FASHION - June's Celeb Style Crushes

Marion Cotillard is so stunning and in this shot from last month's Cannes Film Festival shows how sexy she is too. Loving the Jimmy Choos too. 

Photo credit:  Dimitrios Kambouris/Wire Image

Solange Knowles proves she's the more stylish sister with this outfit, and in fact with most of her fashion choices. She almost always looks fabulous. Solange was DJ for a Perrier-Jouët champagne event in New York, and it's said she went for a mix of 90’s hip hop and top 40 tracks, even singing along to Janet Jackson’s “That’s The Way Love Goes” at one point. A girl who likes to get her groove on - I can relate!

Flying the flag for flawless red-carpet style is Jessica Chastain who wore a gold embroidered Giorgio Armani dress in silk ivory featuring drape bodice and plissé skirt. It's very ethereal and goddess-like. Love the old Hollywood hair, make-up and jewellery too. 

I'm not sure about the simplicity of the dress that Cat Deeley is wearing here. What I do love however, is the matching lip and dress colour, and also the flash of leopard print with it. Plus, have you heard that she is officially dating long-time friend Patrick Kielty. I reckon they make a great couple. 

Mena Suvari is working it here in an amazing black tasseled dress and dramatic, pointed shoes. This look is definitely daring... there's a lot of skin on show. But she looks amazing. Both Mena and Cat Deeley above were attending events for luxury Swiss watch brand Girard-Perregaux in Beverly Hills. 

COMPETITION - Win £120 Worth of Sarenza Shoes

Fancy winning yourself £120 to spend on some stylish summer shoes? I've given my top picks to the peeps over at Sarenza to help celebrate their Crazy Days Sale, and you could buy these, or other shoes up to the value of £120, if you are lucky enough to win. Lots of other lovely bloggers have also picked out their summer must-haves for the Facebook feature too. Head on over to Sarenza's Facebook page to enter and check out all the bloggers' favourites.

I tried to opt for something for work, weekend and evening, so as a sneak peek, here are the shoes I went for...

Eleganta by Spot On

Padmos by I Love Shoes

Babette by Georgia Rose

INSPIRATION - A Summer of Music

Last weekend I was lucky enough to get a ticket to Lovebox with the team promoting the new Puma fragrances (you can find out more about the scents on The Style PA for Men). It was the Friday of the Lovebox Weekender and headlining were Hot Chip who I've been keen on seeing for ages. They were great, but city festivals just aren't loud enough sometimes. They've also got a new album out which I've been listening to on Spotify the past couple of weeks. 


The other highlight was a young DJ called Madeon who has made it onto a lot of festival line-ups this year. He's French and started DJing when he was just 11 years old - definitely worth catching if you get the chance. I met lots of fab bloggers and press peeps and had the pleasure of hanging out with the lovely Zozo of The London Lipgloss for most of the day (seen below playing mini golf in the VIP area). She was also lucky enough to win a pair of Hunter wellies in a competition they were running on the day too.

At the end of last month I saw The Noisettes perform at an event for Windows Phone. The Live events they run are always great fun and this was probably the 6th time I's seen Shingai and the band perform live. Her voice is so amazing and she's great at really capturing everyone's attention and getting people involved in the performance. I can't believe they still haven't released a new album yet... come on guys!  


Shingai wore an eighties-style jumpsuit along with Louboutin wedges... although she didn't keep them on long. No way you can dance and get crazily energetic within the confines of heels.

I've been using the phone for a while on-and-off and I love the calendar and contacts management on there. It makes me feel really organised. The X-Box gaming section is pretty cool too, plus the sleek design is a bonus. I just can't completely give up my Android... we're too close!

The event was held at one of my favourite venues - Proud Galleries in Camden - which is also just a short walk from my flat!

Tomorrow I'm off to Radio 1's Hackney Weekend, headlined by Rihanna. Watch this space for updates on that. I love festival season!

BEAUTY - QVC Host 'Facewalk' of Make-up Looks

The UK beauty market is reportedly now worth £3.4billion a year, and to highlight the massive impact that make-up can have, QVC hosted a beauty catwalk show which they called the 'Facewalk'. The runway event showcased new beauty looks where the room was dark and light was shone just on the faces of the models. Specially designed looks included ‘nu wave’, ‘flower’, ‘geisha’, ‘sky’ and ‘space’. The looks were created using products and brands available through QVC including Jemma Kidd, Bobbi Brown and bareMinerals. 


QVC’s event took place at London’s Hospital Club and was curated by leading make-up artist Isamaya Ffrench. What do you reckon, could this idea catch on? Which is your favourite look?

SHOPPING - On My June Wishlist

There's always so much temptation being a fashion blogger. For every item I buy, there's another being thrust in front of me to become the next coveted piece. Here are a few of my favourites from the past month or so...

1. The Marni Doctor Bag

With all eyes on the Queen for the past couple of months, the ladylike handbag has definitely been pushed to the forefront. The best version I've seen from high-end designers for the coming season is the Marni Doctor Bag, available in a mix of finishes, colours and fabrics including suede and plaid. I'd take any of them!

2. Jil Sander Letterman Plaid Scarf

Part of the pre-fall collection, this scarf caught my eye mainly because it's got the letter 'J' on it and my name's Jenny - cute right? It's 100% wool and costs £182, alas perhaps a bit too much of an investment for me.

3. Flamingo Bird Dress

Sometimes we stop having fun with our clothes, and this dress is definitely a reminder to enjoy fashion. It's actually well within my budget too, available from Jennifer Lilly for just £25. The only problem is that high neckline which isn't particularly flattering for the fuller-busted among us. 

4. Lucas Hugh Performance Wear

From the AW12 collection available from September, this is exactly what I'd love to be able to wear to the gym. Shame I would need to hit the gym for three years before I had the body to carry it off. The print features 3D images of the New York's nocturnal skyline, by renowned aerial photographer Jason Hawkes.

5. Atsuko Kudo collar

Couture latex isn't exactly what I thought I would be putting on my wishlist, but the collars available   at Atsuko Kudo are so hot! Usually seen on celebrities and editorial features, this brand is definitely filling the Lady gaga niche, but what they do they do incredibly well. And in moderation, such as with accessories like the collar above, I definitely think it works in a more mainstream setting.  

What's on your wishlist this month?

CAMPAIGN - Giorgio Armani AW12

Giorgio Armani's AW12 campaign shots are in and they show a classic elegance of decades-gone-by. A Coco Chanel style masculinity in women's tailoring and shots which wouldn't look out of place in a vintage Vogue cover. I actually think the black and white images are the most striking - what do you think? 

The campaign was photographed by Mert Alas & Marcus Piggot and will appear in fashion and lifestyle magazines from this July.

 

NEWS - Inspiration From my Inbox

TV presenter and model Zara Martin has designed an exclusive jewellery collection for Made, available at ASOS. The 15-piece range is inspired by Zara’s love of fashion and music, with a rock ‘n’ roll look feel representative of Zara’s own style. Watch the video above to get a feel for the collection.

1 June saw the launch of a new Burberry beauty campaign featuring British models, Cara Delevingne, Edie Campbell and Jourdan Dunn and shot by Mario Testino under the direction of Christopher Bailey. The simplicity of the models' faces against the iconic beige macs is really striking. What do you think?

I just had to share this image from shoe brand Bionda Castana because it's just so fun. It was shot by Aaron Tilley and styled by Michelle Hillier. The shoe style pictured is 'Molly', and they would look fabulous with a classic LBD don't you think?

Poppy Delevingne and Jade Parfitt announced the Triumph Inspiration Award 2012 UK winner at the end of last month. Pictured above is the creation of student designer Sian Whitefoot from DeMontfort who was named the winner of the Award for the UK with her design ‘Ecliptic Renewal’. The judges were Poppy Delevingne, leading German design duo Felder Felder and the British Fashion Council’s Caroline Rush and the global winner of the competition wins 15,000 Euros to kick start their designing career. I was lucky enough to attend the global final a couple of years ago when it was held in London and it really is a prestigious prize, so well done to Sian for winning the first stage.

SHOES - 10 Facts About Havaianas

I'm told that Friday was national flip flop day (there's a day for everything now right?!) and if there's one brand that epitomises what flip flops are all about it's Brazilian Havaianas. This week also marked the brand's 50th birthday and I recently got an email with some very revealing facts about just how hugely popular these shoes are, it's quite remarkable. 

Here are 10 of the top facts below...

• 94% of Brazilians own, or have in the past owned, a pair of Havaianas
• In the 1980s, the Federal Government considered Havaianas a basic-goods basket item
• The company has 18,255 employees
• The main factory in Campina Grande, North East Brazil, manufactures over 206 million pairs per year
• 190 million pairs of flip-flops were sold in 2011 - that's 6 a second
• If a consumer wants to buy all Havaianas flip-flop models, print and colour combinations, available he/she would need to buy 454 pairs per year.
• Since its birth, over 4 billion pairs of Havaianas have already been sold. If lined up all together, they would go around the Earth about 40 times.
• Each Portuguese owns 4 pairs of Havaianas on average.
• Each Aussie owns 5 pairs of Havaianas on average.
• Each Brazilian owns 25 pairs of Havaianas on average.

I actually don't own any myself, but one of my best friends swears by them - she already has four pairs, the same as the average person from Portugal. If you haven't yet sampled them either, here are some of my favourite Havaianas styles available over on Spartoo...

 Top in Orange for a splash of bright, citrus colour

Top Mix for a '90s-style neon edge

Spirit for effortless and simple styling

Post written in conjunction with Spartoo shoes.

COMPETITION - Are You Martini's Next Star?

Martini has launched a search to find a new female face of the brand and along for the ride are Christian Louboutin as the international judge and Josephine De La Baume who leads the panel in the UK.

Previous Martini stars include Charlize Theron, Nicollette Sheridan and Monica Bellucci and, the winner of this contest will receive €150,000 (approximately £120,000), 12 pairs of Christian Louboutin shoes and a year’s worth of designer outfits. Can I win please?!

The ideal candidate is said to need the qualities of the Martini Royale cocktail using 50% Martini Bianco and 50% Martini Prosecco - 'the right amount of style and, importantly, sparkle' The slogan the winner will be embodying is ‘LUCK IS AN ATTITUDE’.

Any woman over 25 can enter the Martini global casting at www.facebook.com/MARTINI, by uploading a short video describing why they should be the next Martini star. The closing date is 9 July 2012. You'll be up against global competition though, across 25 countries from Brazil to Spain, South Africa to Italy. Christian Louboutin, alongside a high profile judging panel, will choose the successful winning candidate in October 2012.

It's time to start thinking of a great idea to make your video stand out enough to win!

PHOTOS - My Life in Instagram Pics, May 2012

Here's my life in pictures posted via Instagram for the month of May. I'm gonna try and do this every month, it's a fun way to get a feel for what went on. I have concluded that my life revolves too much around food, drink and shoes... but, that's not likely to change any time soon. Leave a comment if you've spotted a place, event or something else that you recognise.