Grammy Awards 2014 – Bling is in!!

Well there is statement jewellery and then there is the Grammy’s Jewellery. Beyonce was the center of attention at the 26^th January Grammy Awards -- and it wasn't just for her epic opening performance of her new song "Drunk in Love" alongside her husband Jay-Z but for her outfit and no one could miss the diamonds. Clad in a white Michael Costello gown for most of the show she sang her heart out in true Beyonce style but it was the sparklers that everyone had her eye on during the night. Beyonce accessorized her transparent white dress with large diamond $10 Million dollar rings and earrings.

Diamond bling at it’s best. A close up photo of Beyonce’s diamond stacking rings. If you like it then put a ring on it..or five…

Cocktail rings were all the rage on the Grammys red carpet, with stars like Rita Ora and Chrissy Teigen rocking the accessory trend and nail art is hot at the moment.

Rita Ora (left) and Chrissy Teigen wore statement rings by  jewellers Lorraine Schwartz and Neil Lane to the Grammy Awards. The 50 Shades of Grey actress Ora wore a ring on each finger, mixing family heirloom pieces with items from Schwartz's collection. Chrissy Teigen ‘s wife wore one statement ring: A burgundy gemstone from  jeweller Neil Lane.

Sparkle with Gloves - Madonna hit the red carpet with her son both dressed in monochrome suits by Ralph Lauren. As always she looked elegant and a pioneer in fashion.

Katie Perry stood out from the crowd as she wore a Valentino Dress accompanied by pointed gemstone earrings and classic cocktail rings designed by the US jeweller Ivy.

Miranda Lambert – who may not be known in the UK as much, but she is a huge country singer, sported the most fantastic pair of turquoise earrings and stacking bangles.

What’s Hot in NYC - The Tiffany Collection at Metropolitan Museum

Tiffany & Co is an iconic brand, and when one hears of Tiffany you may think of the Tiffany Heart, Tiffany Diamond Ring, Breakfast at Tiffany’s & Tiffany jewellery but what is really interesting is the artist Louis Comfort Tiffany whose careers spanned from the 1870s through the 1920s. He was one of America’s most acclaimed artists, and embraced virtually every artistic and decorative medium, to produce extraordinary stained glass windows, mosaics, lighting, glass, pottery, metalwork, enamels, Tiffany jewellery and interiors.

As the son of Charles Lewis Tiffany, founder of Tiffany & Co, Tiffany began his career as a painter, who then turned his attention to decorative arts and interiors. His first significant interior design project was for his 1878 top-floor home at the Bella Apartments on 48 East 26th Street in New York City where he designed a beautiful leaded-glass window for the entrance hall. He was a pioneer in stain glass artistry and experimented with new types of glass to achieve a more varied palette with richer hues and greater density. One of his finest pieces of work was the Magnolias and Iris based on the  motif—the River of Life which depicts magnolias composed of opalescent drapery glass and it demonstrates Tiffany’s ability to paint with glass.

 

Tiffany also had a natural talent to design jewellery and was knowledgeable about jewellery trends through art periodicals, international exhibitions and, of course, his father's firm, Tiffany & Co to which he was appointed art director upon his father's death in 1902. Tiffany's jewellery garnered attention and press by the art critics of the period. His use of semiprecious gemstones with enamel and handcraftsmanship made him a leader in experimenting in jewellery designs and enamelled jewellery. This can be seen in the Tiffany necklace composed of black opals that depict grapes and the enamaling around which relate to leaves in brightly coloured greens and gold. The semiprecious gemstone Tiffany necklace was believed to be given to his nurse and later companion Sarah E Hanley and this piece of vintage jewellery is on show at the Metropolitan Museum.

 

One of our favourite pieces of Tiffany jewellery designed by Louis was the dragon fly hair combs. This season, hair accessories and in fact accessories in general are leading the way in the fashion world. However, to find a piece as well designed with such intricate detailing will not be so easy. Tiffany designed the hair ornament for Louisine Havemeyer an avid Tiffany client. It epitomises nature, flowers wild fruit and again shows his skill for enamel jewellery and semi precious gemstones – vintage jewellery at it’s finest!

 

A personal favourite, which the photo does not do it justice, is the moonstone and sparkling Montana saphire Tiffany necklace set in platinum. The necklace could be worn with the pendant or as a choker.

So if you are in New York, and you happen to have time to visit the Metropolitan Museum, for our jewellery lovers, we recommend you go and see the Tiffany Collection as there are some truly inspiring vintage jewellery pieces on display.

Written by Rosie May Reddington

Lolo and Galago’s Head Designer: Amira Hatta

Our ethos at Lolo and Galago is to create Ladies jewellery filled with inspiration from international locations and trends, ensuring every designer piece you wear seamlessly crafts elegance and luxury with cutting edge style.

 

Scouring the globe for inspiration, we also work with many international designers, and are thrilled to announce that Amira Hatta will head up design at Lolo and Galago.

 

Amira’s earlier work includes ground breaking pieces purchased by Royalty and Celebrities from Russia to the Middle East, where she worked on some of the world’s most expensive jewellery and gemstones. Having learnt her designer skills at the prestigious St Martin’s university, Amira’s extensive experience with ladies jewellery allows her to combine the elegance and luxury associated with traditional fine jewellery with statement, fashionable trends.

 

Amira’s main work at Lolo and Galago is to work with our London based team to draw inspiration from global styles and trends and to apply it to our jewellery collections. Working with our goldsmiths, she then monitors our jewellery production from concept right through to final production, allowing us to ensure the highest quality fine jewellery that can be enjoyed for years to come.

The Power of Gemstones

Super foods are great..but what we love at Lolo & Galago are our gems. Gemstones form such an integral part of our collection that we thought we would have a look at some of the gemstones which may have the right energies for you.

Amethyst – Relief for stress and insomnia. Amethyst is said to help balance your mind and relieve stress & anxiety and in doing so, it increases spiritual awareness and inner peace. Even the purple colour of amethyst is known to enhance spiritual awareness which makes this one of the most popular gemstones. Many people use the Amethyst stone in meditation .Amethyst is well known as a symbol of spirituality, sincerity. 

 



Citrine - Positivity and clears negativity. Citrine is a beautiful deep molten golden colour and it is regarded as a cleansing & healing gemstone. It is believed to bring success as it aids prosperity and good health in all important aspects of modern life. If you need good fortune then Citrine is the stone for you. Citrine  is meant to instils in us self awareness and aids in ones spiritual development. 

Diamond - Crown chakra & Master Healer. The Diamond gemstone is the strongest gemstone on the earth and it is believed to aid in the bonding in a relationship – thus it is the world’s most popular engagement ring stone. Diamond is known as the master healer as it breaks up blockages in one’s personality. Diamond is said to be the stone of Love as it inspires love, innocence, faithfulness as well as purity.
Labradorite – Healing Stone. The Labradorite stone, also known as spectrolite has metaphysical properties that flash brightly as a light in darkness  - thus so it is known as a good healing stone with mystical healing properties. It aids in will power and inner strength. Labradorite is associated with the solar plexus and it is also known to awaken inner feeling of self worth and guides with intuition. Also known as the Power Stone, labradorite awakens and protects our aura through balance. So if you need protection – labradorite is the stone for you! 

Written by: Rosie May Reddington

Nail Trends 2014

Hello everyone! It’s so exciting to be working with Lolo and Galago and to contribute to their fantastic blog. I love their designer jewellery so was really pleased when I got the opportunity to blog about nails with them. Before I start on my first ever post I’d like to introduce myself so you can get to know me a little bit better.

My name is Anona, I’m from London and I am a qualified nail technician.

As a girly girl I have always loved anything to do with nails, nail polish, nail care and any new products and trends out there, but in the past years my obsession has grown from buying nail polish and products once in a blue moon to every week! When I first started doing my own nail art I downloaded Instagram to publish my work and since then I have grown my followers into the thousands looking at and liking my photos. I classed myself as a nail artist earlier in 2013 and then got up the courage to start an NVQ Level 2 course in nail services, to earn my qualification in all things nails. And since then I have gone from simple polka dots to more intricate designs and I am here to tell you what’s hot, what options are out there for your nails and all the important  new collections from the biggest and best Nail companies, and where to buy them!

So to start us off for the New Year I thought I’d talk about nail trends predicted for this Spring, based on what models have been wearing in Fashion shows in New York, London and Milan.

White Embellished Nails 

First up we have plain white nails with crystal or studded embellishments. These are hot for this year and so simple for you or your nail technician to recreate just by adding a few of stones onto each nail using a topcoat. Here is an example of both types of embellishments.

Favourite white nail polishes:     O.P.I. ‘Alpine Snow’ £11.50

                                                                China Glaze ‘White On White’ £6.95

                                                                Essie ‘Blanc’ £7.99

Studs and Crsytals available from Swarovski and other retailers.

I used O.P.I. ‘Alpine Snow’ and Seche Vite Fast Drying Topcoat.

These glitzy styles go great with large, bold statement pieces such as Lolo and Galago’s statement Chunky collection- the gold and rose gold vermeil surfaces really work well with these designer looks!

Nude Half Moon Nails

The next nail trend for 2014 is Nude half moons, a modern twist on this vintage classic by eliminating the red nail polish from the vintage half moon manicure.  For a how to video please check out my YouTube Channel @nonaphilippa. Here is an example of two separate ways to achieve this look, a lighter nude or a darker nude base.

O.P.I. ‘Tickle Me France-y’ and ‘Alpine Snow’ used.

O.P.I. ‘Bubble Bath’ and ‘Alpine Snow’ used.

Favourite nude nail polishes:      O.P.I. ‘Tickle My France-y’ £11.50

                                                                Zoya ‘Rue’ £10.50

                                                                Essie ‘Topless and Barefoot’  £7.99

I really like the nude look here and it goes well with more classical jewellery- pair with the Siren collection or Jayce Wong’s beautiful Fine collection.

Sideways French Nails

And finally the sideways French manicure, another modern twist on a classic manicure by switching it up. This manicure shows the classic curve of a French manicure on the side of your nail showing the stripe.

O.P.I. ‘My Address Is Hollywood’ and ‘Lincoln Park After Dark’  used, £11.50 each.

You can choose many colour combinations here, but if using bolder colours like above try pairing with the Minimalist collection- these designer jewellery pieces focus on deep stone colours and are perfect for working with two-tone colours.

All of these nail art designs are really easy for any novice but if you don’t fancy doing them yourself visit your local nail technician who I’m sure will gladly recreate any of these for you.
 All of these and many more are posted on my Instagram profile so please go check me out @nonaphilippa.

Until next month subscribers!

L&G's Top Super Foods for 2014

It’s that time of the year after all the parties to get on board and start your 2014 – build up your immune system and get healthy for the year ahead. At L&G we have done our research and our favourite Top 5 Super Foods for 2014 to incorporate into your diet are:

Quinoa - This tiny, grain-like seed packs some serious nutritional prowess. With a mild, nutty flavour and a texture similar to couscous, it is one of the only grains that provides all nine essential amino acids our bodies can't produce themselves.

 

Blueberries - a personal favourite and one that's easy to put on top of your cereal or make into a juice, these superstars are filled with fibre, vitamin C, and cancer-fighting compounds... studies suggest blueberries may even improve memory – which has to be a winner.

 

Kale - is one of the top 5 super foods as it beats out all the rest in terms of nutrition. Kale  provides more anti oxidants than most other fruits and veggies – and is a great source of fibre, calcium, and iron. If you have had enough of boiled vegetables, you can actually put it into the oven and make it into a chip!

Strawberries – Believe it or not, strawberries are one of the superstars of the super food list. Just one cup of these red beauties satisfies the daily requirement for vitamin C. Not only this, studies suggest the antioxidant helps build and repair the body's tissues, boosts immunity, and fights excess free radical damage.

Ginger – is hot to trot and this slightly spicy but oh-so-enjoyable root vegetable has been used for years as a delicious flavouring and an all-natural remedy for everything from an upset tummy, unwanted inflammation to building up your immune system .. it is said as reduce baldness  ( Hang in there Jude Law!).

So wherever you are try and fit one of these super foods in to your five a day!

Rosie May Reddington

New Year – New Trends – What’s Hot in 2014

 New Year and new trends – it’s time to forget 2013 and have a look in your wardrobe and jewellery box to start working for style towards this year’s latest fashion trends.

Statement Jewellery is in as Gold Continues to be seen on all the catwalk collections.

Statement jewellery, large earrings and hair accessories are Hot this Spring. Chokers, chains and large pieces combined together within the necklaces are huge this season. Short or Long necklaces - chokers and chains are in.

Dolce & Gabana

Cuffs and Stacking Bangles

The Spring is all about warrior cuffs and stacking bangles in primary colours and pastels. Nina Richi stacked bangles with floral print dresses in her latest runway collection.

Nina Richi

Lounge and Bomber Jackets

The Sporty layering look is in and the edgier the better. This season, it about combining sport wear and lounge with  adventurous colourful prints, luxe textures and cool sporty detailing, which includes mesh and weaving.  It is a mix ‘n’ match style of girly dresses, athletic wear combined with sports lounge and bomber jackets.

Marc Jacobs, Milly, Tracy Reese

Spring 2014 Trend: Game, Set, Chic

Tennis style? Designers are dressing the part for spring with modern takes on the traditional uniform, working pleats and mesh to sophisticated effect. So get your short skirts and pleats out and work them in to your outfit.

Spring 2014 Accessories Trend: Modern Metal

Good old metal is the hardware of choice for some designers this spring, using the sleek material to add edge to classic shapes including shoes, accessories and dresses.

Jewelry Designer Camille Miceli returns to Louis Vuitton

After the departure of Marc Jacobs, last year, Louis Vuitton are keen to build up a strong team and have commissioned Camille Miceli, who designs costume jewelry and advises on certain leather goods at Christian Dior,  to join Vuitton this January to take on a similar role within Louis Vuitton.