#win Pippa Small Jewellery/ Monsoon Aquamarine Pendant

  

Pippa Small Jewellery is an ethical Jewellery brand that has won numerous awards for their ethical Jewellery and humanitarian work.  She has designed several Jewellery lines in collaboration with the Turquoise Mountain Foundation on Afghanistan and this work has expanded into Burma.  Monsoon collaborated with Pippa Small Jewellery in 2013/15 and created several collections which were more purse friendly - her work is beautifully crafted but very expensive! I missed out at the time but I regularly search Ebay and found this aquamarine Pendant.  The chain is 18ct gold plate and it has an s fastener.  The stone measures 3cm (L) and 21/2 cm(W) and is quite heavy.  I got 2 and have decided to use this piece as a competition prize.

It is a Rafflecopter competition, 

Enter here: a Rafflecopter giveaway

open internationally 

Opens 30 March 2018- closes 22 April 2018 12am (gmt)

FancyPoshGems: Amethyst Hairband

  

It's coming up to the spring/summer wedding/ summer/ end of school prom season and any one looking for an unusual or purse friendly head piece will know there aren't many to be found. I am not going to any of the above functions but did want an unusual head band to update last years (unworn) summery clothes.  I checked on Etsy and found FancyPoshGem's shop. She makes pearl and gemstone head bands for £10 - £12 plus £2.80 p&p (UK). I chose the amethyst version.  The chips are not stuck on but witted on to the head band. The ribbon is on the underside of the band making it more comfortable to wear and hiding the wire.  There are also pale blue and multi pearl versions (£12) available.  

My headband is very well made and certainly a bargain, looking at how much equivalent pieces are sold for.  It is my favourite hair accessory and I hope she makes other colours and hair clips as I would certainly buy them. 

I purchased the hair band myself and they are available here

Z for Accessorize: Rose Gold Semi Precious Stone & Chain Drop Earrings

Z for Accessorize Rose Gold Semi Precious Stone & Chain Drop Earrings are £12 (currently on sale for £9.60). They measure 1 1/2", are rose gold plated, have both a single tiny semi precious stone and cubic zirconia on each earring - just where the earring post is and have a butterfly fastening.  The chain fastens via a hoop which is hooked on to the earring post in front of the butterfly back.  They are very fiddly to both hook the chain in place and fasten the butterfly securely.  

These earrings had the potential to be my favourite earrings of all time. The rose gold and the chain makes them that little bit different to the thousands of earrings there are to choose from. They are elegant, eye catching, all the normal superlatives used to describe a great piece of jewellery, but the butterfly backings are too loose and fall off, making these earrings unwearable! I don't know if I got a faulty pair but I lost a backing the first time I put them on to try them out and even when I fasten the earrings on the tag the butterflies fall off, then the chain and finally they fall out of my ear. So a bit of a fail!

I purchased these earrings myself and the views expressed in this blog are my own.

They are available 

here  & Accessorize stores.

Z for Accessorize: Santorini Collection

The Z for Accessorize Santorini collection has very summery, warm vibes.  I have already  blogged about the pendant here and I still wear it all the time.  I have since purchased the matching bracelet and stud earrings.  These are also gold plated and have cubic zirconia stones as part of the design as well as the blue semi precious stone.

The studs are small and elegant, fitting comfortably against the ear lobe. They measure 1cm lengthways and fasten with butterfly backings. The bracelet has a built in extender and measures 19cm with the extender which is 3cm and 16cm without.  The stone measures 2x2.5cm.  I like the contrast between the gold chain aand the vibrant blue stone, which looks like the sea.  They make an eye catching and unusual combination which looks equally great against black and dark winter clothing, giving a pop of warm colour and will also go with more summery colours.  There is also a matching ring available.  

I purchased these items myself and the views expressed in this blog are my own.
Available here:
Earrings (£15)
Bracelet (£15)
Necklace (£17)
Ring (£15)

Beak & Claws: NYX Powder Puff Lippie Powder Lip Cream in Puppy Love

       

NYX have just launched their Powder Puff Lippie Powder Lip Cream line. It comes in 8 shades and retails for £8 (12ml).  Their are 8 vibrant shades in the range and the colours range from warm peach to a hot pink and true red to a cool plum. The lip powders come in squeezy tubes with a cushion applicator.  The product feels and looks very moussey on application but it dries down to a powdery soft matte finish without losing any pigmentation.

                     

The product is both easy to apply and easy to build up layers of colour in order to increase the  intensity of colour. It feels incredibly light on the lips, there is no sticky residue or tackiness.  The cushion applicator leaves a blurred or fuzzy line, it is difficult to be precise so the look I achieved was just kissed rather than Instagram perfect! The cushion applicator also makes it easy to sheer out the product so you can create an ombré effect with just one product. I found it wore off after a few hours and there was a little transfer when I had a hot drink. I didn't find the formula drying and it didn't crack on my lips.  There was a slight coconutty smell when I first applied it but the smell was slight and soon dissipated. The shade I purchased was  Puppy Love which has warm peachy tones. I thought it really brightened up my skin tone and will make a great spring time lipstick staple.


I purchased this item myself. NYX is available from Boots.com, ASOS and their own website.

New Sass & Belle Blog Props

             

A new season means new colourways, new blog props and new ways of presenting blog and Instagram photos. As I use this's blog primarily as an outlet to relive my boredom and only upload when I feel well enough to do so I restricted myself to purchasing only 2 new items to use in my Spring/Summer photos and they are both from Sass & Belle.

The cat's whiskers trinket dish is £6 and measures 9.8x10cm.  It features a little sleepy cat's face which looks adorable but not overpowering and doesn't dominate any blog photos, instead it adds cuteness to the overall photo. I use the trinket dish to display jewellery, prop up makeup and use it as part of my back drop clutter in flat lays.

The artificial succulent plant in a glass planter is £7 and measures 7.5x7cm.  The contrast of the different colours (green and different shades of brown stones) and textures (stones, plant and glass) means that it is great for using as both a flat lay prop draping jewellery artfully across it and as part of a backdrop.  

Available here:
Cat's whiskers trinket dish (£6)

Artificial succulent plant in glass (£7)

Sass & Belle Aiko Panda Kawaii Friends Night Light

The Sass & Belle Aiko Panda Kawaii Friends Night Light is £13 and it is adorable.  I purchased mine via ASOS but it is available from all Sass & Belle stockists and their own website.  The panda head measures 18.8x15x8cm and it needs 3x LR44 batteries to work (it comes with these already fitted).  It has an automatic shut off after 15 minutes which is great in case you go to sleep with it left on. The only difficulty I have with it is that as someone who has problems with their hands I find the on/off button hard to use as it is tiny! Other than that it is useful as it can keep me company at night when I keep waking up every few hours! There are lots of matching items in the panda range and they are all reasonable priced. 

I purchased the item myself and the views expressed in this blog are my own. 

Available: here