Fashion Voyeur

People will stare, make it worth their while.

Categories: Fashion, Pixie, Uncategorized

What I Wore: Spring Layering

It’s always around this time of year, when the weather is starting to show glimmers of change, that I panic and forget what I ever wore before Winter cascaded over the land, and my life.  The days of wearing my cherished faux furs are almost over but it’s not quite warm enough to wheel out that old Spring favourite, the denim jacket.  So, when I’m styling up a look for early Spring disguised as Winter, what do I look for?  That’s a tricky question, you know I’m a lover of the old juxtaposition.  Whether it’s prints, textures or colours, I love a mismatch and the quirkier the better.  Choose something unexpected and they’ll never see you coming, or maybe they will because if you’re anything like me it’ll be blue white and orange…

A full length picture of Blogger Pixie tenenbaum wearing a blue and white striped Primark dress with cowboy boots and an orange pointelle Topshop jumper standing by the River Tyne

Ok, so, take one typical Summer dress – there are loads of these around right now, H&M & Urban outfitters lead the pack when it comes to print choice and they range from £35-£49, or if you’re not too bothered about print options then you can pick up this very one from Primark for just £14, if it’s not already sold out.  Yes, before you say it I know there’s a big backlash about Fashion Bloggers and Influencers advocating for Primark because of what it does to the fashion industry in terms of hierarchy but on a surface level, I believe that if you’re interested in fashion and don’t have the resources to feed the runway, then fast fashion is absolutely an option.  I shop at Primark myself and believe wholeheartedly that there’s a place for fast fashion in the industry.  Can’t find this dress?  Check out Groupon’s offers on Dorothy Perkins clothing for something in a similar style.  I got you boo.

Ok, so now that’s out of the way, this button through, shoestring-strap sundress is my favourite of all the ones I’ve tried, that includes the more expensive versions at Marks and Spencer, Warehouse and Urban Outfitters.  It has huge pockets at the perfect height to be functional, (so many items from Primark have the pockets way too high, like maybe their fit models are 5’5″) and the straps are adjustable, like bra straps.  If you’ve read my Surgical Series, or if you know me IRL you’ll know that I absolutely hate exposing any chest. Décolletage, collar bones, however pretty you want to make it sound, it’s not on my list of body parts to show off.  You can opt to wear this dress as it is, or if like me you like to cover that area, you can throw on a tighter fitting tee first.

If you’re styling it with a tee underneath, choose something that’s shorter in length, more form fitting and with minimal design on the front as it’s not that visible once the dress is over the top.  This No Fake tee is made of uber light cotton so it doesn’t bunch up under the empire line.  This particular dress has diagonal dart placement in the bust creating the illusion that flat chested girls like me, actually have more up top.

When it comes to prepping for Spring, layering is your top skill.  Scratch people skills, social media and IT, layering is literally the skill at the top of your arsenal and the one that’s gonna score you the most style points.  Get it right and you’ve got yourself two totally different looks, one on top of each other and the bolder you go, the better it is.  My favourite top layer in this juicy combo is this orange knit sweater from Topshop which you can buy here. thrown straight over the top.  The orange against the simple blue and white stripe might be too much for some, but for me it’s perfection.

My footwear of choice is my trusty cowboy boots, a Summer wardrobe staple of mine and something you’ll have seen in various guises in my other What I Wore posts – a girl literally can’t have too many cowboy boots.  Low enough that you can walk around comfortably and versatile enough to pair with just about anything.  These ones are from Topshop and the good news is that they get a refresh every year so you’ll always find them in store and online during the Summer months.

So what are you waiting for Voyeurs?!  Spring is right around the corner…

Pixie x

Categories: Fashion, Pixie, Uncategorized

What I Wore: To Watch an Epic Sunset

Finally, after three days of running to Sant Tomas Beach, we caught a sunset, and you’ll know by now from my What I Wore: To Attempt To Catch a Sunset post that it’s taken me around five days to catch one of the most famous sunsets in the world.  It’s not my first rodeo, we visit at least once per year and I can vouch for those beautiful pink waters and red skies, they really do make for one killer combo.

So, what did I wear?  Well, my vacation wardrobe is very different than my regular, at home wardrobe.  On vacation I’m a boho, care free rock chick with sand in her toes and salt water in her hair.  I favour sliders by day and cowboy boots by night and I tend to wear a mix of Daisy Dukes, beaded jackets and tunic style dresses.   When it’s super warm late into the evening I like to be more covered up with something loose and leaving the option of layering something like a vintage denim jacket, or a tasselled lightweight jacket.  Basically, something cool looking.

This night time beach mess around called for easy dressing in the form of just that.  An easy dress.  This one is a simple tunic style in black with red flower embroidery inspired by the Sicilian princesses on the Dolce and Gabbana runway, it’s a total steal too at around £18 from Primark.  I teamed it with my old faithful, battered cowboy boots and RayBan Aviators witch mirrored lenses, which Bo says are my best sunglasses, even better than my Dior So Reals, allegedly.  No outfit would be complete without my precious Pixie necklace and I love how it works with simple necklines like this one.

We managed to catch a pretty damn awesome sunset, one with spectacular pink skies over Son Bou and as it was our penultimate night on the island, it made it feel all the running around feel worthwhile.  After a little scrabbling around on the rocks with Plankton and walking back to our house tracing the sea along the shore, we made the trip up to Alaior to eat at one of the best and most well hidden restaurants in the little town on the hill.

After a super late night spending time with Mama Tenenbaum we tucked ourselves up in bed safe in the knowledge that we had absolutely zero chance of catching an awesome sunrise.

Pixie xo

Categories: Beauty, Uncategorized

Keeping Lips Hydrated in Summer

Anyone else suffer with dry lips in Summer?  I knew it!  When the warmer weather rolls around I always get drier and more sensitive lips.  I like to switch from deep, vampy purples to brighter pinks and chalky purple lipsticks in Summer and the condition of my lips always lets me down.  Particularly when I’m on vacation, I don’t know if it’s because I have lip filler but my lips always burn and end up peeling and sore which means when it comes to the evening, wearing lipstick dries them out even more.  Uugghhhhh.

This year, to save me from tears, oh, no wait, that’s a Christmas song…

Ok, this year I’ve done my research and I’m prepared.  I’m armed with a little secret – lip balm makes your lip burn in the sun!  Who Knew?!  So when you’re sunning it up in Ibiza with your lips slathered in Carmex, you’re actually heating them up and burning the surface skin which is what causes flakes, and those tiny but very annoying imperfections in your lipstick.  To combat that, you need a lip product with SPF.  The same way you cover your body in sun protection lotion, we need to protect our delicate lips – particularly if you have filler, and especially if you’ve had it topped up close to the time you’ll be travelling.

I’ve tried a few different products, each claim to do pretty much the same thing which is protect your lips from either “Intense Sun” or “City Sun” for a certain number of hours. They come in different formulations from creams to balms but the best thing I’ve found, it the traditional stick type.  You can sense a top picks can’t you Voyeurs?  Well it’s a very short one because after trying a whopping fourteen lip protection products, there are only two I’d recommend, with a little hack / bonus thrown in as number three…

Top 3 SPF Lip Protection Products

Primark Workout Lip Balm SPF 50+ £1.50

This is a wonder product.  Billed as a workout lip balm it’s become an absolute hero product of mine.  At £1.50 it’s an absolute no-brainer, I have 3 on the go at a time and I keep them everywhere, in my gym bag, in my handbag and in the glovebox.  Try it & you’ll be converted – it’s a traditional stick balm, it’s non-greasy, non-sticky and is strong enough to fight off harmful rays from vacation strength sun.  I use it every day but where it’s really shone is as a true SPF product – I’ve used it on our last few vacations and I top it up regularly throughout the day, it works an absolute treat.  I actually discovered this product by accident after road testing another product and experiencing awful sunburn to my lips – it’s been one of my best ever accidental discoveries and I’ve converted so many people over to using it.  Go buy it, for £1.50 you have no defence argument.

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Nourishing Lip Balm SPF 20+ £19

Now this exact product also comes in a stick, which I’ve used and I ended up with burned lips.  it claims to be the same formulation but you can actually feel the stick version heating up if you’re out in the sun and you have it on your lips.  This one worked better for me personally but it’s a way lower SPF to the one above so remember, re-application is king.  Slather your lips in this every hour, if you’ve been in the water, or if you feel them heating up.  This is really the ‘designer’ version for people too proud to use a Primark product.

Burt’s Bees Lipstick £9.99

Ok, now this one is not strictly a lip protection product but it’s way kinder to your lips than regular lipstick so if you’re suffering from dry lips then this is a safe bet.  Think of this one as your lip aftersun product, so if you’ve been caning it at the beach and then have a big night out at Ushuaia, this is going to give you the same hit of colour as your regular lipstick, but with ten times the nourishment.  There are (at the time of writing) 18 shades available and for a vacation I usually pack a nude, a red and a super deep purple.  Not to be confused with the Burt’s Bees Lip Tints which are more sheer, these are a fully fledged lipstick.  They look and feel the same as you regular Chanel lipstick but are 100% natural with no nasties, and give 8 hours of continuous moisture.  Winning.

All of these products are super nourishing and really improve the quality and condition of your lips, they’re not just for vacation or Summer use, I use them all year round and have a bit of a ritual: I use the Primark Lip Balm all day everyday, it travels with me and I top it up throughout the day.  The Elizabeth Arden balm is my intensive night product, I’ve probably used it now for ten years and i swear by it as an overnight lip mask.  The Burt’s Bees lipsticks are relatively new to me and I had my concerns over whether they’d be bright enough but they really are.  They have a satin sheen finish, they don’t slide and they feel like any other lipstick, but with added moisturising benefits.

Try them, let me know what you think, and yes, those are my lips in the lead image.

Pixie xo

 

Categories: Fashion, Uncategorized

Primark’s New Season Shoe Drop

I’m not one to jump on the Fast Fashion train quite so readily without assessing the durability of a microtrend first and I usually steer away from the cheaper end of the high street, however more recently, I’ve been enticed back…

We all have our own systems for managing the  turnover of fashion trends.  Some people don’t by into runway filtered trends, some people live and breathe them and there is a small proportion of people who monitor and turn over microtrends like their lives depend on it.  This Voyeurs, is where the high street is your best friend.  Everything you wear is dictated by the global runways.  Whether you know and accept it, or believe that plain white tee you picked up from George at ASDA is anti-fashion, everything in your wardrobe is runway fed.

If you consider yourself a fully fledged Fashionista you probably already look to the more expensive end of the high street when it comes to the seasonal shift and the bi-annual trend forecast.  With the rise of see now, buy now fashion in the industry, the high street can turn a trend into a full affordable capsule collection faster than you can blink and with global fashion month happening twice per year, you have time to plan for it.

But when we talk about microtrends, we mean short lived trends that were born as an Insta movement, maybe something your favourite Digital Influencer (obviously that’s me) has worn, or something you’ve seen an influx of younger girls wearing and championing.  This is where the cheaper end of the high street really shines.  Think that weird fishnet waistband poking out of your best ripped jeans that everyone did in May and June of this year – that right there is an Insta-born microtrend.

If you want to tap into fast fashion and microtrends, look to places like Primark, MissGuided, Little Mistress and those places that seem to have new stock in every month.  These are stores which focus on turning over microtrends alongside seasonal trends, the places that can spot the durability and popularity for a microtrend and turn it into product the next day.  You’ll have seen me championing the perfect transitional shoe from none other than Primark (if you haven’t then read this), and it’s about to get a whole lot better for all of you shoe fanatics out there because the first new season shoe drop from Primark is a doozie.

Whilst everyone else is going freaking bats for Primark’s Beauty and the Beast range and the Harry Potter merchandise filtering into stores as we speak, fashionistas everywhere are quietly enjoying the amazing offerings in the shoe department.

Here are my top Primark shoe picks to ease you into Fall 2017, all of which are available to buy right now (in addition to the ones that started it all):

Primark £8

1. Following on from the previous Primark Bee Flats I told you about in July, they’ve introduced some velvet slip on sneakers with a similar motif.  This one features metal thread embroidery and beading so for £8 they’re a total steal and they’re available in deep burgundy as well as black.

Primark £10
Primark £10

2. These giltter ball boots slip on easily like a sock and the block heel makes them way more comfortable than a regular stiletto.  They’re soft, super irridescent and available in black, silver and purple.  Wear them with everything from jeans to dresses and booty shorts to playsuits, these have enough life in them to see out the full Fall / Winter trend for disco so they’re well worth a punt.

Primark £16

3. My absolute favourites.  The deep V front on these shoe boots is a strong footwear trend for FW17 and something that was on so many of the big runways in February.  The oriental printed satin has rich tones of orange, purple and red and they’re comfortable considering they’re a pretty high heel.  Wear with black opaques when the weather inevitably turns.  Eye-catching for all the right reasons.

Primark £17

4. These oriental ankle boots with patterned heel fasten with an inside zipper and they’re similar in shape to a cuban heeled cowboy boot.  They’re available in regular and wide fit and up to a UK size 9.  They’re super comfortable too – I wore them out all day on a shoot in Newcastle and they gave me no problems but threw up loads of compliments from passers by.  #winning.

So, if shopping at the cheaper end of the high street isn’t your thing then maybe now you’ll at least consider a look at some of the Fall Winter trends and how you can spin them at a much cheaper cost.  If you’re a fan of fast fashion then hot foot it to Primark right now to get a head start on FW17 shoe shopping, they really are ahead of the game this season.

Pixie xo

Categories: Fashion, Pixie, Uncategorized

Primark’s Bee-autiful Transition Shoe

Stop everything Voyeurs, I’ve found the perfect shoe to get you through the transition between seasons, and it’s not a heel!  You know by now that I love heels, in fact I have a collection to rival Imelda Marcos and maybe even put her to shame.  I have boxes and boxes of shoes in the attic and garage and six shoe closets.  I know, pretty cool/crazy right?!  I bloody love a statement heel, anything a little out of the ordinary, you’ll never catch me in a plain old court shoe, even a Pigalle or a So Kate is too boring for me (soz Louboutin, still friends ok? – call me….)

I’m a big fan of a sneaker too, my sneaker collection is one that I’m proud of, I’ve built it up over the years and it’s made up of everything from Reebok classic high tops and essential Stan Smiths, to more obtuse pieces like Batman and Joker opposition Chuck Taylors and Chanel quilted high tops, I have some pretty amazing bespoke pieces that Nike crafted for me from their archive too.  It’s a pretty awesome collection if I do say so myself.  Anyway, we’re not here to talk about heels or sneakers….

So, the transition between Summer and fall is often a tricky one when it comes to footwear.  If you’re in the UK you’ve probably confined your sandals to the closet and looked longingly at them on occasion wondering if the rain will hold off long enough for you to showcase your new pedicure.  It probably didn’t.  But on the other hand, it’s way too soon for boots and tights. The shops are starting to look to FW17 and eek in the new trends as the last remnants of SS17 sit on the shelves contemplating their uber short life span.  What do you do when you’re at that in between stage?  A ballet flat? A sneaker? A loafer?  Any of these work, (if you said flip flop then log out, take your device back to the store and tell them you’re not fit to own it or have access to the internet.)  But there’s something way better out there, and it’s available right now!

I’ve found you the perfect transitional shoe that works with jeans, cigarette pants, dresses and skirts.  they come in two colours, teal green and boring black, they’re velvet AND they have embroidery.  With this many trends in just two shoes you’re expecting a hefty pricetag right?  Well get this Voyeurs, these little beauties are £8 from good old Primark who are coming up trumps with their Luxe range and new team of trend designers (more on that next time).  Check out these gems….

Bee-autiful right?!  These Bee-auties are on shelves in selected Primark stores right now and at £8 they won’t ‘sting’ you either!  Ok I’ll stop with the bee jokes now…  Seriously though, these shoes get a tick in the box for being on trend, they’re flat and so completely manageable, glam enough to wear for a night out and above all else, they’re actually comfortable.  One thing, as with all Primark flats, when you get them home from the store and you’ve checked they fit and you’re definitely keeping them, rub the front section of the soles with some Wet and Dry sand paper.  Primark flats are notoriously slippy and this helps to give them a little grip, you don’t have to go hell for leather with it, just rough them up a bit to take off the shiny coating.

Now, all that’s left to do is get to Primark, get these in your basket, then get them on your feet and wait for the admiring glances.  You’re welcome Voyeurs…

Pixie xo