldn't say this is "just" a Belgian brand, don't you think? I'm craving this first one, the "Clio", which is basically her signature bag. In every collection the Clio bag makes it's appearance but in different colours and each of these colours are absolutely stunning. I would have a hard time choosing between the green, brown and black one!

You can find more bags on her website!

3. Edith & Ella

Edith & Ella is a Danish brand, founded in 2004 by Line Markvardsen. It's sold in several countries throughout Europe and the collections have a very retro/vintage feel, which is a big plus for me of course. The SS12 collection was very convincing for me but when I checked out their items online I was completely sold! Everything is so damn cute and I crave it all!

You should definitely check out the online store as the FW11 collection is absolutely stunning. Don't forget to take a look at the sales-corner; it's worth it! There are some real good deals to make there. AND I just found out the shipping is for FREE until Monday the 14th of November, 10:00 am!

Which one is your favourite? I surely cannot choose..

And did already know one of these brands?

FLOWERY

2011-11-11T00:59:00.001+01:00

As long as the trees still have their beautiful colours, I will be wearing lots of colours too! I love to be absorbed in these gorgeous Fall surroundings so it is exactly the right time of the year to dress up colourful ;-) These pictures were taken last weekend when it was really sunny and warm and GUESS WHAT: it still is really sunny and relatively warm! It's unbelievable that we still had 15 degrees today while last year the first snow fell on November 30. That's enough weather talk for now I guess.

Today was an extremely tiring day, as I predicted yesterday. (that's a lot of 'day' in one sentence, huh?) My partners in crime, Kim from Brunette Blogging and Gilles from Wood and Rags, and I visited not less than 7 press agencies today and I think every one of us is just.so.dead.right.now. We took tons of pictures and carried superheavy goodiebags with us all day long BUT it was an incredibly fun day with lots of interesting new contacts I met. I want to thank the press agencies for inviting me and for doing such a great job having all of us (and that's a lot) in only two days! There are lots of pictures coming up with amazing SS12 collections — I had such a hard time not grabbing everything and stealing it — so please stay tuned for the weekend! Cheers!

dress (mango), cardigan (vero moda), coat (kirilove for vero moda)

tights (forever 21), purse (kipling), boots (zara)

D.A.T.E. + OUTFIT PREVIEW

2011-11-10T03:02:00.000+01:00

Just came home from the amazing D.A.T.E. x MAGIC party and I had a blast! Great music, great people, great booze and great sneakers of course! Hopefully Zouk, who won yesterdays giveaway, and her friend had some fun times too! Check out these Instagram snapshots from the evening and the outfit:

I'm really tired now so I'm gonna go straight to bed. Tomorrow's plans are visiting lots of PR agencies to check out the SS12 collections, quite exciting! Busy times ahead so prepare yourself for some gazillion pictures on tha blog soon. I still have an outfit from last weekend to post but I will have to make some time for that. Thumbs up: might be online tomorrow night! Or maybe that's a bit ambitious... Anyway, I'll leave you with this little preview while I'm going to bed. Nighty night x

MONDAY MOODBOARD

2011-11-07T19:00:00.000+01:00

It's been quite a long time since I had a proper wishlist and not just bought everything that I liked in store. But now I've seen some items that I REALLY want to get my hands on! Every one of them is very reachable but all together they make quite a sum of money. So now I'm waiting and saving a bit so I will be able to purchase a first one soon. Going shopping with my mum later on this week so I might come home with one of these 4 beauties.

Yay or nay?

both zara

new look

la sardinia (lomography)

I'll leave you with some very inspirational outfits now!

Can't get the long half-see-through skirt trend out of my mind! I really love this concept because although you're wearing a floor-lenght skirt, your outfit still looks very fresh and light. AND it still shows off your legs, yet in a stylish and subtle way! Would love to have a black one but this nude one definitely stole my heart a bit... So pretty with the khaki vest!

COLOUR is the keyword! These ladies look so effortlessly cool. Love the combination of the very feminine dresses and heels with the urban headphones! Great inspiration for Winter too, in my opinion.

Soft colours and textures are literally EVERYWHERE and I'm loving it. Nudes and pastels has been in fashion for long time and I'm really happy to see them again this Winter. Who doesn't like a warm fuzzy sweater over a girly tule dress on cold, snowy days? Most cosy combination ever!

Brogues, a collar, a mint sweater and some flowers: all I need to be happy.

sources: stockholm streetstyle, this chick's got style

GIVEAWAY! [D.A.T.E. PARTY]

2011-11-05T20:07:00.001+01:00

TWO POSTS IN ONE DAY?

This is really exeptional on Polienne so there must be a good reason, right...?

Absolutely! I have the honor of spoiling you with a give-away!

D.A.T.E. is a pretty new (2005) Italian sneaker brand, founded by 4 young friends. The brand is ready to take over the world and wants to celebrate its success with all of us! Together with Fashion Club 70 they're hosting a party in Antwerp's most crazy club, MAGIC, on the 9th of November (next Wednesday) and I have a duo ticket to renounce! I can assure you: all fashion people will be there so there's no way you can miss this party! I'll be there myself and D.A.T.E. gave me the opportunity to invite one of my readers (with a friend) too!

Concrete:

D.A.T.E. party

9th of November

Club MAGIC, Antwerp

From 20:00 until 23:00 there's an open bar! = COME EARLY!

There are 100 pairs of D.A.T.E. sneakers to win! = LOOK FASHIONABLE!

This is the line-up:

What do you have to do to win this ticket to this fenomenal and fashionable party? It's really easy.

1. Follow Polienne of course ;-)

1. Leave a comment with your name and email adress.

2. Go to the D.A.T.E. website and give me the link of your favourite sneaker!

And uhm, that's it, actually! Curious to see which sneakers are most popular. Oh, and if you're not a sneaker-girl yourself, you can always check out the men's section for some good boyfriend material! I'll pick the winner randomly and will contact her/him as soon a possible. You can join the give-away until Tuesday the 8th of November, 22:00. Thumbs up for everyone and hope to see you at the party!

If you're not familiar with the brand yet; here are my 5 favourites from the current woman collection!

BURGUNDY DREAMS

2011-11-05T11:53:00.002+01:00

I truly cannot believe it's November already! It took me a couple of days to realize actually... As you can see on my pictures our woods still look very colourful (unusual for November) and it's also really warm for the time of the year! No thick coats needed and the sunglasses are still doing service. Very grateful for that!

This Fall I collected several burgundy items and I felt I just HAD to combine them all together one day! Amongst them is one of my favourite items for the moment: the beautiful retro-feel dress. I feel like it's made for me because it suits me down to the ground. It looks bright red on the photos but the real colour is very pretty dark wine-red. The only thing I need now are burgundy shoes and a burgundy furry hat I guess...

Oh and I wanted to make a little side note on the nail polish (that you can see above) before you can go back to the more important things in your life that you do on a Saturday: I LOVE IT!

The colour is (obviously) a deep burgundy one and ohh, it is so so stylish and chic! Back in August I did a campaign shooting for Professionails and I took some outfit pictures of that day, I don't know if you remember? It's a Belgian nail polish brand and I've modeled a couple of times for them. In the outfit post from August I had the very pretty and classical Sopolish (nail polish that lasts for 2 weeks without chipping!) on my nails and this time I'm wearing this beautiful burgundy colour from the regular Pronails FW11 collection. You all know I am crazy about Catrice when it comes to nail polish and that's because they have lots fun and very different colours. But when it comes to quality? Nah. I've experienced that this Pronails nail polish last so much longer ànd stays very shiny and smoothly without chipping. Yup, I'm sold!

Oh and before I forget, this is no "advertisement post" or something, I just had some great experiences with the brand and wanted to make your beauty life so much better ;-) I tried them on at the shooting and later on I received some samples to try out from Unlimited PR Belgium. My conclusion? Definitely approved!

The idea was wanting to make a fun and still pretty ("moving") picture but after ten minutes of desperately throwing leaves my brother and I just dropped and in the end this photo was the best one we could get ;-)

dress (new look), poncho (vero moda), ankle boots (unknown)

furry hat & purse (h&m), tights (hema), nail polish (professionails)

GLAM IN THE CITY

2011-11-02T17:33:00.000+01:00

Same leopard shirt as last post but worn in a complete different way. I scored this skirt in the T2 Vintage sale days for only 1 euro and that made me quite happy! At first I had a hard time combining it but then I realized there's nothing you can NOT wear on it. Even long shirts or dresses are perfect to serve as a top here! That's what I did here with the long leopard shirt. The only thing that stayed quite hard in my opinion was picking the right shoes. Flat shoes with such a long "granny" kind of skirt are not my cup of tea and with a pair of high heels it would've become a bit too chic. The only option left were these simple black ankle boots! I did think of some high heeled tight brown boots (they would look awesome here) but unfortunately I don't have any kind of boots like that in my shoe closet. Wish wish wish...

Wore this outfit to go to the movies with two girlfriends! It was a Friday afternoon (= reaaaaally quiet at the movie theatre) and we decided to go and watch The Lion King in 3D. Lots of childhood memories and even a little tear came up while watching. Good times! I cannot remember The Lion King being such a cruel and sad movie though... The good Hakuna Matata vibes must have dominated my mind when I was a kiddo!

I'm so in love with these Mango sunglasses!

They're the best pair I found after buying my Ray Bans two years ago.

leopard shirt, faux leather jacket, faux fur scarf (h&m), skirt (thrifted, T2)
sunglasses (mango), boots (sacha), nailpolish (catrice)

Thanks to Valerie for snapping these pics!

SPOOKY PIE

2011-11-01T13:15:00.000+01:00

I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween yesterday! Not that we celebrate this so much in Belgium but still, I wanted to go with the creepy flow this year. Some friends and I organized a Halloween movienight, which included watching scary movies (we ended up with Shrek though), drinking magic potion and scare the hell out of each other. For this ocassion I made some oldschool pumpkinpie! Actually I can't say "oldschool" as I never made this before but hey; it's a well-known thing, right?! And it is surprisingly easy to make too! So there are no excuses left...

What do you need?

300g of puff pastry

50g of butter

200g of white sugar

1dl of cream

3 eggs

4 spoons of raisins

some citron juice

some walnuts

cinnamon

rum/amaretto

And a pumpkin of course! You only need a small one, about 600-700g.

(If you don't have a lot of time you can just use chopped pumpkin from the freezer)

Cut the pumpkin in 4 pieces and remove the pits. Then peel it!

Chop, chop, chop!

The raisins have to soak in rum for a while (I used amaretto). Then you add the chopped walnuts.

Stew the chopped pumpkin with the butter and citron juice. In the meantime you mingle the cream and the 3 eggs. When the pumpkin is cooked you add the raisins, walnuts and egg-mixture.

The mixture is really liquid and not thick, as I thought, but now worries: this is normal! Poor it in a cake scale that has the puff pastry in it (don't forget to butter the scale before you put the pastry in it).

If you don't want your pie to be that dark, just put a layer of aluminium foil on it while it's in the oven.

Some decoration and you're ready! Unfortunately Halloween is already over BUT you don't have to wait until next year to try this recipe: pumpkinpie is a very common dessert for Thanksgiving and Christmas too so just decorate your pie with a Christmas tree and everything is alright ;-) Enjoy!

And please, enjoy yesterday's bunch of creepy pictures too.... MUHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!

(spooky chips!)

In these pictures: Valerie, Jolien, Laetitia and myself. BOOOOOO!

THE SLOUCHY ONE

2011-10-29T17:30:00.000+02:00

Ha, but not for real of course! To celebrate the start of this wonderful (and colourful!) Fall I went for comfort clothing. Proof? I'm not even wearing trousers. For the occasion I pulled out my old tregging! Do you even remember that trend? One or two years ago it was an incredible hype and of course I was hooked too for a while. Unfortunately this tight fella got lost somewhere at the bottom of my closet. I'm totally reinventing that trend for myself right now! Comfy to the booooooone, dude. Oh, but if you want to try one yourself: please DO wear something on it, like a long shirt, cardigan or sweater. Don't do it the UK way with UGGs and a short jacket on it. (Sorry to my British readers... Got some bad experiences with treggings in the UK!)

And what the heck is going on with that parka?! Every time I pull it on, it's definitely khaki green. Every time I take pictures of it, it's brown. What a weird chameleon kind of coat...

Enjoy your weekend, my dears!

parka (primark), cardigan (kirilove for vero moda), leopard shirt, gloves, beret (h&m),

sunglasses (mango), tregging (urban outfitters), canvas bag (river island), boots (unknown)

DOT IT!

2011-10-27T18:57:00.000+02:00

Last Saturday I had a wonderful dinner with my sweet friends Stéphanie and Michèle (remember them from the roadtrip in August?) for Stéphanie's birthday. We went to a real cool place in Ghent called Pakhuis, with an old industrial interior and delicious food! I dressed myself up a little bit as this was already quite a long time ago and pulled my good old polkadot dress out of the closet. Pretty dress, make-up (too bad I don't have a close-up of my eyeliner!), high heels and ready to go! I wish it was that easy... As you can see, I did an effort for once and curled my hair! Last time I did this myself it took me almost two freakin' hours. This time I was ready in ONE hour! All credits go to Philips, who spoiled with me with their Multistyler! No more excuses for bad hair days...

Oh and this turns out to be post nr. 500! Time fliiiiiiiiies! And November is coming up, which means that my blog will be two years old soon. Wanna celebrate?

dress (mango), blazer (h&m), earrings (river island), purse (thrifted), heels (guess)

DO IT LIKE A DUDE

2011-10-25T18:30:00.000+02:00

Soooooooo, more pants and more tartan! Can't get enough of them! We're experiencing a perfect Fall here in Belgium: lots of sunshine everyday and a tad cold. I love wearing woolen coats and sunglasses at the same time! This was an outfit from last week when I just came from the swimming pool (I like to go for a swim once in a while, to break my boring gym- and running routine).

This ginooooormeous scarf is from H&M and it immediately caught my eye in the store. Perfect for wrapping around when there's a chilly breeze. I cannot wait to wear it when it's snowing and I'm drinking hot chocolate in front of the fire :-) Oh and these lovely studded booties were covered with dust but I took them out for a walk and I think we're both happy now. How I've missed them in Spring and Summer!

PS: Thank a lot for voting for me in the PerfectCare Strijk A Pose competition! I ended up being third! My congratulations to the winner, who got a PerfectCare iron and an ironing help for two months!

striped shirt, black skinny jeans, tartan scarf, bag (h&m),

blazer (zara), studded boots (sacha), think pink brooch (swarovski)

BURGUNDY AND BROWNS

2011-10-23T14:12:00.000+02:00

This was an outfit from last week that I wore to university. I wash't able to upload these pics earlier as I'm having some computer-issues (read: it's completely stuffed with photos) so I had to wait until I came home for the weekend. The good news here is that I did my homework well and uploaded not less than 3 outfits today, all coming up next week! Yay!

I'm wearing my beloved Kirliove for Vero Moda duffle coat! It's been hanging in my closet for a little while now and I find it a bit hard to style. That's why I just clashed every print and colour in my wardrobe and check it out: it actually looks okay! Normally I hate it when my dress is longer than my coat but in this case it turned out pretty nice. Also: new burgundy tights and burgundy gloves! Still my burgundy cravings aren't over yet.. I'd love to own a dress in that colour!

PS: In the last couple of weeks I already made ONE friend at uni! Proud of me?!

Oh and I JUST found out that my all time style icon Annebeth did an outfit post with the same coat yesterday!

So that means some more style inspiration for meeeheeeeee! Check it out here!

coat (tiany kirilove for vero moda), dress (thrifted),

sweater, gloves, bag (h&m), tights (hema) boots (pauwels)

CURRENT CRAVINGS

2011-10-19T18:27:00.000+02:00

sequins.

chloé // 3.1 philip lim

studs, but in a sweet way.

balenciaga and a cool, military style.

dolce and gabbana.

this room, for cozy winter afternoons.

the perfect leopard belt.

PAULIEN IN PANTS // THE ARCHIVE COLLECTION

2011-10-17T19:16:00.001+02:00

"Is she wearing pants!?" - Oh yes, I'm a mind reader! The same thoughts were going through my head while hitting the streets in this outfit: "Am I really wearing pants?" Truth is I haven't bought any trousers for about three years now. If I have to make a wild guess: I'm wearing pants once or twice a year. This means spontaneously, not when I have to work of course! Everything changed when my friend Valerie — the same one who told me to wear less shapeless clothes — nagged at my head for about a week that I should go for pants again. As I followed her advice last time (and I was quite happy with it) I gave this one a chance too.

After ages of ignoring its existence, I actually checked out the pants devision at H&M. I kinda liked what I saw and grabbed a dozen of black skinny and straight pants. A safe start! I spent more than 40 minutes in the fitting room, trying to get used to something I wasn't used to at all! Doubting, considering, weighing one against the other... In the end I took these black skinnies home and actually I'm rather happy with them! They're a tad short but they'll do the trick.

Oh, and while I was heading to the checkout this fuzzy sweater caught my eye! It's SO wrong in a certain way that I loved it from minute one. It's fluffy, dip dye (90s alert!) but also really basic, a bit Scandinavian and definitely an eye-catcher! The main problem is I will lose all my friends in no time when wearing this sweater: it tends to be fluffy on other people too...

Wearing my Guess pumps for the first time!

They only start hurting after two hours.. Is that a good thing?

How do you like Polienne in Pants?

dip dye sweater, skinny jeans, necklace (h&m)
purse (jutka & riska), pumps (guess), nail polish (professionails)

thanks to sofie (fashionata) for taking these outfit pictures!

Such a fancy outfit, why for? Last week I was invited to check out the Archive Collection by Iris Van Herpen at Sien, one of Antwerp's leading luxury designer stores. It was the first time I saw the shop on the inside, usually I only stop, stare and drool at the windows... Iris Van Herpen gathered her strongest and best known pieces she created through the years in The Archive Collection. This unique collection is exhibited at Sien until the 14th of November and is definitely worth checking out!

Oh and before I forget to mention: you can shop EVERY piece. Custom made. Off you go!

Here's my little picture diary:

I'm sure you all know the famous Iris Van Herpen x United Nude shoes?

This, my dear readers, is HAIR. Unbelievable.

Iris tends to be quite innovative: this piece is designed and created with 3D prints!

Of course I used this possibility to take a look at the complete store!

My god, I'm so happy my visa stayed at home...

How pretty are these Proenza Schouler bags?

Look at the gorgeous open back of this knit!

I can see myself wearing these. Yup. New pants-material!

Some more Proenza...

The leather scarf in combination with the floor-length leather skirt: drop. dead. gorgeous.

Thanks UPR and Sien for inviting me!

TARTAN TIME!

2011-10-13T22:13:00.000+02:00

This Winter I'm declaring all my love to tartan. It's been on my wish list for ages but while I was shopping I never really paid attention to it. Last week I was in my fave thrift store (you're starting to know T2 by now, don't you?) and bumped into this great boyfriend shirt! It's really oversized so I can almost wear it as a dress or tunic. First combination that popped in my mind? Leather leggings, my knock-off Chloé booties and a bowler hat. Another way of wearing it is in a rather cute and vintagy way with an edgy touch, like Annebeth did recently: very inspirational to me! But for now this is my comfortable-rainproof-school-outfit!

PS: The outfit wasn't thàt rainproof after all.. I ended up biking around in a very unexpected and very heavy downpour. Soaked, that's the right word, and my new Kirilove cardigan played for sponge.

tartan shirt (thrifted), lace longsleeve (forever 21), grey knit (tiany kirilove for vero moda)

shorts (h&m), nude bag (new look), studded boots (unknown)

STRIJK A POSE

2011-10-11T23:57:00.002+02:00

Hello there! Last week I did a gigantic post about the month September and all the wonderful things that happened there. I hope you all remember the Strijk A Pose competition? Philips created a complete new iron, the PerfectCare, and wanted to celebrate that fact! On a sunny Saturday I went to my local Vero Moda store here in Antwerp and was chosen by Philips and the Belmodo TV team to be a part of the competition. I was given a complete make-over by Vero Moda and now I'm in the running for becoming the PerfectCare Lady!

My outfit before:

My outfit after:

I know I've asked for a lot of support from you lately but this time it's not only for me! YOU can win something too... Curious? The (public) winner gets the brand new PerfectCare (worth €279!). Ironing is not the most fun activity on earth but this iron will make it definitely easier and less boring! I've tried it myself and I was really surprised to see how smoothly it went so I'm definitely convinced! Tempting prize, right?

All you have to do is: VOTE of course, fill in your name and email adress and guess how many people will have voted in the end of the whole competition. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

The voting ends on October 17 so make it a quick one! Thank you so much!

RAINBOW CAKE

2011-10-08T18:04:00.000+02:00

Fellassss! The weekend has begun and maybe you haven't got any plans yet. Well, if you don't wanna get bored but at the same time don't want to get out of your house: I have a real cool solution! Why don't you go totally crazy in your kitchen and make a rainbow cake for once?

A few girlfriends and I tried out the recipe of Martha Stewart's rainbow cake but we went for a slightly easier version. It took quite some time but the result was so worth it! It was not only yummy to eat (and reaaaally heavy) but also a LOT of fun to make!

We bought a simple cake mix (1 kilo) and we used regular chocolate spread (like Nutella or Côte d'Or) instead of making (chocolate) butter cream! The edible pigments can be found in a more specialized store, probably not at your local supermarket. We bought them at Aveve, a Belgian chain store that has everything for gardening, home baking, etc.

How to make your own rainbow cake?

- Make the cake dough! You can use the Martha Stewart recipe or you can buy your own cake mix in the supermarket; make sure to check out all the ingredients you need. We used a complete cake mix of 1 kilo because we wanted to make lots of different layers.

- Divide the dough in as many parts you want: we used 6 colours so we divided the dough into 6 parts. The more colours you want, the more dough you have to make: otherwise the layers will be too thin.

- Add the edible pigment to the dough. You have to be very careful with that because one or two drips are definitely enough! Oh, and don't touch the pigment with your bare hands, it comes off very difficultly.

- Make sure the pigment and the dough are mixed well.

- We used disposable cake forms so we didn't have to use the same one over and over again (it might influence the colours). It goes more quickly as well, as you can put two or three of them in the oven at the same time!

- Bake the dough in the oven and check it regularly (after about 15 minutes).

- Take the cakes out of the oven and let them cool down for about 10 minutes. Be careful when taking them out of the form (unfortunately our red one broke a bit). The outside might look a bit awful (if you use purple for example, the crust looks grey) but the inside will definitely have the right colour!

- As we had little time we didn't make the buttercream from Martha Stewart's recipe but we buttered the layers with chocolate spread! It's a nice and tasty way to make the layers 'stick' together.

- After that you should have a tower of different layers! What you want to use to cover up the top and sides, is up to you. Again, because of our time limit we just used chocolate spread again! Warning: this might create a chocolate overload ;-) Some sort of buttercream or marzipan would taste really good too. On top we put chocolate glaze.

- Decoration time! Gather all kinds of sprinkles and just throw them on the cake! You can use a spatula or a knife to cover up the sides. Just go crazy.

The cake was a present for a friend who's going to study in Madrid for a couple of months. At the goodbye party she initially thought it was just a wicked and a bit psychedelic cake but everything got crazier when she cut it! It was an awesome moment to see everyone's face and our friend was soooo surprised!

Please enjoy it! Here's a little more inspiration for those who are extra creative: