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.

Have you still not joined Pinterest?

Guys! Have you not heard about the newest social media bandwagon upon which you’re supposed to jump? Pinterest is the latest hyped to the heavens website that aims to “connect everyone in the world through the ‘things’ they find interesting.” I was dubious at first, but now I’m really getting into it.

How does it work? You go to www.pinterest.com and request an invite. Once you’re signed up you download a little button that sits on your browser that says Pin It. Whenever you see an image on the web that you want to share you hit the button and save it to a Pinboard. So you might save a photo of Ryan Gosling looking ridiculously hot to a Pinboard called ‘My Future Husband,’ for example. You can also choose to post your Pins to Facebook or Twitter as you go along, and you can follow other Pinners and ‘repin’ their images on your boards.

If you’re a visual sort of person (and you’re reading this awesome fashion blog right now so I imagine you’ve got pretty good taste) you’ll probably love Pinterest. Like most new social media sites, it takes a bit of practice but before long it gets addictive and you can’t stop pinning. I got properly hooked last weekend after the Angry Birds photo on my nail art Pinboard got 15 repins (I’d barely got a single repin before that). And my best friend Caroline discovered that someone had pinned an old street style photo of me, which I was pretty excited about: little old me, a source of style pinspiration, who’d have thought?

Check out Style & Then Some on Pinterest and leave me a comment below with some tips on which Pinners I should be following.

Virtual Changing rooms: The future of online shopping?

No, don’t panic dear readers, Carol Smilie is not returning in some new BBC 3D decorating experience.  The ‘Virtual Changing Rooms’ I am referring to is something that seems to be popping up all over online shopping websites.  Now, I know that to most people this isn’t ‘ground breaking’ news, or worthy of Sir Trevor McDonald’s airtime, but it is somewhat of a technology trend worth monitoring. 

If you haven’t noticed already, any new high-street chain store you walk in to will be equipped with access to computers linked up to it’s slick on-line store.  That is because they know that the majority of people now scout out what they want to buy before they try, online.  Been the Westfield lately?  Notice the ipad bench in Topshop?  I read a fascinating article recently on consumer trends in Draper’s Record (The retail Bible, if you will) predicting that by approx. 2014 for young professionals more online shopping will be done on our SMARTPHONES than on computers or in-store.  Their findings are only backed up by the Government’s attempts at High Street regeneration and hiring Queen of Shops Mary Portas to spearhead their campaign.  And boy, she is going to have her work cut out for her.

Now, I am not saying that people don’t love to shop anymore, but more and more people are doing it online, and any technology which makes this an easier experience is now at the for-front of development for many major online retailers.  For internet based companies such as asos.com, boohoo.com and the like, who clearly need no bricks and mortar to see their profits soar (Boohoo’s parent company saw their turnover shoot up by 85% in 2011 to £24.5m) the only logical next step would be developing virtual changing rooms, and cutting edge tools to make your online experience better, and as realistic as physical shopping.  They may be biding their time, and only in the development stages, but it would be silly to imagine the future of online retail without virtual changing rooms. Check out Love Rococo and have a play around with their version, known as the Webcam Social Shopper, a great little tool to get to grips with Virtual changing rooms.

 The only way is up for this type of technology,  and if done well, and done right, it has the potential to revolutionise online shopping further.  So how do you feel about this?  Do you think it has the potential to seriously catch on, or is it just another gimmick?  Would you use it?  Let me know your thoughts y’all! 

Our pick of the Selfridges winter tech line-up

There’s nothing worse than a smartphone or laptop accessory that’s pink and diamante’d up and the only option other than plain old black or silver. Fashion tech accessories are now a huge market and Selfridges is stepping up its game – they sent us a preview of their winter line-up and here are our favourites.

Mulberry Simple Croc iPad Sleeve £165

The clue is in the name: Mulberry’s series of iPad and MacBook sleeves are simple, chic and much more affordable than a handbag. You might not want to get your iPad out of this pink croc version.

Nixon Nomadic headphones £80

Nixon make great, stylish over-ear headphones like the Nomadic line-up that will also provide good padding for your ears and head. Who needs earmuffs when you’ve got these?

Etre Fingerpoint Gloves £40

You might have already experienced the first-world problem of your gloves not being compatible with your touchscreen but if you haven’t already, you will soon. The answer is to splash on a pair of specially made gloves that will allow you to use your phone without getting frostbite.

LG Giles Deacon 3D Passive glasses £28

If you’re sat at home with a huge LG 3D TV, chances are you’re more into tech than being seen out and about in the latest trends. But with more and more of us having 3D film nights over at friends, you might want to think about an alternative to the horrid free (often white) ones that come in the box.