Fashion Voyeur

People will stare, make it worth their while.

Categories: Beauty, Fashion, Uncategorized

How I Switch Up My Look with SHOW DRY at London Fashion Week

When I travel to London Fashion Week I’m always working for the duration, that means I’m on duty for five full days and nights and in turn that results ins an overpacked suitcase that I usually need to sit on in order to close.  With that in mind, I need to meticulously plan every single item I take.  I plan two outfits per day, one for working shows and presentations, the other for partying on an evening.  Once I’ve done this, there’s little room for anything else.

I never, ever take any hair washing or styling equipment with me, not even so much as a hairbrush because space is precious and messy hair is cool.  So, how do I manage to stay looking awesome?  I always wash, tone and blowdry my hair the night before I travel, because I travel early, I get up and go, I don’t fiddle with it or restyle it, I literally get up and get out.  I wear that hair for the next three days, however it is when I wake up is how it is for the rest of the day, if it rains I might throw it up into a messy bun but I’m more likely to wear it messy topped off with a tifler.

Day three is where the magic happens.  I visit my favourite Notting Hill blowdry bar SHOW DRY who always look after me during Fashion Week and tend to my tresses.  They wash and prep my hair using products from the SHOW BEAUTY range (seriously, it’s worth it for the fragrance alone) and I usually opt for some sort of braid to keep my hair off my face and switch up my look for the remainder of the schedule.

Pixie Tenenbaum in the rain at London Fashion Week FW18

For the FW18 season day three brought with it hella bad weather.  The first day of bad weather for the whole of show season in fact, I’d been to the Paul Costelloe show that morning and been puddle dumped by a truck as I left The Waldorf Hotel so arrived at the salon in a fresh set of clothes but with gross and very wet hair.  After being greeted by Rihanna and given a bottle of San Pellegrino I felt decidedly less stressed.  She took me down to the back wash area downstairs which is dark shades of grey and black accented with gold, exactly like the bottles the SHOW BEAUTY products are so beautifully packaged inside.  We chatted about what sort of style I like, there have been some staffing changes at SHOW DRY so this is the first time Rihanna and I have met, I tell her that I’m an urban princess and “don’t want anything bridesmad-y or wedding guest-esque” she nods in agreement.

I usually plan exactly what I want in advance but this season’s schedule has been way too crazy to even remember my own name, so with that as her only brief, Rihanna gets to work blowdrying my over-processed hair.  To be totally honest, I pay little attention to what my Stylist does when i’m at SHOW DRY, I know I’m in good hands, the Notting Hill salon seems to just get it right without forcing their own opinions about what you should do with your hair.  For the duration of my appointment I sit and read the latest issue of Vogue on an iPad provided by the salon whilst they kindly charge my phone.

Engage Fembot mode

In 45 minutes I’m done.  Washed, blowdried, waved and braided.  In just 45 minutes my rain and puddle soaked hair has been transformed from resembling dull hessian curtains you might find in a nursing home, to bouncy FemBot-esque waves with twin split Dutch braids through the front.  Winning.  Despite leaving the salon looking freaking amazing, I hasten to add that it literally rained crazy heavy for the rest of the day.  I threw on a Baker Boy hat and popped the collar of my faux fur coat (which hasn’t looked the same since) and went on my merry way.

Basically the moral of the story is, pack heavy, ditch the styling equipment, rock messy hair for part one, hand part two over to a superfly blowdry bar like SHOW DRY and basque in how easy you made it for yourself.  Cheers SHOW DRY Notting Hill, same time next season.

Pixie xo

Categories: Beauty, Fashion, Pixie

SHOW BEAUTY BRAIDS BY SHOW DRY

You already know I’m a huge fan of SHOW Beauty, I could wax lyrical about the products all day long.  SHOW Beauty is one of those brands that you’re either aware of because you use and love it, or admire it from afar, or you’ve never heard of it.  If you fall into the latter, then let me give you the skinny:  SHOW Beauty is a luxury haircare brand born out of founder Tamara Ecclestone’s love for beautiful products, scents and ingredients that really work.  In a nutshell, it’s like having your cake and eating it, it’s the very best of the best and it fuses the luxury fragrance industry, with the haircare market to give a truly unique range of high quality, sulphate free hair products that leave you smelling better than Harrods Fragrance Hall.

SHOW Beauty Hair Fragrance Fashion Voyeur

So, you know that there’s a range of products that’s constantly being researched and expanded because you’ve obviously read my posts on the launch of Lux Volume, SHOW Beauty and the SHOW Beauty Hair fragrance right?  Well, London is also home to the physical arm of the business: SHOW DRY.

SHOW DRY is the ultimate blowdry bar.  Not only is it home to some of the best Hair Artistes in the business, it’s also a very cleverly thought out business that’s pitched perfectly to the needs of the client.  Ecclestone frequents the salon herself and every new member of staff inducted must first blowdry Ecclestone’s hair in her signature style, as well as create a custom up do.  That’s quite the test when you think Ecclestone’s hair is literally her crowning glory.

The salons themselves are uniform, the signature black and gold detailing oozes polished elegance, whilst the blush pink cuts through with a feminine edge.  My regular SHOW DRY salon is in Notting Hill and they always ‘manage’ my hair for me throughout each season of London Fashion Week.  I’m not too proud to say that I’ve been brought forward from second to front row because of an awesome braided up do by SHOW DRY during the FW17 show season and if that’s not a high five moment then I don’t know what is.

The SHOW DRY team live and breathe SHOW Beauty.  They know the range inside out, they know the dual purposes of each product and can teach you some hacks that will change your life, like using the Moisture Conditioner as a leave in serum – seriously guys, you blew my mind with that one, cue BOOM emoji.  They can prescribe the exact product from the range for your hair’s needs, but more than that, their styling skills are amazing.

When I first partnered with SHOW DRY for show season, I was coming out of a pretty grim period with my hair, remember my post on Overcoming a Hair Disaster?  Well this was around the time of said hair disaster and I was very limited on what we could create with what little hair I’d been left with.  Because of that, we decided to shoot for some funky braids that would conceal the damage to my hair and still showcase my awesome colour.  Fast forward to the SS18 LFW season and I’ve still never actually had a blowdry by SHOW DRY (although I’ve sat next to Tamara Ecclestone whilst she’s had hers done so can vouch) and I’m back here for another braided creation.

What makes SHOW DRY different than other blowdry bars is that here, your every need is catered to.  Whilst you’re in the care of the salon, you’re very well looked after. Each station has an iPad Mini with the latest magazines downloaded for you to browse, a lightning charger for your iPhone and a range of products for you to peruse.  Your iPad is loaded with a menu from which you can select drinks like Prosecco or custom blend coffee, or light bites like popcorn and other sugary treats whilst you’re coiffed.  The salon is both pet and child friendly too with dog bowls for your furry friend and a mini blowdry menu for your mini me.

In my case, my Stylist and I browse the internet for inspiration and find two styles that will work well on my hair and decide to mash them together to create something urban looking that will last for a couple of days.  She coats my dry hair in a mixture of SHOW Beauty Finishing Oil and Moisture Conditioner to not only tame it, but to also give it some grip, and gets to work on two African / Dutch braids.  Once they’re braided back, she sets about creating two braided buns at the nape and pins them securely.  Within around 20 minutes we’ve got a cool, urban style pinned in position and I’m ready to hit up my first show of the day SEMIR x GREENCODE.

SHOW DRY Braids Pixie Tenenbaum

SHOW DRY isn’t just about the Bouncy Blowdry – which they do amazingly – they’re also able to create bespoke styles depending on what you’re up to and your own personal style.  I’m working on the improving the condition of my hair right now as it’s a little delicate, it did start to thicken up again then had a bit of a dip in both length and condition after misplaced faith in a big name North East hair salon (you can read about that here), but who knows, it may even be thick enough to sport the signature blowdry next season.

Pixie xo

Categories: Fashion, Models, Pixie, Uncategorized

What I Wore: For London Fashion Week SS18

The Spring / Summer 2018 season of London Fashion Week is over and it’s been a rollercoaster!  From abhorrent terrorist activity and resulting bomb scares and evacuations, to the ceiling of my room collapsing, it’s been a whirlwind five days and that’s before we even get to the awesome display of design talent.

I’ve had my busiest season to date, hence no full blog posts yet – although they are coming!  And I’ve completely neglected my social channels because preserving battery life is everything during Fashion Week.  So to whet your appetite Voyeurs, here’s a quick post on the outfits I chose to wear to the shows this season, with a disclaimer on why they were not my intended outfits.

I packed my case meticulously with ten outfits.  Nothing particularly trend led, just a mixture of things that I own and like, and things that designers and brands had sent to me in the hope that I’d wear them.  Amongst these things was a pair of brand new metallic boots which led to the utter demise of my planned LFW SS18 Wardrobe…..

DAY 1

I left on the 8.38 Virgin East Coast train, which was delayed due to what we now know was a home made explosive device on the Parson’s Green underground.  This understandably delayed the arrival of my train into London Kings Cross considerably meaning two things happened:

1. I missed the Pam Hogg show, which I later heard was awesome. Dr Hogg is known for her wonderfully quirky and imaginative runway shows and I was gutted to have missed this one, but you know, bigger things were happening in London at that time.  I also missed the Billie Jacobina show which was a real downer – Jacobina’s creations are amazing.  Think pink, negligee, teddy bears, fur, voile and throw it all together and that’s Billie Jacobina.  The kitsch designer was promoted from presentation to runway for SS18 which is a really big deal.  I did get to catch her static exhibit at Fashion Scout, so all was not entirely lost I guess.

2. I attended my first show of the day wearing my train outfit.  I landed in London, ran to my hotel, which luckily is a stones throw from the station, ditched my shiz and literally legged it out the door to catch the much hyped Ones To Watch runway show in Holborn.

So, this outfit is an eclectic mix of AND / OR jeans (which I love), with a sheer, black ballerina skirt layered over the top.  On top I’m wearing a Year One Collective spoof tee and my Starlover Clothing custom painted leather jacket.  Obviously I travelled on my own and had to cut a dash so didn’t have anyone to grab a picture but I featured in Donna Air’s Insta stories wearing this and she said it looked cool so, ’nuff said.

DAY 2

My most jam packed day and one where I knew I’d be cramming a good weeks worth of regular people activity into 24 hours and for that reason comfort came high up in my list of priorities.  I chose a Maison Margiela MM6 Denim shirt dress.  Simples.  The best bit?  Pockets.  Crammed with protein bars, my Oyster Card, hotel key card, San Pellegrino water & gum.

Remember those metallic boots I told you about?  Well they broke on Day 1 running across a road into the show venue and sadly died that evening, leaving me with one pair of metallic fuschia flat loafers to get me through the entire week.  I topped this off with bed hair and a tiffler from Marks and Spencer.

DAY 3

Another crazy schedule climaxing with the awesome Hellavagirl Couture show, and a link up with SHOW DRY London, the salon arm of SHOW Beauty who very kindly look after my hair during London Fashion Week.  After fixing me up with some super cute Dutch braids, I set off for my first show of the day wearing high shine PVC fetish store pants and a custom printed slogan tee made specially for me by Virgo Seven UK.  On my feet?  You guessed it, those feet murdering pink loafers with white fishnet socks.

DAY 4

Day 4 was wet, with intermittent downpours; I knew I wanted to be warm.  I also tried to keep the afternoon free to go buy Plankton a present in Hamleys and get myself out of the fashion bubble and take in some London architecture.  None of these things actually happened, I took on extra shows and headed out into the cold with yesterday’s braids, Topshop tweed shorts and a cosy Primark sweater.

Part way through the day after The Great Foot Massacre of London Fashion Week, I went back to my hotel to switch into jeans (Plankton’s) and socks which I bought that day, mid hissy fit.  I met a photographer friend for drinks that evening and he told me convincingly that I managed to style it out….

Front Row for Dumpty Studio SS18 LFW

DAY 5

With the finish line in sight, I let out my braids and whizzed the flat irons over my hair to give a soft curl and after waking up to a suitcase full of water and rubble, I was left without my intended outfit.  When your hotel ceiling collapses, sure it’s funny at first, until you find your Mark Fast sweater is soaking wet & your underwear is laced with plaster dust.

Luckily I was well equipped with a wipe clean PVC A-line skirt from Primark, some purple Wolford fishnets (never go cheap when it comes to fishnets) and I cut a dash to Monki to buy this Where’s Waldo-esque red & white striped tee.  I added one of my signature metallic tattoos, this time a diamond gifted with the Fenty Beauty press pack and a deco style necklace from M.I.Accessories.  Job done.

By this point my feet were destroyed and I’d adopted a penguin style walk that even I couldn’t style out.  Note to self, sneakers or sliders next season.

The next morning I shamefully put on yesterday’s outfit to head to the station and make my way back up North to a slower pace of life.  After experiencing the tornado that is London Fashion Week, and my busiest schedule to date, I’m ready to do this all over again in six months – albeit in better shoes.

Pixie xo

Send me your top tops for packing light and treating blisters for the chance to be featured in an upcoming post!