Sandra‘s Closet

True luxury should last forever … Personally speaking, being able to show your true authentic self is the highest form of luxury for me. Since an early age, I have followed that motto and I have always believed in investing into things to treasure for decades to come. Quality over quantity is the key. Luxury, like happiness, is the blurry notion of something good that happens. Everything you see on SANDRA’S CLOSET is part of this journey.

When it comes to perfumery, I am a huge fan of KILIAN PARIS. Twisting traditional French luxury with his own audacious take, Kilian Hennessy has created his contemporary vision of perfumery. With long-lasting accords that recall luxury fragrances of former eras, the House is uncompromising when it comes to the quality of the ingredients.

On top, Kilian Hennessy established a practice in tune with our times: a favorite perfume is bought only once and refilled for life.

With sustainability in mind, insisting on well-crafted design with timeless style, a KILIAN Paris flacon is perpetually refillable, making it an everlasting collector’s piece. Styled after elegant, sophisticated barware, they are beautiful scented objects of desire to last a lifetime. To the brand’s Founder, the words ‘disposable’ and ‘luxury’ are incommensurable. Luxury should live with us and go beyond us, like an object our great-grandchildren might find and cherish as part of their heritage.

«To me, a true luxury product must have in its DNA the capacity to be passed on from generation to generation. True luxury should last forever!» – Kilian Hennessy

HOW TO REFILL YOUR FLACON

1. Unscrew the cap and carefully remove the atomizer from the original Kilian Paris perfume bottle.

2. Turn upside down the refill and insert its end into the cavity of the original perfume bottle.

3. Rotate the refill bottle clockwise until the liquid starts fillin up the original perfume bottle.

4. Rotate the refill bottle counterclockwise to extract it from the perfume bottle cavity.

5. Tighten the original perfume bottle with the original cap.

While less waste and a lighter carbon imprint are the result of doing things a little bit differently from the start, KILIAN Paris understands that the gesture is small relative to what remains to be done and the future evolutions of the beauty industry in view. Sustainability, especially in the context of KILIAN Paris’s unique approach to packaging already in place, is an area where the brand seeks constant self-revision and improvement.

A KILIAN Paris perfume addiction is declared once and refillable always, making the brand an «eco-luxury» native, a small but significant gesture in leading luxury back to its lasting nature.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht / Sanjeev Velmurugan
The photos were taken at the KILIAN PARIS counter at Jelmoli Zurich.
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Since my teenage years, I had been dreaming about receiving a LOVE bracelet by CARTIER one day. Of course, I could have bought it myself but to be gifted with one and its love message behind is so much more meaningful. Now, I was blessed twice and got a rose gold one with diamonds from my love and a small white gold one from my girlfriends for my birthday.

What makes CARTIER bracelets so special? As some of the most recognizable luxury jewelry items, often stacked up the wrists and sparkling on our favorite celebrities, this is what has made it a luxury staple over the past few years. The LOVE bracelet for example has been apart of the Cartier DNA as one of the brand’s heritage designs for around four decades.

LOVE BRACELET in rose gold with four diamonds

Created in 1969 by Italian jewelry designer Aldo Cipullo in the New York workshops of the French luxury jewelry house, the iconic jewelry piece was modeled after medieval chastity belts, so-to-say «locked into love» and can only be opened or closed with a screwdriver that comes with the bracelet. For the first time, a fine jewelry piece was meant to be worn day and night. At the time of the original release, CARTIER started a kind of influencer marketing and gifted bracelets to a curated list of some of the defining It-couples of the century to publicize the romantic symbolism. Among them were for example Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, and Ali McGraw and Steve McQueen. Only in 2017, CARTIER launched the smaller sizes so that it has become easier for the wearer to create the stacked look everybody wants today.

LOVE BRACELET SM in white gold

Aldo Cipullo wearing his iconic creations, the LOVE and JUSTE UN CLOU bracelets.

While the LOVE bracelet was Cipullo’s first design, he went on to design another equally popularized design – JUSTE UN CLOU (just a nail) – only three years later in 1971. Encircling the wrist in a thick nailhead, this creation is actually my favorite, not only because it is easier to remove. By the way, the diamond encrusted versions of the LOVE bracelets come with a clip closure and don’t need to be closed with a screwdriver. Can you imagine that today, most hospital emergency rooms are equipped with the latter to be able to remove the jewelry piece in case of any medical crisis…

CARTIER flagship store at Fifth Avenue in NYC

JUSTE UN CLOU bracelet in rose gold with diamond pavé

In 2012, to commemorate CARTIER’s 165th anniversary, the brand opened an exhibit at the CARTIER Maison on Fifth Avenue to celebrate Cipullo’s work in the 1970s and released an entire collection of earrings, necklaces, rings based on the JUSTE UN CLOU bracelet.

CLASH DE CARTIER SM bracelet in rose gold

Last year, a completely new collection was launched with the name CLASH DE CARTIER, that’s all about duality, and contradictions, celebrating the modern woman. For the previous post, click here please. I feel blessed to wear all three lines at my wrist that make me happy every day…

JUSTE UN CLOU bracelet in rose gold with diamonds, LOVE bracelet SM in white gold, LOVE bracelet in rose gold with 4 diamonds, and CLASH DE CARTIER bracelet SM in rose gold, all by Cartier.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Cartier and © Sandra Bauknecht; Courtesy of Toteone

Ladies and gentlemen, this is amazing! For the festive season, Kilian Hennessy and Jennifer Zuccarini unveil a capsule collection of scented lingerie, combining the expertise and aesthetic unique to each brand. And it is perfumed with one of my favorite fragrances: KILIAN’s LOVE, don’t be shy.

KILIAN Love, Don’t be Shy Eau de Parfum –
Orange Blossom, Vanilla and Marshmallow, 50ml

Each piece in the collection features handcrafted Leavers lace from the Solstiss lace mill in Caudry, France that is woven from threads scented with microcapsules holding KILIAN’s LOVE, don’t be shy fragrance. Taking inspiration from the marshmallow, this fragrance is a sweet treat for sensuous connoisseurs that perfectly compliments Fleur du Mal’s feminine chic designs and continues KILIAN’s mission to make perfume visible.

Great news is that you can wash your lingerie pieces up to 10 times by keeping the encapsulated fragrance within the lace.

Those will vamp up every outfit: Lace cuffs by Fleur du Mal x Kilian

The pieces are now on sale on the fleurdumal.com website and will be as well available in Kilian boutiques and exclusively at Printemps department store (Boulevard Haussmann) in Paris from November 15, 2017.

So sexy: Thong and collar by Fleur du Mal x Kilian

I am so in love with this collection, sexy, sophisticated and scented. Why would you ask for more?
TO SHOP THE COMPLETE COLLECTION NOW, CLICK HERE PLEASE.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Fleur du Mal x Kilian

I have to admit that I am a total fragrance addict. Scent is such an important part of your identity. It communicates more than your clothes because one can smell you without having eye contact or talking to you.

We all know the big perfume blockbuster brands, but there are plenty of niche fragrance houses which deserve attention as they use very luxurious ingredients. And after all, who likes to smell the same as everybody else? Today, I would like to show you my eight favorite perfumes that you could call my personal signature scents, like my wardrobe of fragrances.

KILIAN, Love, Don’t be Shy, Eau de Parfum, 50ml
Oriental – gourmand and seductive

Top notes: Bergamot
Middle notes: Honeysuckle, Iris
Base notes: Civet Oil

TOM FORD Noir Pour Femme, Eau de Parfum, 50ml
Oriental Floral – sensual and extravagant

Top notes: Citrus, Spice and Bergamot
Middle notes: Rose Absolute, Mandarin and Jasmine
Base notes: Sandalwood and Vanilla

PARFUMERIE GENERALE N°19 Louanges Profanes, Eau de Toilette, 50ml
Floral Oriental – fresh and powdery

Top notes: Neroli and Hawthorn
Middle notes: White Lily and Incense
Base notes: Benzoe and Guaiac Wood

MAISON FRANCIS KURKDJIAN À La Rose, Eau de Parfum, 70ml
Floral – another interpretation of a rose

Top notes: Damascena Rose from Bulgaria and Centifolia Rose from Grasse, Pear and Lychee
Middle notes: Violet and Magnolia Blossom
Base notes: Cedarwood

ARQUISTE PARFUMEUR Flor Y Canto, Eau de Parfum, 55ml
Floral – intense and intoxicating

Top notes: Mexican Tuberose
Middle notes: Plumeria and Magnolia
Base notes: Marigold

BYREDO Blanche, Eau de Parfum, 100ml
Floral Aldehyde – the perception of the color white

Top notes: White Roses, Pink Pepper and Aldehydes
Middle notes: Violet, Neroli and Peony
Base notes: Blond Wood, Sandalwood and Musk

LORENZO VILLORESI Teint de Neige, Eau de Toilette, 100ml
Floral – powdery and delicate like the color of snow

Top notes: Jasmine, Rose and Ylang Ylang
Middle notes: Tonka Bean, Jasmine, Rose, Floral Notes and Powder Notes
Base notes: Jasmine, Rose, Heliotrope and Musk

PROFVMVM ROMA Soavissima, Eau de Parfum, 100ml
White Floral – feminine and rich

Top notes: White Flowers
Middle notes: Amber
Base notes: Iris

If you are living in Switzerland, I truly recommend you the Osswald Night of Fragrances that will take place on October, 15 2015 between 6 and 10 pm at Schloss Sihlberg, Sihlberg 10, 8002 Zurich.

Six exclusive perfume brands will present their world in different rooms of the castle, among them two of my favorites Pierre Guillaume (Parfumerie Générale) and the Durante Family (Profvmvm Roma).

Tickets are available for CHF 25.00 at Perfumery Osswald, Bahnhofstr. 17, 8001 Zurich or online.

See you there!

LoL, Sandra

Photo: © Sandra Bauknecht, Stills: Courtesy of the Brands

Something you may have found completely tacky until now, will surely dangle soon around your neck. Whether you need help, are in love, a happy mood or just want to express some coolness, then those Lanvin nameplate necklaces are for you. Spotted first on the F/W 2013 runway and now on most fashionistas, such as Natalie Massenet and Anya Ziourova during fashion week, this jewelry-candy is flying off the shelves.

For me, there is nothing more important than love…
Available at mytheresa and net-à-porter.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht, @ Diego Zuko