All That Glitters

For the girl or guy who loves glitter, there is no better time to wear it than during the festive season. While all that glitters is not gold, our go-to glitter eye look is both…

1). Our favourite golden eye shadow is the Shimmer Wash Eye Shadow by Bobbi Brown- it is sheer and easy to apply, making your eyes sparkle whilst not being too OTT. Priced at £17 it’s a great single purchase to upgrade your NYE makeup look.

2). If you prefer more depth to your eyes and more of a shimmer than a shine, the Charlotte Tilbury Golden Goddess palette is a must-have. Though more of an investment (Priced at £40), the versatility of the shades in this palette mean that it can be applied lightly for a glowing every-day look, or used to deepen up a night-time eye, and it’s small and compact packaging means it’s perfect to throw in your bag for when you want to do both.

3). The Mac Gold Pigment (£16.50) is best for if you want to achieve more of an intense glitter- effect. The fine pigment is gorgeous true gold shade and can be layered to give an almost foil-like metallic look. It is also a beautiful highlighter when applied sparingly.

GET THE LOOK!

Charlotte Tilbury showing you how to get the perfect Golden Goddess look

Midnight Kiss

NYE is the perfect occasion for a striking red lip… but really, when isn’t? A red lip is perfect for the last-minute outfit panic as it can dress-up any look and worn with all-black for some seriously Coco Chanel vibes. Our favourites are:

1). Of course, the iconic Coco Chanel in the shade ‘Coco’ (£31) – which is supposed to be a universally flattering colour.

2). Mac in the shade ‘Ruby Woo’ (£17.50) – another gorgeous ‘true red’ with a long-lasting matte finish.

3). Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips in ‘Patsy Red’ (£28) – a more chocolatey-red which works beautifully with deeper skin tones or for those who prefer a more muted red lip.

4). And for those of you aiming to lock lips at midnight- we’ve got you covered: The Urban Decay Vice Special Effects Lip Topcoat (£16.50) is a shimmery lip coat designed to keep your colour in place all night (Kiss proof!)

The clock strikes Midnight

It’s cold and dark outside, and sometimes, dressing for the occasion means dressing for the season too. A dark and sultry look is the ultimately sexy understatement…so if the dark side is for you, here’s what you might need:

1). For a feline cat eye: The L’Oreal Paris Matte Signature Liquid Eyeliner in black (£8.99) is gorgeously inky and the thin wand makes it easy to apply.

2). For a beautiful mixture of dark matte and shimmering shadows, we recommend the Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Eye Quattro Palette in the shade Notorious (£53).

While a black shadow look can be hard to master, the sophisticated catwalk-inspired outcome is a sure payoff, and if it turns out a little too intense, don’t be afraid to warm it up using your bronzer.

Words by Chloe Charalambous

Graphics by Katie Janes

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The post 3… 2… 1… Happy New Year! appeared first on Voir Fashion.

‘New year new me’- a phrase that will, without a doubt, be crossing the minds of many of us over the strange period of time between Christmas and New Year’s. The year is on its last legs, however, it is not dead and gone just yet, so you allow yourself to continue to plough through anything edible remaining in your kitchen, whilst at the same time this self-gifted hall pass for overindulgence that is the reason behind your trouser button to popping open every time you sit down is making you wish the year would just hurry up and end so you can be guilt-tripped by your own mind into working on the ‘new you!’.

What is it about the first of January that makes us think who we were for the past 365 days, and the 365 days before that (and the 365 days before that…you get the point) isn’t worthy of entering the next 365 days the new year lays out in front of you. I may be stating the obvious here, but you have been you for the entirety of your existence on this earth and no amount of new year intermittent fasting or a drastic hair colour change is going to change that. Work on the you that already exists rather than making drastic changes.

Begin with exercise. We know what you’re thinking… ‘Hypocrites! Here they are preaching about an inner transformation and tell us the first step is to lose a stone.’

Well, you think wrong. Yes, it is common knowledge that if you add a bit of exercise into your life, sooner or later you will more than likely lose a few pounds. But this isn’t why we’re recommending it. We aren’t telling you to go on a mad ‘eat a cube of cheese, a boiled egg and a grapefruit a day’ diet whilst sticking to a regimented exercise routine a marine would struggle to do every day. All we are saying is adding a bit of exercise into your life relieves stress, and in turn, you will be you but ‘zen’ (all the Geminis out there, you’re welcome). Download Auro, the genius app that allows you to train with an audio personal trainer wherever and whenever you want. It’s the ‘friends with benefits’ of fitness; all the motivation, no strings attached.

Invest in a real-life book. Mindlessly scrolling through social media during your lunch break or before bed is something we are all guilty of. Give your poor thumbs a rest from the endless swiping scrolling and put them to use holding a book. Instead of staring at your screen like an Instagram obsessed zombie, engrossed in the lives of the ‘insta-famous’, start obsessing over your own life with a good self-help book like Good Vibes, Good Life by Vex King- it’s life-changing.

Change the little things in your life that have the tendency to irritate you. Invest in some anti-ladder tights and scrap that enraging trill of your phone alarm that boils your blood every morning and treat yourself to a gentler wake up that won’t infuriate you every day of the week with a sunlight alarm, even the name soothes the soul.

These ideas might seem simple and straight forward, but Instead of completely transforming yourself on the outside into the unrealistic new ‘2020 you’ you’ve been conjuring up in your head since the start of December, why not become the best possible version of yourself starting from the inside, go on give it a go!

Words by Ella Winfield

Graphics by Katie Janes

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The post New Year Same You, But… Different. appeared first on Voir Fashion.

Before we brace 2020, and at the cusp of a new decade, we ought to pause for some reflection, and set personal goals for future-us, i.e. the best version of ourselves who we will inevitably transform into by this time next year. Be your resolutions revolving career milestones, relationships or general traits and behaviour, it’s important to find realistic ways to manifest those wishes in everyday life. And what better way to express one’s feelings and aspirations than fashion?

The clothes you wear significantly affect your confidence, your motivation and self-assurance. Whether buying a colourful new exercise outfit or investing in high-quality pieces, style changes play a role in our personal growth, as we have learned from years of watching makeover montages.

Personally, setting aesthetic goals for myself is always directly linked to the state of mind I wish to project. And at this point in time, I need a change. Perhaps it’s the end of the year, the looming new decade or just my general mood, but my neutral-tone, simple-cut oversize-me chic feels like it needs an update. Not that I ceased to imagine my Scandinavian lifestyle blogger alter ego, but before I go parading the slogan , that archetypal 2010’s minimalism needs a little something extra.

The day I laid my eyes on Alessandra Rich’s crystal-embellished heart-drop earrings, I realised that I was craving for maximalism. And apparently, I wasn’t the only one, seeing as maximalist influences grew increasingly present on runways and high street fashion: opulently embellished buttons, oversized jewellery, brooches, vivid colour combinations and shiny metallic fabrics have long made centre stage, and are present everywhere.

My favourite interpretations of the trend can be seen in the latest collections of Attico, Rotate Birger Christensen, Dodo Bar Or and Ganni, all brands led by entrepreneurial women creatives, who managed to reimagine power dressing but Make it Fashion. Channelling a millennial pretty in pink, these brands modernise classic 80’s aesthetic and turn it to ready-to-wear cabaret glamour, full of vinyl, feathers and crystals, oh my!

If you don’t really see yourself as the embodiment of Samantha Jones had she been on Dynasty, fear not, as on the quieter side of the maximalist spectrum, you may find what I would refer to as the Cool Auntie look: traditional wardrobe staples, like classic suits and cardigans with an embellished buttons, bejewelled hair accessories or a minimalist sling dresses in a neon green leopard print.

While sporting these statement pieces might feel intimidating at first, I find that my inhibition is diminished at the sight of what the image of a new maximalist woman represents: confidence, elegance, humour and playfulness – the exact type of energy I resolved to manifest in 2020.

Words by Maya Avram

Graphics by Araceli Alonso

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The post New Year New Wardrobe! appeared first on Voir Fashion.

The obsession with achieving flawless skin that comes hand in hand with summer always gets a bit tedious. Come autumn, our brains are overflowing with the relentless waves of information on How to achieve the perfect ‘lit from within’ skin, or The five best ‘no makeup’ makeup products for a natural summer glow. Not only are we expected to walk out the house every morning presenting the world with skin that is completely free from any kind of spot, red blotch or eye bag, but the blemish-free skin also must be radiating an ethereal golden glow as if we have just been placed on this earth by the gods.

Now that summer is a distant memory and Autumn is dead and gone, no matter how many ‘glow’ masks we desperately plaster onto our faces or the repulsive amount of money we spend on vibrating facial cleansers and chemical exfoliants in a bid to fight it, we are going to have to accept the dull, lifeless, dried out and blemished skin winter curses the majority of us with each year.

Yes it would be nice to be blessed with skin so perfect even tinted moisturiser isn’t necessary, but don’t you think the world of makeup is too exciting and intriguing for us to be aiming to achieve a makeup look that makes us look like we are wearing no makeup- Absurd!

Why spend the precious time you have on this earth worrying about the stubborn patch of acne on your cheek or your T-zone that is adamant on being greasy or the dark circles under your eyes that are determined to resist every eye brightening cream under the sun when we have had the gifts of full coverage foundation, concealer and contour sticks and highlighters bestowed upon us.

Not only do we have access to all the coverage and contour products our tired old winter faces could ever wish for, but pallet after pallet of eyeshadows in colours we didn’t even know existed are being churned out, sat on the shelves impatiently waiting for you.

And if the thought of being let loose on your own face with anything other than an Urban Decay Naked 3 pallet gives you palpitations, don’t panic. We have the holy trinity; YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest, just waiting to be opened like little digital bibles of makeup looks. Give the exasperated, old, crumbled nude-brown shadow that hit pan so many moons ago a break this New Year’s Eve, grab the deep turquoises, fuchsia pinks, zingy yellows and rich reds by the horns, get creative with the abundance of colours that are out there!

Your makeup shouldn’t just be used to survive, it should THRIVE!

Words by Ella Winfield

Graphics by Araceli Alonso

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The post More Is More: This New Year’s Eve Go Bold or Go Home appeared first on Voir Fashion.