Fashion Voyeur

People will stare, make it worth their while.

Categories: The Beauty Cupboard, The Fashion Closet

Peachy Fox Eye Gel

I don’t know about you Voyeurs but I have real trouble when it comes to selecting eye products that don’t cause irritation.  From eye creams and gels, to eyeliners and shadows, they all seem to cause some form of irritation, itchiness or redness.  I’m a person who doesn’t sleep a lot, you’ll know this from my many late night posts and Tweets, and as a result of that I’m often left with those unsightly undereye shadows and the dreaded puffy eyes.  So whilst I have a need for a specific undereye product, I’ve never found one suited to my uber sensitive skin, until now….

Step forward Peachy Fox.  I’ve been using the marine Collagen Eye Gel from the Youthful Eyes range, the mission statement for which is that it “Helps to reduce dark circles, puffiness and wrinkles”.  Bold claims for a single product.  The packaging is simple and in keeping with the brand’s focus on organic products, it’s definitely instagrammable.

The gel consistency is light and way more suited to my skin than a heavier cream or lotion and the application instructions are quite specific, stating that you dab the product around the eye area rather than rubbing it.  You leave it wet on the skin to absorb on its own which takes around 20 seconds so you’re not really adding any time to your morning routine.

Personally, I love this product.  I’ve tried a lot of different eye products including gels, powders and creams and each one has caused some degree of irritation or left visible redness in the outer corners underneath my eyes.  I’d normally buy eyedrops in an attempt to counteract the reaction, but with Peachy Fox Marine Collagen Eye Gel, I’ve had no adverse reaction at all.  The skin around my eyes feels less tight, the puffiness I have on a morning disappears quickly after first use and I use it again as part of my night time routine as directed.

I haven’t noticed any difference yet in the appearance of fine lines around the eye area, but I imagine it takes more than a few weeks for that type of effect to be visible.  I’m just psyched I’ve found something that doesn’t irritate my eyes!  It’s a lovely product to use at the end of the day after you’ve taken off your makeup, sometimes after I remove my eye makeup my eyes can feel sore and ‘scratchy’, this is soothing on the skin after toner and calms any post-makeup redness on sensitive skin.

I was gifted this product in return for my honest review and it’s not a brand I was familiar with beforehand so it’s unlikely I would have discovered it otherwise.  Having used it now, it’s definitely something I’d buy and use as part of my skincare regime.  Peachy Fox is an all natural skincare company and there are no hidden nasties in any of the products.  Every ingredient is natural and organic and they’re completely cruelty free.  The eye gel has no perfume (which can often be an irritant), colouring or sulphates so it’s very much a part of the natural skincare movement that’s being pushed heavily right now.

Why Should I Buy it?

There are a few reasons you should try out Peachy Fox, I’ve been using a few products from their small but perfectly formed range and they’re all pretty damn good and all have specific skin benefits.  This is my favourite from the range.

  1. It’s an Amazon Prime product which means you get guaranteed free next day delivery.
  2. It’s affordable.  At £12.97 for a 1.0 fl oz eye gel it’s comparable to high street brands like Olay and Garnier and it’s a better product.
  3. Peachy Fox offer a satisfaction guarantee – Love it or get your money back.
  4. It’s natural, organic and cruelty free.
  5. It’s an amazing de-puffer!
  6. You can apply a thick layer and use it as a mask if you’ve overdone it and your eyes need some recovery.
  7. It’ll look pretty on your Instagram!

Categories: The Archives, The Beauty Cupboard, The Fashion Closet

SHOW Beauty Hair Care

You take time to select the perfect fragrance for each occasion right?  Well I certainly do, as you’ll know if you read my recent post on vacation fragrances, I love taking the time to check out the latest releases from my favourite fragrance houses and love it when I find something that fits my look.

I definitely have a type when it comes to fragrance, I love something heady, something that leaves a lasting impression and Oud, Amber, Tobacco and Vanilla are my favourite types of fragrance.  So, what about when it comes to your hair?  We all have those days when we try a new haircare regime and get the scent of our freshly washed hair, but what if this could compliment your fragrance?

Well, in my opinion your hair is your best accessory.  I’ve had my fair share of Hair Tragedies, which you can read about here (and marvel at some cringeworthy photos of said tragedies).  A good haircut can make you or break you, and Karlie Kloss is testament to that.  Once you have that, maintaining condition is crucial.

My bathroom shelf is chock full of haircare products that I use in my regime, remember that Vidal Sassoon commercial in the early nineties about not taking two bottles into the shower?  I’m their worst nightmare, I have around 15 in there at any one time.  From my L’Oreal Colour Correcting Silver Conditioner, to my weekly Brightening Shampoo, everything serves a purpose.

Currently as my regular, non-treatment product I’m using the Lux Volume range from SHOW Beauty – you already know I do a lot of work with this brand and they always look after me during London Fashion Week – when they asked me to road test the range I jumped at the chance after having attended the launch party earlier this year.

All of the SHOW Beauty products in the range are interchangeable and designed to compliment one another, they all have that heavy patchouli based scent reminiscent of Dior’s original Poison.  So whether you opt for Moisture Shampoo with Volume Conditioner or a Repair Mask, the scent is the same and once hair is dry it lingers like perfume.  They’re all as beautiful to look at as they are to use and have serious shelf appeal, designed to look like vintage cut glass, each bottle is a masterpiece.

With the Lux Volume range, you get weightless Volume with nome of that associates stickiness.  Hair feels clean, has bounce and you still get that gorgeous scent that lasts all day and beyond.  I have super thick, but very damaged hair so I was concerned that adding more volume might make me look like a dandelion clock but my hair stayed sleek and shiny but still felt light.

The only possible sticking point is the price.  At £30 for each shampoo and conditioner in the range, £40 for a mask and upwards of £50 for finishing products it’s definitely an investment.  After using the products myself, it’s an investment I’d recommend.  Probably not for every wash, depending on your budget, if you’re short on cash and treating yourself to something from the SHOW Beauty range I’d maybe save it for when you have a big night out or a special occasion and use the L’Oreal Pro Fiber range in between which is a more modest £15 per product.  Personally I’m a bit of a product snob and don’t use high street hair products, with my hair in it’s current state I doubt they’d do any more than Fairy Liquid would!

The real gem in using the SHOW Beauty Haircare range is that’s divine fragrance.  You’ll know from previous posts that the brand uses a Parisian ‘Nose’ to create that dreamy scent and as it’s triple layered with notes, it lasts on your hair as your regular perfume does on your skin.  After I’ve washed and styled my hair with Lux Volume Shampoo and Conditioner and Lux Volume Mist , I spritz a little Tom Ford Noir de Noir on my skin – the two fragrances work perfectly together – and I’m on my way.

Thinking of trying the range for yourself?  Scope it out first, the range includes a product to address and treat most hair needs and you’re guaranteed to receive compliments on how your hair smells, just like the Elle Woods endorsed Bend & Snap, it has a 100% approval rating.  The SHOW Beauty Hair care range really is luxury hair care at its very best.

Pixie xo

Categories: The Archives, The Beauty Cupboard, The Fashion Closet, The Glorious North East

M.I.A SS17 Campaign Shoot

I’ve been a fan of North East accessories brand Mirror Image Accessories since I discovered it around two years ago, the distinctive llaser cut, Art Deco shapes had me hooked at first sight.  I’ve bought a few Gatsby style pieces from M.I.A and have been lucky enough to have been gifted some too, all of them are vacation staples for me because of the awesome way they reflect light.

Each style is designed in house by owner and designer Ellie and sold via her Etsy store before being packed up and shipped.   Each style is produced in small numbers meaning that whilst you’re pretty unlikely to bump into someone wearing the same item, but also that if you see something and fall in love with it, you’ll need to act fast.  These pieces are a good shout at a family wedding and an M.I.A accessory is always a conversation starter.

Loving the brand as much as I do, I was ecstatic to be asked to front the M.I.A SS17 accessories campaign.  Ecstatic, and super surprised to find out that Ellie is a fan of Fashion Voyeur, if that isn’t the perfect fit then I don’t know what is.

We set about creating campaign inspiration boards and ideas of how we’d create the perfect look to fit the theme of the latest collection.  With an 80’s glam vibe in mind, Ellie pulled together an awesome all female team to shoot the cocktail inspired collection in a Gatsby-esque waterfront cocktail bar in South Shields.

Styling on the shoot was a real homage to the 80’s with huuuuuuuge hair and super colourful paintbox style makeup, think Elizabeth Shue in Adventures in Babysitting crossed with Young Jenna in 13 Going on 30, and you’re on the right track.  We even worked in some experimental lip stripes to to give the first part of the shoot a modern twist.

With fun pin badges, hibiscus chokers & cute mismatched wooden studs, the SS17 collection is kitsch and adds another dimension to the brand, expanding on M.I.A’s usual 20’s style pieces.  The Flamingo choker is a vacation essential and the smaller pin badges are a dream on oversized denim.  My favourite piece though, is a laser cut deco style necklace that Ellie tells me was born out of an experiment.  Needless to say it came home with me to compliment the other pieces in my M.I.A collection.

The full collection launches in the M.I.A Etsy store very soon but for now you’ll have to make do with my behind the scenes shots from the set.  With a distinct Summer vibe, the SS17 M.I.A collection is full of vacation must-haves, I’ll be wearing the pin badges on a denim pinafore and the mismatched wooden earrings with braids while I’m sunning myself on Sant Tomas beach.

Keep your eyes peeled for the full campaign Voyeurs, it’s due to drop any time!

Pixie xo

Categories: The Beauty Cupboard, The Glorious North East

Makeup Forever Arrives in the North East

If you’re a makeup lover then you’ve undoubtedly heard of pro makeup brand Makeup Forever.  Once a pro only brand used backstage at some of the biggest runway and theatre shows of the 80’s and 90’s, in 1995 Makeup Forever hit the mainstream and became accessible to anyone and everyone who celebrated colour and individuality through a love of makeup.

It’s taken a while Voyeurs, 22 years in fact, but the North East finally has a Makeup Forever concession in Debenhams at Intu Metrocentre.  You’ll find this haven for colour lovers on the ground floor right next to the Kat Von D makeup counter and it’s usually mobbed with cool, edgy peeps looking to grab a slice of the action. Makeup Forever is a brand that most streetwise people will recognise, similar to NYX in confidence and street savvy – it’s quick to respond to the ever changing beauty landscape – but closer in price to MAC.  It’s not your average high street beauty brand.

Makeup Forever is pitching its pan-market suitability with the launch of its 4k Ultra HD makeup range which aims to give a flawless base.  From primer to foundation and concealer, Makeup Forever is working hard to make sure that customer needs are top of the agenda.  I can personally vouch for the primer, there’s a whopping range to choose from depending on your specific skin needs, and if you have dull skin in one area and fine lines in another, fear not; you can purchase all of the primers available in half sizes for around half the price (14.20) of a full sized product.  Meaning that if you need two, it costs you only slightly more than one full sized product (£25.50), leaving you with more cash for a super bright lip paint.

I was invited along to the Makeup Forever concept counter to discover a little more about the brand and get up close and personal with the products and boy did I take advantage…..

With the full counter at our disposal for the evening and an interactive demonstration of how to use the core products to create a flawless (and poreless) base and bright lip, we were invited to try the products on our own skin and find out which was our Hero Product.

As a purveyor of Heroine Chic and a cool purple lip, I’m championing this Acrylic Lip Paint in shade 500 (£17.50) which is a bright lilac, a little goes a long way, it has great colour pay off and amazing staying power.  Topped off with a chalky lilac Ink Liner (£17.50) which is quick drying and long lasting, everything you want in a liquid liner.  The flexible tips in these liner pots are great for creating feline flicks and you can vary the pressure to create thick or micro lines depending on the look you’re going for.

On my list of things to try as soon as I’m out of my current Tom Ford stash, is the Ultra HD Concealer (£20.50) and Skin Equalizer Smoothing Primer (£25.50) and that’s mainly because I find concealer to be one of the most tricky products to buy.  Too thick in consistency and it hurts my eyes and too far the other way leaves me looking almost transparent.  This one is thin, but buildable, it seems pretty stable when dry too so none of that weird peeling away you sometimes get with concealer when you try to layer it.

I came away with the Aqua XL Liner in jet Black (£17.50) and the Excessive Lash Mascara (£19.00) but I’ll be back for some Artist Acrylic Lip Paint to add to my collection of luscious lip brights.  If you’re a fan of bright lip colours then you’re most likely in one of two camps: 1. Cheap and cheerful – before NYX, Urban Decay and Makeup Forever became widely available on the high street this was the best option as blue, black and purple weren’t easily found, however, sacrifice quality and can often end up with colour bleed.  2. Quality over cost – Buying a more expensive product often (but not always) means more pigment, better glide and staying power.

These days, you can be somewhere in the middle, with high street and pro brands recognising trends and turning them over faster than regular season collections, it’s never been easier to tap into metallics, high gloss, low sheen, matte, or anything else that filters down from the runway or via a key Influencer’s Instagram.  Fancy trying it for yourself?  Makeup Forever is a good bet, it’s mid way between budget and high end in terms of pricepoint.  If you’re a teenager looking to tap the colour trend then head to NYX for your fix, if you can afford a little more then Makeup Forever is a great place to start.

Pixie xo

Categories: The Archives, The Beauty Cupboard, The Fashion Closet

The Scent of Summer

I don’t know about you but I definitely have a set of signature scents and the all sit firmly in the dark, woody family.  People tell me that one whiff of Tom Ford’s Tobacco Vanille or Noir de Noir and they can sense that my arrival is imminent.  True story.

When vacation season rolls around however, I like to switch things up a bit and save the oud for an evening and wear gorgeous Summer florals during the day.  There’s just something about Summer, whilst darker, headier fragrances are sexy and mysterious, florals in Summer feel light and airy.  I know, to quote Miranda Priestly, it’s groundbreaking right?

Getting your Summer scent just right is an entirely personal preference, some people hear florals and think Anais Anais and the ‘powdery’ type florals that sit in that category but they’re way too wishy washy for me.  I like to wear something with intrigue, something unexpected and something that lingers.  That’s why I’ve opted for these three fragrances as my top picks for Summer days and vacations, each with unexpected combinations of florals, or a hint of something that sets it apart from its counterparts, they guarantee to have people asking what you’re wearing and they’re heavy enough to not fade after just a few hours…

SUMMER FRAGRANCES THAT LAST:

COACH Eau de Toilette 90ml £63 / 50ml £44 / 30ml £30

With an unexpected combination of pink grapefruit, jasmine absolute, cedarwood and sandalwood across all three notes, this fragrance starts off as a fruity floral, unveiling deeper and longer lasting woody notes at its base.  It’s one of my favourites for Summer because of how it deepens over time.  Fashion fans will be familiar with Coach as the original American house of leather and the bottle itself nods to that with its turn lock cap and leather and metal dog tags.  Buy it as a 30ml as you pass through Duty Free in the airport and take it with you on your next vacation, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

JIMMY CHOO L’Eau 90ml £63 / 60ml £47 / 40ml £36

The original Jimmy Choo ladies fragrance has won countless awards now and whilst it’s a pretty, feminine fragrance, it’s a little too feminine for me.  I like my fragrances to have a musky hit to them. This lighter, Summery take on the fragrance has bergamot and Hibiscus flower in it’s top note giving an earthy floral first impression.  Nectarine and Peony sit at the heart and the base note is a heady combination of cedarwood and musk which give a woody masculine vibe once the fragrance has warmed to the skin.  The perfume itself is iridescent and has been designed to embody the sensual yet sweet contrasts at the heart of the modern Jimmy Choo woman.  It’s one that can take you from day to night if you’re travelling light and only want to take one bottle away with you.

MONT BLANC Lady Emblem Elixir 50ml £54

This one’s a real gem, figuratively and literally…… well sort of.  It’s a brand new release to the market and of the three I’ve picked, this one is my favourite.  In a bottle that’s similar to Chopard’s Wish fragrance, it looks like a cut diamond with a rose gold finish – super on trend.  Turkish Damask rose, honey and a blend of spices make up the top note, Iris accord and powdery half-lychee follow, with black peppercorn, patchouli, sandalwood and vanilla combining to make a long lasting woody base note.  Whether you have an interest in the accords and notes that make up fragrance layers or not, trust me when I tell you that this one is divine and every note is developed perfectly to blend into the next.  I was invited to Tom Ford’s London HQ a few years back to study the Fragrance Wardrobe and learn all about scent accords so I know that the notes in Lady Emblem Elixir are very similar to those in Tom Ford‘s Jasmine Rouge.  It’s a long lasting fragrance and is one that changes quite dramatically as your skin warms throughout the day and into the evening.

I always like to try out new fragrances in the Summer and seem to gravitate towards anything with a woody base note and a dash of peppercorn for added spice.  Probably why Mont Blanc’s Lady Emblem Elixir is my top pick for Summer.  I usually take three fragrances away on vacation with me, and all of these come in sizes 100ml and below which means you’re ok to fly with them in your cabin luggage.  Perfect if you need a little spritz on landing.  Better still, pick them up as you pass through Duty Free in the airport and nab yourself a saving off the RRP meaning you’ll have a little extra available for that all important beach front espresso.

You’re welcome Voyeurs.

Pixie xo