Fashion Voyeur

People will stare, make it worth their while.

Categories: The Archives, The Fashion Closet

Fashion Blogger Secret Santa

Well Voyeurs Party Season is upon us and I don’t know about you but the whole of December and January seem to just blur into one long, weird, party filled, seemingly never-ending month.  What with Christmas, New Year and then my birthday *hint hint*, it’s definitely a time for party wear and probably the only time of year I permit myself to wear sequins and embellishment.

Lucky then, that I was asked to be involved with the Quiz Clothing Secret Santa.  What’s that I hear you ask?  Well, it’s a fun little activity that sees Bloggers and Influencers paired up with one another online, to gift each other a full outfit from the party wear collection.  A dress, shoes and an accessory that they can wear out to parties over the festive season and beyond.  I had great fun making my selections for the blogger I was paired up with and waited with the excitement of a 7 year old on Christmas Eve, to receive my parcel full of unknown goodies.

As often happens with Christmas deliveries, mine didn’t actually arrive in time for Christmas but when it did I took great pleasure in opening up my Christmas parcel and relishing in the excitement of what might be inside.

Not my usual style but definitely within my ‘Fashion Zone’, I was sent a 90’s style slip dress covered in flip paillettes, a pair of studded turn down cuff ankle boots (very rock chick) and a black suedette clutch back with emerald and white rhinestones.  All perfect for party season and most definitely for New Year’s Eve.

Trying on my outfit for the first time

After a trying on session I decided to max out on rock chick styling with this party outfit and go for messy undone hair and whalenet tights with minimal accessories to avoid it looking too ‘overcooked’.  After perusing the party dresses at Quiz Clothing I think what I received is a pretty damn good selection, these boots will work as perfectly with skinny jeans as they will with ripped up boyfriend jeans and the dress works just as well with a skinny tee or polo neck underneath and a woolly hat to give it a grunged up edge.  In fact, I managed to find the perfect woolly hat with matching paillettes in Topshop!

I found this hat with matching paillettes in Topshop!

I’m super pleased with the Secret Santa outfit I received from Quiz Clothing, and taking part has definitely encouraged me to browse more fast fashion high street stores for fun festive fashion.  Leaving your outfit in the hands of another Blogger might sound treacherous but this was actually really fun and it’s definitely something I’d participate in again!  In fact, if you’re looking for a way to experiment with fashion, or to just get another perspective on your style, then grab a group of your best gals and give this a try – set yourselves a budget and go wild picking each others clothes for a party or event you have coming up, just don’t blame me if you fall out over it…

Pixie xo

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

Intu Eldon Square Fashion Spooktacular

Struggling for some Halloween outfit inspo?  Then The Intu Eldon Square Fashion Spooktacular is here to give your Winter wardrobe a shake up with an added spooky twist…

From October 23rd to 29th you’ll find the Intu Walk-in Wardrobe and resident Stylist Emma on hand to dish out advice on how to create the perfect Halloween glam outfit – there’s no cheesy fancy dress here, it’s all glam, high street pieces, with a scary edge to turn you into the perfect Halloqueen come October 31st.  Whether it’s taking layered tulle from New Look to create a Corpse Bride look, or using Topshop’s sugar skull makeup kit, or even visiting Ann Summers for a tongue in cheek take on Natalie Portman’s Black Swan, Intu Eldon Square’s retailers offer a variety of ways to tap into Halloween, without having to step near a polyblend costume.

Already got Halloween nailed?  There are a selection of short workshops available from finding the perfect Winter coat using FW17 trends as inspiration, to finding a festive outfit to turn heads – with only 8 Mondays left until the big day you might as well sort your outfit now and give yourself one less thing to worry about!

I was invited along to the Fashion Spooktacular preview evening, it’s one of my favourite events in the North East fashion calendar and as one of Intu’s team of Bloggers it’s always a lovely opportunity to get a good look at the Fashion Week trends that have filtered down to the high street.  Given the Spooktacular theme, I wore my Topshop Stranger Things tee (which you can shop here), and was greeted with paella and sangria from Tapas Revolution on arrival as well as some familiar faces.

After a brief introduction from stylist Emma and a preview of some of the key pieces to land at the shopping mall for Halloween, we were paired off and set challenges at individual retailers, fellow blogger Jen and I hotfooted it to Topshop for a series of mini games culminating in a Supermarket Sweep style timed challenge where we were each given two minutes to style a Halloween outfit for ourselves from scratch.  We also got to test out the latest glitter Lip Kits from Topshop Beauty, at £18 they may sound pricey but when you see the effect they create and just how easy they are to recreate, you’ll be adding one in every colour to your basket Voyeurs.  After all, glitter makes you fitter right?

My Halloween Style Challenge Outfit
Topshop Glitter Lip Kit £18

The whole evening was rounded off with some spooky cocktails at The Alchemist, which is about to undergo a very bewitching makeover just in time for Halloween weekend, when the bar will see some of its most popular cocktails on the menu given a creepy Halloween spin.

So, how can you get involved?  Well, the Fashion Spooktacular is open to everyone and workshops are run frequently throughout the day.  There’s no need to book, you simply turn up, listen, then go shop!

October 23, 25, 27 and 29:

11.30am Creepy crawly homeware
No dodgy paper garlands or wolf masks here, feast your eyes on the chicest of Halloween homewares to get your house or venue ready for the creepiest night of the year!

1.30pm How to pick a wicked Winter coat
Discover this season’s outerwear trends including checks, red, folklore, sports luxe and capes all in an Fall palette of orange, mustard, black, camel, red and gold.  Learn the perfect coat shape for your frame, how to identify the right size of pattern/print and which shade will make your skin tone pop.

3.30pm Autumn/Winter capsule wardrobe wizardry
Our personal stylist will work with you to build your perfect Fall/Winter capsule wardrobe based on key pieces which can be combined to maximise your looks this season extending your cost per wear.

October 24, 26 and 28:

11.30am How to pick a wicked Winter coat​
As Above.

1.30pm Our top ten must have Autumn/Winter items
Featuring a mix of trends, we’ll run through our top ten must-have pieces for this season including ‘wear everywhere’ dresses, slouch boots, statement tees, knits and earrings.

3.30pm Scarily-good Halloween costume ideas
This is the chic version of Halloween, for those who really want to wow at their Halloween party. We’ll show you the very best ghastly accessories that can help create a costume using items already in your wardrobe and also super cute kids costumes for your little ones.

Bewitching beauty

The best of the the shopping mall’s beauty offerings will be on hand throughout the week to give you tips on upping the ante and levelling up your makeup skills.  Fancy a Halloween makeover, or just want to learn some tips on how to create the perfect sugar skull look?  The swing by for one of these beauty workshops taking place throughout the day between 11am and 4pm.

  • 24 October: Topshop
  • 25 October: Mystical makeovers
  • 26 October: Inglot
  • 27 October: Inglot
  • 28 October: Topshop
  • 29 October: Mystical makeovers

So, now you’re armed with the dates and the deets, you’ll be rockin’ a bitchin’ and bewitchin’ Halloween outfit in no time!

Pixie xo

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

An Evening of Crafting & Power Dressing with Intu Metrocentre

As an official Intu Influencer I always look forward to the fashion preview events that unveil the high street’s interpretations of the key trends for each season.  The team at Intu Metrocentre always put on a show to accompany their previews and the FW17 showcase was their best yet.  Not content with the regular runway show, we were treated to an evening of power dressing with Costume Historian (and my friend) Meridith Towne and crafting with the gals from North East based company The Crafthood.

After being greeted with a custom blended mocktail at Zizzi we were given the chance to browse the trend rail which had been pulled from the shopping mall’s leading fashion retailers.  With lots of high street versions of Fashion Month’s key trends including blazers, stripes and lots of red, it was clear to see from the outset that the evening had been tailored (see what I did there?) to the Power Dressing theme.  So, what did we get up to?

CRAFTING

The Crafthood is a modern craft business.  I’ve come across them before at another event and their workshop model is one that definitely hooks you in.  From candle making to Christmas bauble painting and calligraphy (which I’ll be booking on to) these girls are teaching skills in a social environment and paying it forward to boot.  For every workshop space they sell, they donate a workshop space to charity.  Nice right?

On the upper floor of Zizzi, we had a designated crafting zone laid out with plain canvas makeup bags and a place tag in gorgeous golden calligraphy (a skill you can hone with The Crafthood).  Paint and stamps were laid out for us to get our craft on and create our own bespoke washbags using any colour imaginable.  With a quick lesson from Sharon and Kay, A.K.A The Crafthood, we were let loose with paint and free will, and pretty much every single person immediately looked to stamp their own initials on their bags.  Even with seashells, stars and leaves available to use, it just goes to show that the trend for personalisation isn’t going anywhere.

After a lot of practice on strips of cloth, I made two very questionnable washbags, one for me and one for Plankton.  Both featuring a gucci-esque bee. 

SCRANNING

As this was a seated event, Zizzi put on bespoke platters to satisfy even the most fussy palates.  Whether you’re vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian or a meat lover like me, Zizzi has your back.  Think pizza, deep fried peppers, falafel, carrot sticks and all the carbs, the sharing platters are actually big enough to share (so many of them aren’t) and there’s a great variety of food on each one.  I’d recommend the garlic and rosemary bread and that’s why I ate 10 slices.  Fact.

POWER DRESSING

I’m a huge fan of fellow Costume Historian Meridith Towne and we’ve worked together a couple of times now.  Basically Towne travels the country with History Wardrobe delivering a number of talks on topics she’s set, based on her extensive collection of vintage and antique clothing.  Got that?  It’s a sort of educational talk about era or genre specific trends with a little theatre thrown in to keep it upbeat.  Towne’s Glitz & Glamour talk is one of my favourites on her menu, if you get a chance to catch it then I strongly recommend you do.  Today though, we’re here to talk about the art of Power Dressing, given the number of women in politics and the rise in female CEOs it seems an uber relevant topic.  It’s less of a lesson on how we as women should power dress and more a look at how these women dress to exhibit their own power.  Take Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Dior for example, spear heading the trend for the feminist slogan tee, it’s not so much about angled shoulders and pant suits, but more about different ways of wearing our power in a noticeable way.

We were guided though notable moments in global history which charted the rise of female empowerment, from Maggie Thatcher’s blazers and pearls, to the tricks that women used to widen their shoulders in order to appear equal to men.  Towne has immersed herself in her self curated collection, some of which she’s made herself to the exact specifications that they would have been in their designated era.  After Towne brings us up to date with how female power dressing throughout history has influenced our present day wardrobes, we had the chance to get up close and personal with a small selection of her curated vintage and antique wardrobe, some of which is so old and delicate that we’re not actually allowed to touch it.

FW17 TRENDS

As you know, everything we wear is influenced by the runways of the Big Four at global Fashion Month.  The fate of our 2017 Fall Winter wardrobes was actually sealed in February 2017 when the most influential designers in the world sent variations on old shapes down the catwalks.  Multicoloured fur, stripes, tweed, polo and neck sweaters were all relatable and translatable trends for the high street to deliver as affordable fashion.  Red was the colour of the season but as a block, not a hint so for FW17 if you’re going red then go bold or go home.

Outside of power dressing padding and quilting is the way to go, metallic puffer jackets were on every major runway in Paris with Chanel leading the pack, tailoring in beige and brown toned tweeds with applique are huge for FW17 too and my hero piece is a simple long line tweed overcoat that will bring your Winter wardrobe bang up to date for around £80.

Basically power dressing is about confidence and what makes you feel powerful as a woman.  Whether it’s a slogan tee that shows the world you wear your feelings on your chest, or a pant suit and stilettos, if you know your own power pieces then get out there and work them.  If you’re still discovering your power dressing style then it might just be time to take a class….

Pixie xo

Categories: The Archives, The Fashion Closet

APU JAN SS18 at London Fashion Week

Taking inspiration from the short lives of flowers, Apu Jan presented Before the Last Petal Falls for Spring Summer 2018 at London Fashion Week.  In this collection of 33 garments, Jan uses bursts of colour and texture variation to freeze their explosive beauty and capture the sensation of urgency in their short but fragrant life.  The collection pays homage to O Henry’s ‘The Last Leaf’ and echoes the theme of Edgar Allen Poe’s ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’.  It was also the first show of the SS18 season that saw Freemason’s Hall open up the Grand Temple – something that rarely happens during London Fashion Week and an absolutely unbelievable spectacle when it does.

‘Before the last petal fell, I remembered there was a garden in full blossom ;

Before the last leaf faded, I remembered there was a forest full of green ;

The last snowflake, the last sand grain, the last teardrop…

Nothing gold can stay.

So let me cast a spell for you, it’s necessary to freeze the beauty of flowers, it’s necessary to freeze the fragrance of coffee, and it’s necessary to freeze the fragrance of our youth…’

Using pattern to emote throughout the collection, ‘Before the Last Petal Falls’ takes us on a fantasy journey.  With motifs and patterns including blooming and fallen petals, leaves, trees, snow, ink, and manuscripts, the components play to the theme and the brands core elements of storybooks and fantasy beasts are evident throughout the collection.

The SS18 collection from Apu Jan features more of the designer’s trademark silk knitting which stands out in texture, Jan uses a self developed blend of jacquard and chiffon and varies between machine and hand knitting to create that signature and inimitable mix of chunky and uber fine texture all within the same garment – perfect for the intended season.

Strong oriental influences ring through this collection; mandarin collars, horse-hoof cuffs and 6/8 wide leg trousers with a wide set pinstripe set up the core shapes for a neutral palette of grey, black, white and grey with the occasional dancing pink petal dancing across the landscape.  Towards the finale we saw drop waist and empire line dresses with structured cape detailing imitating orchid type silhouettes and depicting the last stages of life of the flower, and burnout dresses with flute sleeves with a hint of Victoriana.  The standout piece in the collection was a grey dress with a structured capelet that drew gasps from the press as it floated through the temple.

Apu Jan is a master craftsman when it comes to working with printed satin; taking the finest print details and working them into a pattern only determinable at close range, which from afar creates additional texture and shape despite having been crafted in the lightest fabrics.

The show was set to the beat of DJ QuestionMark and a live orchestra, something that’s been lost in time over the seasons at London Fashion Week and something which created a real atmosphere on the day.  I don’t know whether it was the design talent, the live music or being seduced by the Grand Temple but this was one collection that piqued my interest Voyeurs…..

Pixie x

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

YUVA MEDI-SPA Launch

YUVA MEDI-SPA opened its doors to the public in April 2017 and got to work on it’s three month wait list.  Fast forward to the end of September and here we are at the official press launch (I told you about in this post) at the prestigious Alderley Edge clinic.  YUVA really is something else.  When you drive through the gates and lay eyes on the converted mansion house for the first time, it buries your expectations completely, it’s a beautiful building and when I visited there was nothing but blue skies over Cheshire making it feel like I was visiting a Swiss chalet.

The launch has been a long time coming, founder Dr Raj Acquilla is one of the most respected aesthetic practitioners in the world and his vision for creating a luxurious escape for that defies the usual medi-spa environment have been truly brought to life with YUVA.  The grey and muted gold tones throughout the clinic make for a super relaxing environment and the furnishings and layout have all been planned with the patient in mind.

We’ve assembled at YUVA to watch not one, but three live procedures today by Dr Raj Acquilla and Dr Liesel Holler, YUVA’s resident expert practitioners.  We arrive to a champagne reception and a bit of exploring before things get underway.  The former recording studio that YUVA MEDI-SPA occupies is huge yet Acquilla made the decision to fit out just three spacious and well equipped treatment rooms with beds flown in from the US, and give each room its own dedicated waiting area.  Perfect for celebrity clients who want to get in and out without having been spotted.

Private Treatment room at YUVA MEDI-SPA

The reception area resembles that of a 5 star hotel, with a seating area and skin bar either side, there’s a large communal waiting area in front of the downstairs treatment area fragranced with Jo Malone’s Lime, Basil & Mandarin and looking out over the gorgeous landscaped garden.  It’s a world away from the usual aesthetic clinic and that’s exactly what Acquilla wanted.  A quick visit to the restroom unveils more luxury, again fragranced by Jo Malone and each basin is topped with a range of SHOW Beauty styling products for post treatment touch ups – very client-centric.

We’re welcomed by Acquilla and his team and given the story behind YUVA and how he feels that there needs to be more of a focus on preserving and enhancing our natural beauty, rather than changing things drastically with lots of filler and Botox.  Acquilla is a doctor who’s not afraid to turn away a patient, or prescribe a treatment different than the one they’re requesting; he tells us that often a patient knows what they want to achieve, but is looking at the wrong course of action to get there.  Acquilla prefers to assess patients on a case by case basis and make small tweaks which give big gains.  The young doctor is charismatic and speaks intelligently about only offering treatments which are safe and proven and have trackable results, whilst YUVA is at the cutting edge when it comes to aesthetic treatment, you’ll never be offered something so new that there are no comparable results.

We’re taken upstairs to a room to watch a Spotlight treatment on a live model.  Acquilla reminds us that preserving natural youthful looks is what he wants to achieve, and ultimately, making his model feel happier about the way she looks.  He works on the right side of her face with a camera providing close up images on a big screen while we watch.  One thing to note is that every injection is small and precise, Acquilla uses no anaesthesia or numbing cream anywhere on the face saying that if precise injection points are used, there is no pain for the patient – credit to him, his model never flinches, not even when her lips are injected.

He proceeds to talk us through the subtle improvements he will make, from an eyebrow tail lift, the lift in the corners of her mouth, the reduction in her ‘gummy smile’, her ‘sad eyes’ and rounded jaw.  With each injection he lifts and physically sculpts the skin to the bone creating a subtle, but instant impact.  Her jaw is sculpted, her mouth is no longer downturned and her eyes seem happier.  Everything is small and subtle, but she’ll leave looking refreshed with no downtime at all and with results that should last around 12 months.  There is no drastic difference, no over inflated lips or flat, expression free forehead (something Acquilla isn’t a fan of), everything is natural and you really wouldn’t be able to tell she’d had work done.  He asks his patient regularly if she’s comfortable and she chats freely during her procedure, laughing and joking with Acquilla and definitely not showing any signs of discomfort, something I’m intrigued by as I’m familiar with the extreme pain of lip filler without a dental block.

Next we’re introduced to Dr Liesel Holler, a former Peruvian beauty queen who turned her back on a career in modelling to focus on medicine and aesthetics.  Holler is a vision, she’s captivatingly beautiful and speaks passionately about aesthetics, with a particular interest in skin.  The treatment she’s showcasing is a 5 step bespoke Nanopore skin treatment which includes:

◆ A Liposomed Ferulac Peel – high dose antioxidant peel to help resurface the skin and remove dead cells.
◆ Application of Vitamin C and Hyaluronic Acid to nourish and brighten the skin
◆ Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy (PRP) which uses your own blood platelets to stimulate new cell growth
◆ Nanopure Micro-needling which produces micro-channels in the skin
(with a depth of 0.2mm around the eyes and 0.5mm on the rest of the face) to encourage absorption of the preceding ingredients
◆ An LED light is placed over the patient’s face for 20-30 minutes to restore and calm the skin

The benefits to this treatment are huge, Holler tells us that the needles cause a controlled trauma to the skin, which in turn induces collagen stimulation and over the course of a month it results in smoother tone and texture to the skin, addressing concerns from acne scarring to facial lines and wrinkles.  It’s part of a new wave of aesthetic treatments where skin and cells are encouraged to repair themselves on the inside, giving a greater result on the outside.  The YUVA team are a testament to their procedures, each of them has glowing skin that gives you confidence in their ability, that and the fact that each member of the practicing team is listed in the Top 20 Injectors in the UK.

YUVA also offers non-surgical treatments, with HydraFacial as one of their most popular non-invasive treatments.  The focus at YUVA MEDI-SPA is clear, improvement in skin quality, appearance and overall wellbeing without over injecting.  If you’re starting your aesthetic journey and are looking for a doctor you can trust to take your best interests into account then YUVA is a place to put at the top of your list.  Achievable outcomes, subtle improvements, conscientious practitioners and doctor led treatment, all in a luxurious and relaxing environment.  Kudos Dr Raj Acquilla, YUVA MEDI-SPA just set the bar for medi-spas everywhere and damn is it high.

pixie xo

Pixie Tenenbaum Editor's signature with fashion illustration graphic