Want to see a really cool magic trick? Last night we got up close and magical with O2 Refresh

Last night, Helen and I went to by far the most magical blogger event we’ve ever been to.

Held at swanky cabaret bar Circus in Covent Garden, we got the party started with some zingy refreshing cocktails and super fresh sashimi canapes (can you see a theme emerging yet?) served from platters smouldering with dry ice.

Next, magician Oliver B took to the stage and performed some mightily impressive mind-reading tricks that had us scratching our heads for the rest of the night – he also had us in stitches when he ended the show by stripping off his black suit to reveal some seriously questionable undergarments. It has to be seen to be believed.

Later, after watching a host of mind-boggling acrobatics and burlesque dancers do their thing, we were whisked away for a very special private audience with Oliver, where he helped me to magically upgrade my phone in the blink of an eye. Check it out in this video:

Pretty good eh? The party was held to celebrate the launch of O2 Refresh, a new service launched last week that lets you upgrade – or refresh - your phone in a similarly snappy style, as often as you want, while keeping the same tariff.

Lucky little me, I got to take home my refreshed phone. It’s a Sony Xperia Z, the smartphone that Stuff magazine named as their number one smartphone (before it was knocked into second place). The great thing about this phone is that as well as a slick design and loads of whizz-bang gadgety features, it’s completely waterproof. It can be submerged for up to half an hour, which, as anyone who has ever suffered the indignity of dropping their phone in the toilet can attest, is a very good thing.

Oliver B will be out and about this Thursday delivering more magical moments around London. Visit @O2 on Twitter and Facebook to find out where you can get your phone magically refreshed.

All that Glitters: Falbala goes from Strength to Shiny Strength

You may recall a previous ‘New Label Alert’ post from yours truly a year or so ago highlighting the insane talents of Falbala.  Well, luckily for us all, Falbala has a hot new website and some even hotter new admirers.  Since launching Style & Then Some have been keen to track the progress of this incredible start-up label and are more than pleased to find, that one year on, the label is going from strength to strength.  With a cult london Burlesque following, the label managed to snare some seriously sexy dancers to star in the current Look Book (check out the cheeky snaps below!).    

With all tights, stockings, socks and legwear going in a range of, well, everything from colour to design, Falbala isn’t afraid to take on bespoke projects too.  If you are interested in something more particular or for a special occasion, just ask (I have a rather gorgeous Swarovski crystal  embellished bespoke pair!).

And what’s more, if like me you plan on not only celebrating the Queen’s Jubilee, but also the Coronation next year, get a load of these!  Fit for a Queen, wouldn’t you say?  I’m sure Kate, Camilla and co could do with a pair for her Majesty’s next birthday as well.

Sarah Howe – Private Lives at the Foundry Gallery // Strike a pose, there’s nothing to it

Style & Then Some is having a little outing on Thursday evening to a private view at the Foundry Gallery in Chelsea (if they let us in the borough looking like we do). And it’s not for just any young, talented photographer that we would make the trek – we can’t wait to see Sarah Howe’s shots of burlesque dancers posing in their own homes, after hours.

Sarah went to New York with her co-conspirator in photography Magnus Arrevad after they won a competition but couldn’t afford to go over to see their work. Instead, they made a pact to go and create something new. “It just so happened that on the night before we left we met a New Yorker in London named Joe who was heading home,” she says. “We met up the following evening at one of the burlesque shows he produced in Brooklyn.”

The exhibition which runs from 26th March to 10th May is titled Private Lives in part because Sarah wanted to capture the stage personas of the women brought back into their personal spaces. Sarah is interested in “the way people construct their identities. In burlesque this is obviously exaggerated and extended.”

And the dancers themselves? Hands up if you’re surprised that they made for interesting subjects. “I was really blown away by all the girls. They were driven, creative and strong women. Jenny (pictured) was one of the most thought provoking acts but they all held down nine to five jobs, made their own costumes and performed at night,” she says.

Private Lives is Sarah’s first solo show and after taking the exhibition to the US, she’s on the lookout for artists to collaborate with. The exhibition at the Foundry Gallery is free entry but you can buy one of the gorgeous exhibition guides, designed by graphic designer Tom Peet, with images and quotes for £3.

See more details on the Facebook page for the Private View this Thursday 22nd March.