tinsel

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
tinsel/ˈtɪnsl/

▶noun

• 1 a form of decoration consisting of thin strips of shiny metal foil attached to a length of thread.

• 2 superficial attractiveness or glamour.

– derivatives
tinselled (US tinseled) adjective,
tinselly adjective.

– origin ME (denoting fabric either interwoven with metallic thread or spangled): from OFr. estincele ‘spark’, or estinceler ‘to sparkle’, based on L. scintilla ‘a spark’.