Grant from Hi5 paragliding was her tandem partner and the best at that – the one thing she realized is that your tandem partner can make or break your experience.

It was a perfect Saturday afternoon in Cape Town, and Signal Hill is where the jump was scheduled for. When it was her turn to go, Grant buckled her into a harness and before she could even think of backing out, she was bolting down the “mountain runway” and off the side of the mountain.

It was one of the best experiences, and one that she would do again tomorrow!

Jenna’s highlights as a 1^st time paraglider:

1. The feeling of floating, however while being strapped securely in a harness – it’s liberating!

2. The sensational panoramic views

3. My tandem partner Grant as his knowledge and support made me feel very secure

4. The adrenalin rush from running off the side of the mountain before taking flight

5. The landing at the end and the accomplishment that I achieved by overcoming my fears

Do you want to go paragliding?

Contact Hi5 Paragliding Cape Town on www.hi5paragliding.co.za or telephone 0828251111

If you live in Gauteng contact Blue Gravity Paragliding School on www.bluegravity.co.za or telephone 0832331063

If you live in kwaZuluNatal contact Wild Sky Paragliding on www.wildsky.co.za or telephone 0823953298

Our cover star? Our lips are sealed until Monday but she has to be the most stylish girls in the world! ‘I used to dress better when I was broke. You could even say that lack of means has influenced my actual style.’ She says.

Who could our JUNE cover girl be? Here’s a sneak peek… Can you guess who she is?

Being our style-for-less issue we’re focusing on high fashion with low price tags. ELLE fashion director Poppy Evans challenges three SA It-Girls to go to SA Fashion Week wearing a R1 000 wardrobe! We show you how to wear your winter knits, go back to black and channel the new goth girl, as well as how to wear street-inspired chic in ELLE editor Jackie Burger’s main fashion feature, THE BIG EASY.

Here’s a sneak preview at JUNE’s visual journey:

Beauty gives you 50 pocket-friendly products for under R500, our beauty editor shares her top 5 beauty buys for the month and we shine the spotlight on this season’s nails with camo, nudes and jewel tones. Don’t forget to look out for round 2 of the ELLE Beauty Awards – vote for your anti-ageing serums and creams!

Have a look at beauty’s JUNE mood board:

On our features list? We play culture vulture and tell you what’s on our radar this month with film, food and much more. ELLE reports on the state of South African men and we shine the spotlight on careers asking the question, are university degrees outdated?

Last but certainly not least, it’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for! WE WANT TO MAKE YOU A STAR! ELLE and MR PRICE want to kick-start your career as a fashion designer in our 2013 Rising Star Design Awards. Just turn to page 30 to find out more.

Now, let’s get back to our cover girl. She’s a trend-setting style icon and she only needs to be seen once with a sequined nail varnish for it to sell out almost instantly.

Can you guess who she is yet? Tell us by leaving a comment below. And go buy the JUNE issue! On shelves Monday 20th May.

A favourite autumn/winter trend, the military look is back once again and bigger than ever! This season the military trend has a jaunty new edge with studs, embellishments, leather and fur details. Team parkas with embellished skirts, leather pants, circular-framed sunglasses and buckled boots.

What’s your favourite military look? Tell us by leaving a comment below.

For the glittering opening, stars put on their red-carpet best. The lady of the hour, Carey Mulligan aka Daisy Buchanan, left the embellishments, frothy frocks and flapper trappings at home, and opted to walk the red carpet in a chic, minimalist, plunging Dior creation. Her A-list co-star, Leonardo DiCaprio, also looked dashing in a simple, perfectly tailored suit. And despite the opening ceremony being showered by rain and hit by windy weather, guests didn’t let it ruin their well-planned red-carpet looks.

Below are some of the most stylish moments from the Opening Ceremony:

Nicole Kidman in Dior couture 

Cara Delevingne in Burberry and Georgia May Jagger in Roberto Cavalli

Julianne Moore in Dior couture

Florence Welch in Miu Miu and Lana Del Rey

Solange Knowles in Stéphane Rolland

What’s your favourite look? Tell us by leaving a comment below!

Images: Because Im Famous

ELLE DECO just got back from a fabulous little road trip into Elgin, where they were invited to have a look at the new Charly’s Bakery Airstream Trailer. Old Mac Daddy owner, Jody Aufrichtig asked the cupcake queens Jacqui Biess and her daughter Alexandra from Charly’s Bakery to revamp two of Old Mac Daddy’s trailers and they ‘pounced on the opportunity,’ enthuses Jacqui, ‘after all, what is cake decorating but design-by-sugar.’

The lovely mother-daughter team collaborated with a whole bunch of very talented people, with their friend, Carin Cronje of Vanilla Concrete, at the helm as production manager. Carin also created the Captain Cupcake sculptures and the rabbit wall feature…we just loved the clever ways in which she also used vintage cake tins and whisks and other baking paraphernalia and turned them into lights and other fun decorative elements in the trailer.

There is a Mama-trailer and baby trailer, placed side by side they tell a story about the sugary world of cake. Named Love Cake?…I Do and Love Cake?…Me too!, the lakeside trailers now make up the only double unit in the Old Mac rooming options. Perfect for couples who are travelling in tandem and ideal for parents with children old enough to sleep in a separate space, the pair share a lawn and deck for added privacy away from the action of the pool and restaurant areas.

Love Cake..? I Do smashes steampunk and sugar together, which results in a bold space, full of intriguing details.

The liquorice black trimmings of recycled rubber curtains by Roche van den Berg and the pressed ceiling wallpaper by Robin Sprong.Lauren Fowler, graphic designer, illustrator and thing maker did the cross-stitch detail on blankets and cushions.

Katie Thompson from Recreate, custom-made a printers tray table which displays vintage cake collectables and piping nozzles.

In Love Cake..? Me too! One feels like you are entering into a cake box. Mak1one graffitied a signature Charly’s rainbow flowing from a birthday candle pulpit, and the the bright pink and white signature stripes of Charly’s cake boxes fly across the ceiling. The bed is home to gingerbread men and allsorts characters.

The creating of the Love Cake trailers spans two full episodes of season two Charly’s Cake Angels, a docu-reality television series produced by Cooked in Africa Films which provides an intimate view of life behind-the-scenes of Charly’s Bakery, a family owned and operated bakery nestled in the heart of Cape Town’s Fringe district.

The 16-year-old has fair Celtic skin, orange brows and lashes and a head topped with unruly orange curls. She dresses her slightly boyish figure for comfort and adventure in a loose-fitting dark blue dress complete with a high neckline and a belt slung over her body holding her bow and arrow. And, for girls everywhere, Merida is a shining example of how being brave can mean achieving what you want to.

But then the fierce and adventurous princess was inducted as the 11^th Disney Princess and suddenly everything changed. The ready-for-anything, rough-and-tumble boisterous adventurer has lost her bow and arrow in exchange for a big belt and scarf hanging off her hips and now has fuller hair and eye make-up. Her dress is hardly suitable for her expeditions as it is now low-cut at the neckline, tight, a paler blue and sparkly with elaborate gold embroidery. Her boyish figure has also undergone a few changes – mainly a much smaller waist, curvier hips and a fuller bust.

In protest of these changes made by Disney, website A Mighty Girl has started an online petition (change.org/petitions/disney-say-no-to-the-merida-makeover-keep-our-hero-brave) to get them to show Merida as she was originally portrayed. With more than 100 000 signatures already, and the number growing rapidly, we hope that the Merida in the film will be standing alongside the Disney princesses that we know – and prove that girls have the ability to be change agents and challenge gender roles regardless.

Be brave and non-conformist and go graphic with liquid eyeliner. Whether feline, winged, flicked or geometric – find a style that suits the shape of your eyes. Precision is key!

Keep an eye make-up remover and some pointed cotton buds handy to correct any slip-ups. Gel eyeliners are user friendly and our tool of choice is M.A.C Precise Eyeliner Brush 210, R200. Place the brush on the inside corner of the eyelid and literally pull the product as close as possible to the lash line and towards the outer edge.

Products we recommend:

MAC Fluidline Eye liner Gel, R190
Wink liquid eyeliner (available at Woolworths), R39.95
Lancome Hypnose Star Mascara, R335
Inglot Matte Collection AMC Eyeliner gel, R149
Smashbox Arched Eye Liner brush, R190 (available at Woolworths)
Smashbox Limitless Eye Liner R190 (available at Woolworths)

Now, Cara is following in the footsteps of veteran models like Naomi Campbell, Heidi Klum and Helena Christensen by staring in Marc Jacobs’s popular series of ‘Skin Tees’. Marc Jacobs first launched the T-shirts back in 2006 as an annual campaign to raise money for the New York University Cancer Institute at NYU Medical Center.

Each series of T-shirts features a top model posing nude to represent the dangers of UVA and UVB rays. Cara is the latest to bare it all and she is in good company.  Naomi Campbell has previously done the honours, along with Winona Ryder, Rufus Wainwright, Julianne Moore, Helena Christensen, Heidi Klum, Victoria Beckham, Bar Refaeli, Dita Von Teese and Miranda Kerr.

Paige is an international denim powerhouse, one of the top 5 brands in Bloomingdales in the US and a favourite with celebrities and fashion editors alike. Why? Because the fit is perfect, with every detail carefully calculated, from a contoured waistband to forward-sitting side seams.

In South Africa, Paige already boasts a celebrity clientele, which includes the likes of Joanne Strauss, Jeannie D, Bridget Masinga-Khati, Leanne Liebenberg, Poppy Ntshongwana and others.

Hilary Duff was spotted wearing Paige Denim’s best-selling fit, Verdugo Ultra Skinny in Twilight while running errands with her son Luca in Beverly Hills. They’re also a favourite of Gwen Stefani and Jessica Biel. The Verdugo Ultra Skinny is a mid-rise, super stretch ultra skinny.

Jennifer Garner was spotted wearing Skyline Ankle Peg in Beachwood with her husband, Ben Afleck, and their daughter, Seraphina, while shopping in Los Angeles. This mid-rise peg gets slimmer from the knee to the leg opening and is favoured by Rachel Bilson

The Duchess of Cambridge was also spotted wearing the Paige Denim Skyline Ankle Peg in Wales. Duchess Kate wore the mid-rise ankle skinny on her camping trip in Anglesey where she joined the Boy Scouts on a wilderness excursion.

Olivia Palermo was spotted wearing the Edgemont Ultra Skinny in Azure Silk, for a third time. Olivia paired the pants with a fur-trimmed jacket and motorcycle boots giving her outfit the perfect amount of edge. Available in both the Edgemont Ultra Skinny with front zip detail as well as the celebrity beloved Verdugo Ultra Skinny, these leather-like jeans are a versatile piece for every winter wardrobe.

Cara Delevingne was spotted wearing the Hoxton Ultra Skinny with side zip
in Black/White. The Vertical Stripe Collection is a tone-on-tone block statement denim designed to elongate the leg with the careful placement and precise thickness of a contrasting stripe.

Get yourself a pair. The stock is available NOW and retails between R2 500 and R3 000 – it’s worth every penny.

Visit the showroom at 29 Wisbeach Road, Sea Point, Cape Town or call Mica on 082 777 7194 or Roy on 082 777 3513 to make an appointment.

For people outside Cape Town, please email mica@curitz.com or roy@curitz.com to make alternative arrangements.

A good cake maker should be able to create almost anything your mind conjures up. Whether you want a million gold-dusted edible flowers covering your tiers or intricate, identical piping on all of your cupcakes.

Flavour combinations are endless, pick yours wisely. Make sure to ask your baker what types of cake can withstand the weight of tiers and for how long before you end up with a cake nightmare. Keep in mind where the cake will be displayed, will it be placed under hot lights where icing can melt? Think about the visual element, for example you might want a cake that reveals multi-shades of sponge when cut into slices.

Types of cake?

Sponge cakes (lemon, chocolate, vanilla, marbled etc)
Cupcake tower
Traditional fruit cake
Carrot cake
Red velvet cake
Cheese stack (actual stacks of camembert)
Cheese cake
Ice cream cake or chocolate kisses

Play with your fillings and toppings to get experimental with the taste of the cake.

Types of icing?

Buttercream
Meringue or Mouselline buttercream
Whipped cream
Fondant
Ganache

The finishing touches and decorations can be created with decorative icings such as Royal icing, marzipan and pastillage. Balls, flowers and fine details can be made with these. They can be tinted to create realistic looking elements for your wedding cake.

How to display your cake?

Tiered cake at either the entrance of the reception venue or near the dance floor, or even near the speeches podium.

You can go with a miniature cake that you and your hubby can cut together and give out matching cupcakes, huge trend at the moment. Also easier for your guests to take home!

You can have miniature cakes on each table and let that in conjunction with a stand and décor be your centerpiece – different!

Cake toppers are so much fun and don’t have to be a bore. Custom-make yours to suit you and your husband. A lot of couples try to incorporate their professions in cake toppers – for example, a pilot groom might choose to have a bride and groom in a plane! It’s a sweet and personal touch that no couple should miss out on.

One last piece of advice. Make sure to go to many, many tastings before you settle on your chosen wedding cake.

Good wedding bakeries in JHB:

Sugar and Ice – www.sugar-n-ice.co.za
Indulge – www.indulgecakes.co.za
Annicas – www.annicasdeli.co.za
Cupcake Boutique – www.cupcakeboutique.co.za

Good wedding bakeries in CPT:

Queen of Tarts  – www.queenoftarts.co.za
Florentines – www.florentines.co.za
Wade’s Cakes – www.wadescakes.co.za
Vanilla House – www.vanillahaus.co.za

Do you have any wedding cake tips? Tell us by leaving a comment below!

By Ntombi Nhlapo, Head Wedding Planner for Extravaganza, tel. 072 822 4723, email ntombi@extravaganza.co.za