Tag Archive: HTC

May 01 2013

My Style: The Swans Travel To France

So you might have noticed that my blog was a little quiet last week, I was in France visiting family and I forgot to put an out-of-blog on, to be honest I did plan to blog while I was away but I just decided to relax and take a mini break from my laptop.

Much like the weather here is was sunny and bright while we were away, well for the most of it, so I thought it was a great chance to wear my gorgeous Tory Burch swan printed wedges. These beauties have been in my shoe collection since last year when I got them in The Outnet sale and I have been praying for the sunshine so I could wear them, and it was worth nearly making my luggage over the allowed 10kg allowance on Ryan Air!!!

As we were just pottering around the garden, checking out neighbouring villages and getting very jealous over the gorgeous châteauxs **she below my dream house/castle**, I decided to team the swans with my Hudson crop jeans, which have become my new favourite and a slouchy tee from New Look, oh and lots of cute jewellery pieces.

As well as giving my new wedges a run out I also decided to try out how to work a tuck, well I have seen numerous celebs and some of my fav style bloggers so I though I would give it ago, also I was inspired by a piece in People Style that I read on the plane over.

I went for the loose front tuck, a kind of relaxed look where you loosely tuck in the front and let the sides and back hang out. I am not sure I fully mastered it – but hey I gave it a go – and I liked it.

**Coming soon – the side tuck, the full tuck and the smart front tuck – only joking, well sort of!!!**

My Style: Swan-print wedges, Tory Burch via The Outnet // Hudson Jeans Bacara in Vancouver, Jeanography (c/o) // Red t-shirt, New Look // Panda watch, New Look // Evil eye friendship bracelet, Astley Clarke // Wisdom skinny bracelet, Astley Clarke (c/o) // Beaded bracelets, Accessorize // Silver wrap ring, New Look (c/o) // Heart ring, designed by me with Stephen Einhorn & HTC (c/o) // PDS ring, stole for the day off my boyfriend // Glasses, Retro54 //

Tags: Accessorize, Arm Candy, Arm Party, Astley Clarke, France, HTC, Hudson Jeans, My Style, New Look, OOTD, Stephen Einhorn, Tory Burch

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Apr 02 2013

Jewellery Masterclass With Stephen Einhorn And HTC

Last week I designed, chiselled, sanded, sawed and buffed my very own ring with the help of jewellery designer Stephen Einhorn in the name of the new HTC One, which FYI is incredible!!!

As always HTC have a unique ability when it comes to creating fabulous events to show off their new handsets – previously I have attended a walk around East London to snap piccies with the HTC One S, I’ve interviewed interesting people on New York’s Skyline in the name of the HTC Rhyme, I even attended a showbiz party with Cheryl Cole and Will.i.am for the launch of HTC Beats and now because the new HTC One boosts an aluminium unibody I was treated along with a small group of online peeps to a jewellery masterclass to design and create my own aluminium ring.

Presented with a bright blue wax block, an empty workbook and a pencil I sketched out what I wanted – a fluttering love heart, which was hard to draw, even harder to explain, but basically I wanted an off-centred heart that looked like it was fluttering like a butterfly – easy, right!!!

Well not quite, having the idea was great but sawing the wax to size, then carving it from square to round, and then drawing and carving the hearts was a lot harder than I thought it would be. But with the help of Stephen and Marco, one of Stephen’s assistants, I finally ended up with a ring that not only looked amazing but fitted perfectly and I can’t wait to see it made in aluminium.

What I loved other the fact it was fun getting creative and hands-on was the fact that we all went for something completely different. Abi engraved lyrics from her favourite song, Kate made the cutest thumb ring, and Emily from Styloko went for a bold statement ring. I really can’t wait to see what they all come out like.

As well as having a fun night making jewellery, visiting Stephen’s shop and studio, sipping tea from adorable bone china cups, and munching on pizza I also got to take away the new HTC One to review.

All I can say is wow, this mobile is incredible, and just from a couple hours of using I can already say that it has a better camera, quicker system, and sleeker finish. A more detailed look at the phone and review to come, but I decided to put my Olympus camera away on the night and all the piccies here were taken and edited on the new HTC One.

If you could design your own ring – what would it look like?

**Thanks to HTC, Fever PR and Stephen Einhorn for an amazing night**

Tags: HTC, HTC One, Jewellery, Ring, Stephen Einhorn

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Mar 26 2013

Technology: HTC Windows 8X Review

I have been a HTC lover for the past couple of years – starting with the slightly bulky HTC 3D, that took really cool 3D snaps that no one other than me could appreciate, then came the HTC One series where I found it hard to choose between the One X and the One S, basically the only difference I could tell was the size, and now I am testing out the HTC Windows 8X.

Whereas all the others had the Android platform in common, which I must disclaim now I adore, this cute mobile that seems to be perfectly sculptured to sit in my hand, features Microsoft’s latest software Windows 8 that I have to be honest I found a little hard to get my head around at first.

If you have Windows 8 on your laptop, are lucky enough to have one of the Microsoft Surface tablets or have had a windows-based phone before then this mobile will make so much sense, will complement your other devices perfectly and will be a dream I am sure, however, if like me you are still on an old version of Windows how this mobile functions might seem a little alien.

But trust me it is actually easy to navigate around once you have customised the ‘live tiles’ on the homescreen that represent the apps. As well as having a colourful interface that can be changed to a number of different themes, I preferred the default HTC blue, you can also change the size of the ‘live tiles’ so the more important apps can be bigger. For instance I gave my e-mail the largest tile, and my social media apps the middle one, and the others such as the Windows/HTC store, music, text messages etc they were made into little squares. Once customised this systems makes a whole lot more sense.

One of the major pitfalls for me with this mobile though is the apps, even though the store has lots to offer from games to practical apps, the ones I love as a social media hungry blogger – Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest just aren’t as good as on Android or Apple, and then there are some that aren’t even available to Windows users such as Pose and Instagram, which I am addicted to, and I find it crazy that there still isn’t a Windows app. Also sadly there isn’t Dropbox either, which connects basically all my life together from my mobile to laptop to main desktop computer, even my iPad and external hard-drive connect to it – Windows has its own SkyDrive but that would mean a full change over.

I felt bad not liking it because it doesn’t have Instagram so I did hunt down a few alternatives, the first is Eyeem, a photo-sharing app that is not only on Windows but Android and iPhone, like Instagram it has the filters, I actually like this set up and the fact that images don’t have to be just square, however out of the 1,000 Twitter people I follow only one was on the social media network and none of my Facebook pals, which means it is a lonely picture site!

Then there is Lomogram, a photo editing app that has more than 40 filters, tons of lightening effects and some cool borders. To be honest I actually like this more than Instagram with regards to the filters and you can easily share to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr – but Instagram is more than just filters.

There are some things I did love though, the to-do list app that comes pre-installed is amazing, I am a list freak and the OneNote app is so easy to use, handy, and allows you do put little check boxes next to your list so you keep track of your progress. You can also access Office programmes such as Word and Excel with ease, which I love.

The other high-points were the one-touch auto focus on the camera, handy for snapping piccies on the move, and the ultra-wide-angle front camera lens, which makes for great piccies with friends. However, the camera isn’t quite up to the standards of the HTC One X it doesn’t do the 30 shots per second burst mode or panorama feature that I like.

If you have had a Windows-based mobile before and loved it, you will find the HTC Windows 8X super, visually pleasing, and jam-packed full of technology that HTC does well. However, if you are part of the Android/iPhone gang then I am not sure whether the Windows 8X has enough to tempt you away. I really do feel this phone comes down to which system you feel comfortable using and sadly I am not ready to give up on my HTC One X, Android and Instagram!!! However, I might change my tune if I ever convert to the Windows Surface tablet!!!

**My HTC Windows 8X was given to me to review**

Tags: HTC, HTC Windows 8X, Mobile, Technology, Windows

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Nov 24 2012

My Style: The Apartment x Dulux Collective Passion

I am an avid fan of The Apartment set up by my friend Abi, London Fashion Week was revived for me with the blogger sanctuary, and now Abi has adapted the initiative to work all year round by teaming up with brands to create unique blogger events.

I have shared with you the amazing nails from The Apartment x Dulux Collective Passion event, well here are the behind-the-scene snaps and my moments in front of the camera, which showcased my outfits that translated the Dulux Collective Passion spring 2013 colours – basically a group of bloggers were asked to raid their wardrobes.

What was cool about this event, other than finding outfits that I forgot I had, which sadly weren’t in Dulux’s spring colours, was the fact that a global paint giant like Dulux would want to appeal to fashion bloggers – in such a fun way.

So with an amazing Apartment just off Old Street, the spring colours painted on different walls, a make-up artist on hand to make me presentable, pieces of jewellery to style-up my look, and my Dulux-inspired nails I was ready to shoot against the colourful backgrounds in the style of Destiny’s Child ‘Say My Name’ video – which was so much fun.

I brought along three looks, I tried to go for all block colours and dresses, not sure why but I generally don’t do one-colour looks that aren’t dresses First up was my orange Dorothy Perkins shift dress that is one of my favourite dresses in my wardrobe, which worked perfectly with Dulux’s Orange Fizz shade, and I loved the contrast with my Dulux Sapphire Spring and Rock Candy shaded nails.

For my second look I went for my Jaeger Boutique dress that was nearly spot-on for Dulux’s Sapphire Spring, one of my favourite colours from the spring trend palette. What I love about this look has to be the contrast against the Citron Sunrise wall.

It was such a fun event to be part of, and a great example of how non-fashion brands can get their products seen by a fashion audience and I loved every second of it. Plus what I also loved is that I got to hang out with my friends – don’t we all amazing!!!

My Style: Orange Dorothy Perkins dress; Black Dorothy Perkins Belt; Blue Jaeger Boutique Dress; Black Topshop Boots; and Karen Millen glasses.

[Pics: Fashionista Barbie and The Apartment]

Tags: Abi Marvel, Dorothy Perkins, Dulux, HTC, Jaeger, Karen Millen, My Style, The Apartment, Topshop

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Aug 03 2012

Dusk Until Dawn: The Poppy de Villeneuve Interview

Before my amazing Dusk Until Dawn walking tour around East London I chatted with photographer and film director Poppy de Villeneuve about her collaboration with HTC for their creative project. Basically we chatted about what inspires her photography, the amazing competition, and we bonded over our love for using our mobiles as a scrapbook.

If you aren’t familiar with Poppy let’s do a quick recap, she is the daughter of Justin de Villeneuve, the Sixties fashion photographer who discovered Twiggy, and model Jan de Villeneuve, and with a fashionable background like that it is no surprise that Poppy decided to become a photographer. Poppy has snapped and directed a number of amazing campaigns and projects including making the first Instagram music for The Vaccines as well as the incredible Ray-bans Raw Sounds, and has done a number of fashion shorts for Dazed and Confused.

How would you describe your new project with HTC ‘Dusk Until Dawn’?

The hours of dusk and dawn provide the perfect backdrop for striking photography – the HTC ‘My Life: Dusk Until Dawn’ campaign is a fantastic way to encourage people to take time out of their busy lives to truly appreciate the UK between these hours. We wanted to inspire people to capture their own personal images and to take the time to look at their surroundings in a whole different light plus they could win a trip to go to the Northern Lights, which is a pretty good prize.

What inspired you take part in the project?

What appealed to me most about this project is that inspiration comes from all different sources and I am kind of reminding people of that. It is important to think that if you are interested in something there is no reason that someone else might not be, I don’t think there are any rules and people need to be reminded of that sometimes. As it is My Life: Dusk Until Dawn, the idea is that you do the same.

If you are asking people to be inspired, can you tell me what inspires you?

Things that inspire me personally are often really quiet moments, generally things that have been left behind or not noticed, things that take a second look for you to see them, the more overlooked things. I am a big fan of a photographer called William Eggleston, the first pioneer of colour photography, which makes me not choose the obvious objects. But I also love shooting in black and white as I love taking the time out of it.

The project has been running for a few weeks, have you been impressed with the entrants so far?

I’ve been really pleased, people have done what I hoped and chosen things that aren’t expected. One of the most interesting so far was a picture of a roller coaster that was literally just in frame, it was taken out of context which creates a narrative. For me the photographs that I love the best are when I have to think about what it means, what’s going on, and you have to create a story around the details in the image.

Some photographers find it annoying that a smartphone allows anyone to be a photographer – do you enjoy using your mobile for snapping?

I do, and what’s great about it is that they are always spontaneous, I find my HTC as more of a scrap book or a sketch book of my life. When I am working I generally have a specific scenario but with my mobile it is a kind of freedom. I really like exploring and hunting and my phone allows me to snap a picture of say a chair and then find something similar in an antique shop. I also love that there are no obstacles with shooting with a mobile; I can’t always fit a camera in my bag, so being able to access a good camera on my phone is amazing.

I am a big fan of fashion editorials, do you enjoy doing them?

When I do fashion I do it in a film way and have it be more of a narrative and not so much straight fashion. I just did a project for Opening Ceremony, it is a fashion story ultimately but it is a documentary of portraits of young athletes and they are all wearing their uniforms. That’s how I like to interpret fashion, I am not interested in just the clothes, and for me I want the clothes to be part of a story.

It was seriously lovely chatting to Poppy, seriously inspirational and I loved her bright pink Nike trainers. Don’t miss out on the amazing chance to go and see the Northern Lights as this week is the last week to take part in the amazing HTC Dusk Until Dawn project and the theme is ‘My Style’ – perfect for fashionistas – so get snapping. Don’t forget to tweet to @htc_uk using the hashtag #DuskUntilDawn.

Tags: HTC, Poppy de Villeneuve

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Aug 01 2012

Dusk Until Dawn: My HTC Adventure Around East London

Last week when the sun was blazing and before I was gripped with Olympic fever I went on an incredible walking tour around East London with the lovely HTC team and renowned photographer and film-maker Poppy de Villeneuve to test out the incredible HTC One S. I have learnt with experience that anything HTC do is generally amazing, they have a unique ability to showcase their phones to perfection, last year I went with the brand to New York for an inspirational tour, which showcased the technology firms people-watching customisation skills, well my fun night searching out the wonders of East London was the perfect way to test the new HTC One mobile, which boasts one of the best cameras on the market.

I am not going to go into too much of a review of the HTC One series, that is to come in a separate post, this blog is all about the incredible pictures that I snapped, yes all the pictures and videos in this post were taken, edited and shared via the HTC One S – basically I used all the filters, which are very similar to Instagram and I used the very easy to use pre-installed photoshop editing tools.

The tour, part of the HTC Dusk Until Dawn project, was full on inspiration, tons to see, tons to snap and it all started off at the incredible Pitfield London, which I hadn’t been to before but I adored. I am probably not going to give it justice with my gushing but the only way I can easily describe it is as an eclectic emporium mixing divine crockery, mix-match furniture, vintage finds as well as a seriously tasty cafe – the cakes were insane. I didn’t have a lot of time to snap, trust me I will be going back, but I took a few piccies of the amazing straw motorbike and the cute crockery – I really could have spent all night in there!!!

From Pitfield Street we wandered to Hoxton Square to see the weather art installation and to snap the sun worshippers taking up every bit of grass, it must have been amusing seeing our little group all wielding the same mobile ready to snap the action!!!

What caught my attention the most on the walk had to be all wonderful street art, regular readers to my blog will know I love a bit of graffiti if it is done well take my post from the French town of Augouleme, and snapping the creativity from East London made me think I was in New York with the large murals on the side of buildings. This is when my smartphone really comes into its own, granted a normally camera may take a better picture, but for me street art is spontaneous and I love how mobiles allow you to capture it with ease.

I tried out most of the camera functions from the continuous shooting to the portrait settings, and everything in between from the zoom, which is made easy with the large touch screen, to the very easy to use panoramic, and the low light setting, which basically inspired the Dusk Until Dawn project – the below sunset was shot on the low light and I think it captures it perfectly.

The HTC One also captures moving imagery very well, take the flame thrower that we met on our travels, this image came from one of the videos I took – yes you can snap while you record. It was also the perfect setting to test out the slow-motion setting on the video – see below I will certainly be using that more at fashion week.

What was amazing about this tour, other than being impressed with the HTC One S, had to be discovering East London an area I am definitely not cool enough for. I love all the back alley bars where the cool kids spilling out onto the road, the love fence opposite Shoreditch Station inspired by the Paris love bridge, the views over the city, and having a behind-the-scenes tour at tailors Timothy Everest, who has dressed both David Cameron and David Beckham was a real highlight.

I am not saying that a smartphone can replace my beloved Olympus Pen, what I am saying is that you shouldn’t comprise with photo quality while on the move. I an addict when it comes to snapping on the move, I took nearly 200 pictures over the course of the evening, not all amazing but there are some really incredible snaps that I plan to get printed. What I took away from the really fun night out with HTC is that creativity needs to be shared and this phone really helps me do that.

Fancy taking part in Poppy’s HTC My Life: Dusk Until Dawn photography competition and win a chance to see the Northern Lights? Well all you need to do is simply upload a photo taken on your smartphone from your city between the hours of dusk and dawn relevant to the weekly theme to @htc_uk using the hashtag #DuskUntilDawn. Find out more about the competition here.

Want to check out more of my images from the East London tour? Head on over to my Facebook Page.

**Big thanks to HTC UK, Fever PR and Poppy de Villeneuve for an amazing night.**

Tags: East London, HTC, HTC One S, Poppy de Villeneuve

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Oct 07 2011

HTC Beats: Lady Gaga In Charle Le Mindu

Who: Lady Gaga

Where: At the HTC Sensation XL launch event at The Roundhouse in London

Wearing: A piece from Charlie Le Mindu’s ’Burka Curfew’ spring/summer 2012 collection, made from Hairdreams hair extensions that have been treated with L’Oreal Professional

Verdict: Well, what can I say, if anyone could pull off a Cousin It look then Lady Gaga sure can. This look is going to be a bit like marmite for most, you will either love it or hate it, me I think I am the love it side.

I say this mainly because I like Lady Gaga all elegant when she did her tribute to Audrey Hepburn, but come on this is the Lady Gaga that everyone loves. Someone who isn’t afraid to wear what she wants, the look has an attitude about it that I love on Gaga, and I really don’t think anyone else could give the French wig designer’s pieces justice, except maybe Cher but that is a whole different story!!!

What do you think? Love or hate?

[Pic: HTC]