Beyoncé knows how to work the red carpet and she’s one of the few truly glamorous women of her generation. Her bold choices are often either a hit or a miss, but she wears this dress extremely well because we actually notice the girl more than the dress. Few of us could wear a canary yellow gown but it looks gorgeous against her caramel coloured skin. The simple & sophisticated chignon with just enough bling looks elegant and timeless.

I love shops that have that old world feel to them, you just know that there is something extraordinary inside and I love antique jewellery. Bentley & Skinner specialise in fine antique jewels from Faberge and silver to an array of diamonds. They have been buying and selling jewellery for over 180 years.

Much of their jewellery is from private auctions or purchased privately. Jewellery and accessories are key to creating a personal style, and by adding an antique piece of jewellery it helps to create a more personal unique look.

8 New Bond Street, London W1

I went to the Links of London press day and they were offering illustrations by Sophie McElligott and in less then 5 miniutes she drew this illustration of my fashion assistant, Stephanie!

The event took place at an art gallery on London’s very fashionable Dover Street. Links of London is very popular for it’s charm bracelets. I notice girls wearing them all the time. I’m particularly fond of clock faces - not so much the watch itself but really the face, oh and I love keys!

Sophie has been drawing since she was little - her parents didn’t like her to watch TV so Sophie drew instead. She went to art school in Italy and did life drawing and then studied fashion at St Martins and Middlesex.

It was so much fun to be drawn by someone, you feel a bit embarrassed but bit special too! I love this image, I feel like a cool villain in a video game!!

I saw this pillow on Cult Beauty. I’ve always wanted a silk pillow case. I’ve read that it’s suppose to feel very nice again ones skin and protect the skin from developing more lines or deeper creases.
No pillow lines! It’s kind of funny that we spend all of this money on skin care - which I’m admit I’m a bit obsessed with and while we are sleeping and our bodies are supposed to being rejuvenated I am sleeping with my face buried into my pillow embedding wrinkles into my face.

Erika Trotzig recently collaborated with Studio Private and photographer Yuval Hen. This is one of the images from their exhibition in London. I just love the feel of this shot, the light & the yellow background. I want to know more about the girl - it feels like a painting.

Yellow backgrounds often remind me of the short story The Yellow Wallpaper (first published in 1891). It’s a story is about a women and her descent into psychosis. Her husband, also her physician confines her to room in a summer house where she is forbidden to work or even write, otherwise known as - the rest cure. With nothing to engage her she slowly becomes obsessed by the room’s yellow wallpaper. “It is the strangest yellow, that wall-paper! It makes me think of all the yellow things I ever saw — not beautiful ones like buttercups, but old foul, bad yellow things. But there is something else about that paper — the smell! … The only thing I can think of that it is like is the color of the paper! A yellow smell.”

Erika’s work is very beautiful, her pieces are very wearable and have the feel of haute couture and fine art. She studied pattern cutting in Stockholm before enrolling at Saint Martins. In 1988 after graduation she went on to work for Belgian designer, Josephus Thimister in Paris and then returned to London to launch her own label. Erika was awarded New Generation sponsorships, and sold in boutiques and department stores across the world, had catwalk shows during London Fashion Week, and exhibited in Paris and Tokyo.

I am addicted to mascara and I’m dying to try the new Estée Lauder and Lancôme vibrating mascaras. I’m not brand loyal about mascaras as I’ll try anything if it will give me big full lashes!

I am obsessed with skin care and I’ve never worn make-up to bed - ever. I always feel validated when I see a product I use in a make-up artist’s kit. A good make up artist is very picky about the products they use, so you know they use only what they really like. I don’t usually brag about products but since I’ve been in the UK I discovered No7 Cleanse & Care Eye Make up Remover and I can’t live without it. I can wear several (many) coats of mascara so eye make-up remover is very important to me. I’ve learned that you can buy it in Canada so I’ve got my mum hooked on it too!

I went to the opening preview of The Viktor & Rolf exhibition at the Barbican. It was quite amazing! I love the doll’s house - I think every girl loves a doll’s house. I had so many dolls when I was little, and my mum would make matching clothes for me and my dolls. I never had my own doll’s house and was jealous of one girl who had a German doll house. Viktor & Rolf’s doll house is 6m-high with three floors, endless rooms and it feels very luxurious and empty at the same time. There are 55 porcelain dolls living in the house. The dolls are only 2 feet high, with human hair and are made by hand by master craftsman Mr. B. Terrie. Each doll is designed & styled after the model who originally wore the outfit and the dolls have the same make-up that was worn in the catwalk show. The dresses are a true replica - everything is made to scale and even the original leather is used to make the shoes.

I keep thinking of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and everything that Nora felt. Dolls can be so beautiful but have a very scary side to them especially the porcelain doll. One of exhibits had a doll surrounded by broken porcelain. In Viktor and Rolf’s work there is lots of dark humour, and there is a lot of it in the way the models are displayed as porcelain dolls. It’s eerie and adorable at the same time!

Of course an exhibition like this attracts fabulous people. I spotted super stylish Roisin Murphy. She’s a true fashionista and a wonderful singer!

…and one of my favourite people: Gok Wan!

Girls in Viktor & Rolf

I love how these two girls are dressed. They look like the kind of people you want as friends. Trustworthy, cool and fun! It’s interesting that a bright colourful dress, a groovy head band and a red hand bag can covey a message - so if clothing is a language- a method of communication - what are we saying and do we look very different when we are smiling?

Yesterday’s shoot was all about Wonderful Hair. I’ve never had hair extensions and have never had the desire to have them - until today that is.

I love how Yulia looks while waiting for her hair to be done. Most models bring a book or something, occasionally I’ve known models who knit to pass the time.

This was a busy shoot as we had lots to accomplish but we really had a great team and worked really well together.
I think too many people are thinking that working in fashion is just like life in The Hills! Although The Hills is my assistant’s favourite show she knows what really happens on a shoot & how much work is really involved.

And yes, sometimes there are perks! The perk was some red hair extentions!!

For the fifth consecutive year, Elizabeth Arden and London College Fashion have collaborated on the Eight Hour Cream Photographic Project. Vote online for your favourite image before June 10th!

When I see girls with great hair styles it inspires me to spend more time on my hair otherwise I experience pure hair envy. I love getting my hair done, I always feel more glamours - I’m just not great at doing it myself. It’s more of an effort thing but I do think hair is one of your most important accessories - it changes how you look dramatically. I love hair that looks done and has an edge or personal style to it. This girl only spends about 20 minutes each morning on her hair and it really completes her personal look!

I’m not very confident stopping people in the street and asking them if I can take their picture. I’m trying to be a bit braver but every now and then fashion gets the best of me and I can’t help but stop someone. I saw this girl - a drama student on the escalator and thought she had such a cute style: she just looked so happy and friendly. The colours of her scarf, handbag and the flower in her hair create a very light, happy and confident feeling. I love that we can dress in a certain way and give other people an impression. We tend to forget how we can communicate through clothing. I think maybe fashion has become more about being fashionable and less about self expression.

While on my way to dinner I spotted this Nissan Figaro that’s for sale. I know it’s not practical: I couldn’t fit my luggage in it, I only have a license for an automatic, I don’t like parallel parking - which is all one does in London. But it’s Barbie pink and so cute! I rarely want stuff - I know this might be an odd trait for a stylist but if I can use the things that I love in a shoot I don’t feel the need to possess them. Maybe I don’t need a car but I’d like to be the girl who wears a floral dress with big white vintage ray bans, singing my heart out while driving around town.

Salvatore Ferragamo Christrian Lacroix

Ray-Ban Wayfarer in white, black or blue. Bottega Veneta

The dog is no longer man’s best friend but has become a delightful fashion accessory. Over the past few years I’ve seen quite a few fluffy pink lap dogs. I find the dogs quite amusing, cute and slightly odd - all at the same time. I must admit I’m kind of drawn to the dog, I’m just not sure that if I had a dog that I’d dye her fur.

This puppy was born last week, and so far, he is perfectly healthy… he’s just green. Veterinarians say this can happen when the mother’s amniotic fluid mixes with the placenta during birth and dyes the coat of the puppy. In a few weeks, the green will fade and the puppy become it’s natural colour.

I love Japanese fashion and their love for their pets! The Japanese beauty company Merry Do Beauty Products, offer a rainbow of colours for your pet! They even have 10 different colours of nail polish for you pet made from natural plant ingredients, combined with natural Vitamin E!

This is a special mud bath for the dog, how cute is he! I love spas but I wonder if the dog likes it, if it’s fun for him, maybe he likes all the attention and praise? I would.

[Source NBC]

Shu Uemura has a wonderful selection of false eyelashes and they offer a complimentary eyelashes application as long as you purchase the eyelashes in the shop. False eyelashes are the last thing that you put on the eyes, so the eye make-up has to be complete beforehand. Shu Uemura also offer an eye make-up session for only £10!

I chose a pair of blue and black eyelashes and had my eye makeup done too. It was quite strong but very cool and I loved it! In general I don’t like getting makeovers because I don’t really like foundation and I just end up feeling like there is too much stuff on my face. As for eye makeup the more mascara the better - so false eyelashes are perfect.

Shu Uemura also do eyelash extensions. I’m quite curious about this service but it only lasts several weeks, though it could last longer depending on your eyelash cycle. It’s also a bit more expensive £140 for a full set of lashes and it takes about 2 hours to apply.

I decided on a whim to get my hair styled at the Hershesons Blow Dry Bar in Topshop. It was quite fun as it’s the sort of thing that I don’t normally do but now I find myself with an addiction to big hair.

There are 8 different looks to choose from and each look is trend led but incredibly wearable. All you need is long hair. I decided to go for the Bardot - it’s an updo that involves some back combing and it’s very similar to the “B-52″ the only difference is the “B-52″ is half up, half down. The Bardot is their most popular request. I went in with clean hair although, I’m not sure how important it is, but since you only have a 1/2 slot they don’t really have time to wash your hair.

Last Halloween I really wanted to dress up as a pekingese and with my hair like this I realized I probably could resemble a fluffy little dog. I’m not a big haired girl and never thought I could be as my hair is fine and poker straight.

The staff at the Blow Dry Bar are second and third-year apprentices from the Hershesons’ Conduit Street and Harvey Nichols salons. Alex styled my hair, she’s been there for just under a year and loves it!

Daniel and Luke Hersheson opened the Hershesons Blow Dry Bar in December 2007. The father and son team have a salon in Conduit Street, opened by Daniel in 1991, and a luxury hair spa in Harvey Nichols. Their client list reads like the Who’s Who, but they don’t rest on their laurels as they really seem to be more interested in what they do, then who they do. The concept of the Blow Dry Bar was inspired, in part, by coffee bars, so after each purchase you have reward card and after your 7th styling session your 8th is free!

The lovely Helena Frith Powell was wearing a black signature Karen Brost dress for her book launch in Chelsea last night. Helena is a writer and journalist, she is the author of Two Lipsticks and a Lover - a book about what makes French women so special and her latest book To Hell in High Heels is about anti-ageing. Helena has recently opened the Renew Spa Retreats in the south of France!

Anyway, I’ve just started the book but so far so good!!
,

I love mascara. It’s the only product I run out and buy if an ad or magazine article tells me to. (And yes, I’m a sucker for good advertising). I just want really long lashes. I’d wear false eyelashes if I could figure out how to put them on, and be assured that they would stay on all day. Nothing worse then seeing a girl with half an eyelash hanging off her face - so mascara it is!
They all seem to work but I can’t help but try every new one…I never thought of myself as a mascara addict but as I write this I realize I might have a problem or just a minor obsession.
It’s hard to believe that mascara was first made from coal dust mixed with Vaseline petroleum jelly by Eugene Rimmel, a French perfumer on Bond Street who founded the House of Rimmel in 1834. He and his father created the first commercial non-toxic mascara product. It became so popular that Rimmel became the word for mascara in several languages including French, Italian, Persian, Spanish and Turkish. In 1917 Maybelline Cake Mascara was introduced as, “the first modern eye cosmetic for everyday use“. Helena Rubinstein introduced the tube and wand applicator in 1957. In the 1960’s Maybelline’s Ultra Lash became the first mass-market automatic mascara. Of course the green and pink mascara became iconic - marketing, marketing, marketing -Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline.

I think the most recent fashion design that’s so over before it’s even begun is Manolo Blahnik’s slingback shoes – for men! In all truth I think they’re great and would love to use them in a shoot. I just can’t see them catching on for the masses - but do we really care about the masses? These shoes are for the true fashionisto. I’m sure I’m going to see them on some handsome men in London this summer.

There are several other shoes in the collection that I think are fabulous and great for most men. A word of advice though, please get a pedicure. (BLOWW does a pedicure especially for men). It’s so disgusting to be in the tube and see so many awful looking feet and overgrown toe nails. No matter how stylish you look if you’ve neglected a basic grooming routine you can never look good!
The collection is available in London in February 2008.

Manolo Blahnik
49-51 Old Church Street
Chelsea, London, SW3 5BS
Tel: 020 7352 8622

PO-ZU (”pause” in Japanese) is the name of a UK-based ecological shoe company, whose stockist include Russell & Bromley. They’ve come up with a coconut-based shoe cream that you can eat - it’s the best shine you’ve ever tasted!