Healthy & Beauty

When it comes to festive season parties, it’s not only your outfit that takes centre stage, but your whole look. Your appearance will be judged, and while the saying goes ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’, unfortunately we do. To help you sparkle this festive season, we have put together the top looks you need to take note of.

FIND THE FOCAL POINT

No matter how many parties you’re attending this festive season, you need to decide on the focal point of each of your party looks. There’s no need to buy a new outfit for each party, but mix it up with different accessories, and makeup and hair looks. If you want the focus to be on a stunning pair or shoes you just bought, go for a more understated dress, or play up the dress by wearing minimal jewellery.

And when it comes to your makeup, there are many trends at the moment, from crazy glitter looks to coloured eyeshadow. Or tone down your makeup completely and go with the nude makeup trend.

OUTFITS THAT WOW

For many women, an important aspect of any night out is their outfit. This season you’re in for a treat, as lace, sequins and velvet are hot trends that will add luxury and glamour to any look. But don’t limit your choice to dresses, there are gorgeous tops, trousers and jumpsuits that will look elegant and sophisticated at any Christmas or New Year’s Eve party.

Lace fit and flare dress in red £28.00 at Bonmarché
Teal velvet wrap front mini dress £9.99 at New Look
Women’s blue sequin frill sleeve dress £28.00 at Peacocks
Silver foil one shoulder bodycon dress £55.00 at Dorothy Perkins

Black glitter tie front jumpsuit £44.99 at Quiz
Wine D-Ring belted wrap jumpsuit £42.00 at Dorothy Perkins
Bardot skinny jumpsuit in black £19.99 at Select
Women’s black velvet jumpsuit £20.00 at Peacocks

Velour wide leg trousers in wine £20.00 at Bonmarché
Black tapered tie trousers £25.00 at Dorothy Perkins
Jersey pleat peg leg trouser in wine £12.99 at Select
Black glitter wide leg trousers £35.00 at Evans

Glitter long sleeve blouse in pale pink £22.00 at Bonmarché
Rose gold sequin T-shirt £19.99 at New Look
Grey velvet camisole top £25.00 at Evans
Curve bottle green velvet Bardot 3/4 sleeve top £24.99 at Quiz

SHOES TO LOVE

Good shoes are an important part of any night out. You can’t dance the night away in shoes you can hardly walk in. You might have a favourite pair of shoes already in mind, but if you’re looking for a new pair of dazzling heels for this party season, you are spoilt for choice with colour, style and accents this year. Fur detailing on your shoes is one of the trends of the moment, as well as glitter and suede and velvet finishes.

Lilley women’s silver platform diamante court shoe £17.99 at Shoe Zone
Catwalk grey platform heels £24.99 at Deichmann
Curtain shine black suede sandal £60.00 at Clarks
Gold glitter fluffy heel £16.00 at Primark

MAKE-UP HEROES

Glitter has also made its way into make-up this season, with a big trend being glitter eye make-up, together with bright and bold colours. As the saying goes, ‘Go big or go home’. This season don’t be afraid to experiment with your make-up looks and go crazy with your glitter. There are numerous eye palettes on the market that can give you the perfect festive season party sparkle without breaking the bank.

NYX Professional Makeup Pigments (available in multiple colours) £5.50 at Boots
Barry M Fine Glitter Bust (available in multiple colours) £4.59 at Boots
Freedom HD Pro Refills Eyeshadow Shimmer 10 £2.00 at Superdrug
Rimmel Mono Eyeshadow Gold Record £3.99 at Bodycare

And to bring a glow and shimmer to your complexion, there are Silver and Bronze Glow Drops from New Look for £6.99. You can use this alone or mix it with your foundation and apply them together. Use a little to highlight your cheek bones, or build it up to create an intense shimmery finish.

Silver and Bronze Glow Drops £6.99 each at New Look

The Christmas holidays are over and with any luck you’ve started the New Year feeling relaxed, refreshed, and ready to embrace the new you. What better way to give yourself an all over health boost than to assess your fitness, your natural vitamin intake and your mental wellbeing?

GET YOUR SWEAT ON

Whether you take up Yoga, Pilates, Boxing, Running or any other sport, make sure you have the right gear. Invest in quality gear and you’ll feel twice as guilty at letting your classes slide halfway through January, or giving up at the first hurdle. From designer to high-street, the shops are full of new season sportswear that combine fashion and function in a high performance mix to take your training to new levels from winter right through to summer. You’ll improve your comfort and performance in breathable, durable, design-focused sportswear wear. Look out for fast drying fabrics, specifically designed to regulate temperature such as sweat-wicking fabrics on vests for indoor training and thermal, long-sleeved tops for outdoor exercise.

New Look has a new sports collection that takes active wear to the extreme, with bold neon hues and vivid abstract prints, the selection offers on-trend back to basics of hoodies and sweats, perfect both in and out of the gym; while this season’s sportswear for women from Primark and Peacocks boasts form-flattering gym clothes. All the high street retailers offer purse friendly prices so you can slog it out for less.

You may also want to get in on the act at home. There is plenty of at-home exercise equipment around in the sales. Whether you only invest in a pair of dumbbells and an activity tracker from Argos, JD Sports or Maplin, or go the whole mile and splurge on a treadmill or an exercise bike, January is when all the great deals are there for the taking, so do your homework.

GIVE YOURSELF A BOOST

Top up your vitamin intake, give yourself an energy boost, and start juicing.

For super healthy juices use a cold-press as it retains the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytonutrients and enzymes that promise to help you lose weight, boost immunity and cleanse your system. Because cold-press juicers don’t produce as much heat it means they keep more of the fresh ingredients’ nutrients intact so that your purple beet juices, green kale juices and orange carrot juice are bursting with goodness. Take a look in department and electronic stores now for some of the best bargains you’ll find all year.

Alternatively you can create a juice-smoothie. Get your money’s worth from your juicer and using a blender add bulky fruits or other ingredients that aren’t juicer friendly. Whereas a regular vegetable or fruit juices can leave you hungry a couple of hours later, if you blend a super nutritious juice with a banana and some crushed flaxseeds, chia seeds or nuts, you’ve a more substantial concoction that is absorbed slower and will keep you going until lunch.

Visit a Holland & Barrett or your local health food shop and ask them to talk you through the properties of all seeds and nuts available to you for juicing and for snacking on.

FEED YOUR MIND, BODY & SOUL

Your wellbeing is as important as your fitness and your diet. Feed your mind with the power of knowledge, and your body and soul will benefit. This is the month where you will find a multitude of self-help books and DVD’s available.

WHSmith and Waterstones both have a large variety of titles, many of which are in the sale. From learning the relaxing art of Tai Chi at home and achieving a strong body with daily Pilates, to discovering the art of Clean Cooking and safe ways to detox. There is a book or a DVD to show you the way.

Tel: 01745  339180

We are the United Kingdom’s second-largest beauty and health retailer currently operating over 900 stores in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. We currently have 226 in-store pharmacies.

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Tel: 01745 353051

Established in 1995, The Fragrance Shop are a privately owned, family run retailer of perfumes through over 114 stores nationwide, and online at thefragranceshop.co.uk.
Designer fragrances, direct from the fragrance houses
All of our fragrances are sourced directly from the fragrance houses themselves – no grey market products, no copies and no testers. Only the best and latest designer fragrances from the biggest brands.

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