In the throes of Fashion week, we asked our KOTUR Fashion MUSES the most important question any handbag designer must be able to address… What do you never leave home without… Here are our answers, and yes, they all fit into KOTUR

Sarah Rutson (Vice President, Global Buying at Net-a-Porter)

‘Wearing scent. Perfume is very important to me, which is why I’ve got a very large nose – for a reason. I never leave home without wearing my perfume which is one of 3 brands: Jo Malone Lime Basil and Mandarin, the other is Bulgari and Clarins in the red bottle. I never walk out of the house without scent on – I feel naked’

Jenna Lyons (Creative Director and President, J Crew) 

‘My 1969 Gold Rolex’

Cornelia Guest (Handbag designer and Animal Advocate)

‘My Amex Card’

We were first introduced over supper one Easter at our mutual friend John Dempsey’s New York town house, where Cornelia whipped up a delicious impromptu supper of meat loaf and mashed potatoes – the kind of understated comfort food that only the truly talented chef can pull off. There’s no surprise to the success of her health-conscious event catering company, or indeed her new range of delicious vegan cookies.

Descended from Winston Churchill, and daughter of fashion icon CZ Guest, Cornelia brings her own voice to her family legacy. A true muse, this former “Debutante of the Decade” inspires with her dedication to philanthropy, animal activism, and business enterprises…

Read on for an insight into the mind – and make-up bag of this months muse…

KOTUR: What’s in your make-up bag?
Cornelia: Bobbie Brown lip Gloss, Bobbie Brown mascara, and, ooh what else is in there – yes, oils from my friend Kirpal’s store “Objets d’Art & Spirit” in Los Angeles.

KOTUR: Do you have a favorite purse or bag?
Cornelia: Yes, Mine! It’s a satchel, it’s woven, it’s cruelty free, and it has lots of pockets inside to stuff everything…when I designed the bags, I wanted to have a place for a cell phone, and also a blackberry or your ipad and keys and a place to put lip glosses in and all the things girls travel around with.

KOTUR: Name your desert island essentials?
Cornelia: A good hat, a great bikini, a very handsome man, and my dogs…

KOTUR: Do you have a beauty secret?
Cornelia: I do. Vegetarianism has helped my skin more than anything. I also think, you’ve got to sleep, and also exercise. I hate to say this, but I really think you have to sweat every day, you know, as a female, it’s very important… actually what is it, horses sweat, men perspire, and women glow…so we women need to glow every day.

KOTUR: How would your female friends describe your style?
Cornelia: All over the place…

KOTUR: What do you never leave home without?
Cornelia: My American Express card.

KOTUR: Hot date night with your boyfriend, what do you wear?
Cornelia: Well that depends, on the boyfriend…

KOTUR: Have you ever worn anything you are now embarrassed by?
Cornelia: Oh my God, I look at pictures of the past and I think, “Oh my God, what was I thinking?!”.

KOTUR: How high is too high a heel?
Cornelia: Not.

KOTUR: How old is too old for jeans?
Cornelia: I think you can always wear jeans.

KOTUR: What is your most recent purchase?
Cornelia: I got the greatest bikinis – victoriassecret.com…on sale, I mean, great bikinis…

KOTUR: What quality do you most admire in a person?
Cornelia: Honesty.

KOTUR: Can you judge a book by its cover?
Cornelia: No.

KOTUR: What’s your greatest extravagance?
Cornelia: My animals. I have 9 dogs, a donkey and a tortoise.

KOTUR: What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
Cornelia: “No one knows where the nose goes, when the door is closed” Sammy Davis Jr. told me that when I was in California when I first met him. He said, “I’m going to tell you one thing, and don’t you ever forget it” and it goes for everything in life…

KOTUR: What are you most proud of?
Cornelia: My accessory line, and my cookies.

KOTUR: What are you least proud of?
Cornelia: Ooh, some of my past behaviors…

KOTUR: What’s your pure bliss?
Cornelia: Being at home, in the country, in the mud, in the garden with all my animals.

KOTUR: Who or what would you like to be reincarnated as in your next life?
Cornelia: I would love to be an animal, or Winston Churchill, what a phenomenal man.

KOTUR: Yes or no to a nip and a tuck?
Cornelia: Oh yes.

KOTUR: What would you like to achieve before you die?
Cornelia: To let the world know that there is an alternative, and animals suffer horrifically, and there is no need for it.

KOTUR: Do you have a favorite Kotur bag?
Cornelia: A metal minaudiere.

KOTUR: On a scale of one-to-ten, how good looking are you?
Cornelia: Oh my God, 5, 6?