Before reading on, it’s important you’re aware of a certain flaw in my existence. I don’t know what went wrong or when it went wrong. While having my first cry on this planet at birth, bouncing around the playground during childhood or exploring my boundaries as a teenager? It doesn’t matter, at this point we can’t do anything about it. This flaw is irreparable. I’m the lousiest decision maker you’ll ever know…

Whether it comes to deciding what to cook for dinner, which outfit to pick in the morning or even which flavour I prefer for my cup of tea; when it’s decision time it’s hell on earth. For me. And for my loved ones. “Should I buy these heavenly high heels in black or blue? If you were me, would you go for the raspberry cheesecake or the raisin scone? I can’t decide on the name for my sweet little cat; do you prefer Jules, Mouse or Jojo!? Tell me, should I wear my new LBD to this party tonight, go for the bright shorts with the over-knee boots or just hop into my more casual jumpsuit?”

Starting to get the picture? Time to switch to the real deal and tell more about the tonnes of questions I’m dealing with, since the end of August…

When?
In spring, with the risk of a typical Dutch rainy day? In summer, with the risk of a typical Dutch rainy day? In autumn, with the risk of a typical Dutch rainy day? Or in winter, when it’s probably really cold and slippery?

Where?
While considering the aforementioned risks, going abroad is real tempting. But which country? France, Italy, Spain or should we take it to a whole other level outside of Europe? Or is it better (i.e. wiser from a financial perspective) to stay close to home? And if so, is it preferable to go to the countryside or to stay in town?

What to wear?
That depends on the choices made in the when & where sections. Will it be steaming hot or extremely cold? Or something in between? Should I wear an outfit in my favourite colour? Do I even have a favourite colour? And, do I prefer a casual look or is over the top the way to go?

Shoes?
You know me, I’m a real shoe person. So, this is the million dollar question. Choose sky high and almost mythical heels? Or wear shoes less mythical but just as pretty in which you can walk the walk and talk the talk, 24/7? In which colour? Should they match the outfit? Or should I stick to my regular style, wearing shoes in a completely contrasting colour?

Hairdo?
If you’ve read my HAIRassment blog, you will already know I’m really fickle when it comes to my hairdo. So, of course, right now I’m obviously completely clueless about what to do with my hair. Curls, braids or just plain straight? Up or down? Casual or chic? With cute accessories like bows, clips and bands or without?

Make-up?
For a girl who only wears a hint of make-up (never leaves her house without mascara on her lashes, and only uses some bright red lipstick on occasion) this is another tricky decision to make. Go for the usual a.k.a. casual stuff? Or visit a pro and let them help out? And of extreme importance in this matter: when is ‘over the top’ too much?

I could go on and on forever, summing up all these harsh decisions-to-make. Invites? Guests? Photos? Treats? Drinks? Dinner? Trip afterwards? Dress code? Car? Decorations? Music? Flowers? Seating arrangements? Time schedule? Hotel stay? Accessories?

At the end of the day, all these questions are of secondary importance. It all comes down to 1 answer only…

“I do!”

We all experience those days, once in a while. One more than another. But these things happen. You just have to go with the flow and try to ignore it when it’s not your lucky day…

You wake up, you take a shower, you wash your hair, you even put some conditioner in to make it silkier, shinier and more manageable. If there’s enough time, you blow dry your hair. Otherwise you just dry your hair with a towel. Comb it, squeeze some fudge in and take a look in the mirror. It looks like shit! Just go with it, this is just one of these days…

It could be worse, you know. You wake up, you take a shower, you wash your hair, you even put some conditioner in to make it silkier, shinier and more manageable. If there’s enough time, you blow dry your hair. Otherwise you just dry your hair with a towel. Comb it, squeeze some fudge in and take a look in the mirror. It looks like… some lunatic just cut off half of your golden locks!  Where the %#$@& is your hair?

This just happened to a British nineteen year old. She tried a new shampoo after seeing a commercial and she ended up with a completely destroyed hairdo! And you can’t even blame the girl for taking a huge risk by experimenting with some malicious, unknown brand from the penny store. It was a ‘plain’ Pantene shampoo!

Luckily the amazingly sympathetic cosmetic brand felt extremely sorry for this poor girl. They handed her a coupon of five pounds as compensation! That’s such a relief, now she can buy a new bottle of that magical shampoo and get rid of the remaining locks…

PS Wanna read another horror hair story? See my HAIRassment blog!

When it comes to my hairdo my thoughts are quite complicated. Or should I just say that I’m rather whimsical. On basically everything, but let’s just focus on one thing at the time… My hairdo.

One day I want it short and dark brownish, the other day I want my hair in a Goldilocks kinda way. In this light it’s easily to imagine my thousands kind of hairdo’s throughout the years. I’ve had a short bob, braids, extensions, a long blond coupe, bangs, a very dark brown phase (and again: NO. I DIDN’T DYE IT BLACK. IT WAS DARK BROWN THAT ALMOST SEEMED BLACK. THERE’S A DIFFERENCE!), and I could go one for a while.

As whimsical as I am with the hair, I’m just the same when it comes to my hairdresser. For a while I had a really nice spot near my place (which was extremely useful, while I spent practically a day a month in the hairdresser’s chair). But, like all kinds of make-me-as-pretty-as-possible-expenses, it turned out that my bank account wasn’t exactly handling it well. After some inquiry sweet former colleague N. was so kind to refer me to her personal hairdresser & friend Z. She did the hairdressing as a hobby at home and was really cheap. And, more importantly, she did a hell of a job! But drama was about to set in… After three great haircuts (and triple as much compliments, ‘wow, who did your hair? It’s amazing!’), Z. was heading to Argentina for a year! Ouch, could I hide in her bag? Rip her plane ticket into pieces!? Of course I couldn’t, I just had to deal with it. Luckily I just moved into a new neighbourhood, with a very hip hair salon just across the street. Was this destiny?

Well, I don’t exactly know how to put this in an elegant way… Never ever am I going to set a foot in that hair salon again!!! Hell no! I don’t know what it is with me and this kind of make-me-pretty-services (see my other blog ‘Pedicure virgin’), but it feels like I’m cursed. First time I just entered the salon to get my bangs cut, they managed to sort of offend me within 10 seconds. How? I was told that my hair was way too clean! Excuse me?! Did I hear this right? Oh yes, I was. I shouldn’t wash my precious locks that often. It was just too damn clean. Hmm, at that point some alarm bells should have started to ring. But no, I went back to this particular salon. Twice. And both of the times I was cut by a girl who was hitting on me! I’m telling you; she was flirting, nonstop. And worse.

You probably want some sleazy examples. It started out pretty innocent. She asked me all kind of questions, like ‘haven’t I seen you somewhere before? Don’t you have a twin sister? Tell me something about your love life, are you seeing someone at the moment?’. Well, that’s just hairdresser talk. Little did I know. Next thing she was complimenting me on my ‘gorgeous blue eyes’, ‘sweet, amazingly funny ears’ (off the record; my ears are my weak spot, I think I’m a far relative of Dumbo, but don’t tell anyone) and my ‘very, sexy hipster’ (which was peeking out of my jeans and she just had to pull it out even more!). Oh no, she didn’t!? Oh yes, she did! Was this sexual harassment?

After cutting my bangs, without the barber cape on, she volunteered without questioning to fish out the loose locks between my boobs. Why on earth was I wearing that low cut top? But that was the limit. The remarks about her not wanting a lollipop a colleague of hers offered, because she preferred licking something else (!) wasn’t very funny but something I could deal with. But this grabbing and groping by a female hair dresser was simply a nightmare. Could someone pinch me to wake up!?

I left the hair salon in a hurry; you can imagine I’m never going back there. But I need your help. I want to dye my hair platinum blonde. You guys have any recommendations of a sweet, friendly, non-grabbing & groping hairdresser?