Beauty. Fashion. Lifestyle.
Posts tagged Bracelet
Valentine’s Gift Ideas: 10 Under £10
1
6 years
For today’s Valentine’s Gift Ideas post I have put together a gift guide of ten Valentine’s gifts, all of which cost under £10 each. Around this time of year, the prices of romantic gifts, such as chocolate and lingerie, are often hiked up. However, as this guide shows, if you shop savvy you don’t have to spend a fortune to treat that special someone (or yourself!) to something nice. The guide features some traditional gifts, but also fashion and beauty themed items.
Hotel Chocolat Lovely Hearts Classic £6.50 / Thorntons Because I Love You Premium Collection £6.00 / ASOS Heart Friendship Bracelet £2.00 / Yankee Red Raspberry Candle £7.99 / George Entice Lingerie Set £7.00 / Floozie Red Heart Fairisle Scarf £6.60 / Tesco Rose Petals in a Jar £5.00 / LUSH Heart Throb Bubble Bar £3.65 / Models Own Colour Chrome £4.99 / LUSH The Kiss Lip Gloss £5.95
What will you be gifting to your loved one this Valentine’s Day?
Naomi x
Affordable Summer Fashion at House of Fraser
1
6 years
by Naomi in Fashion
This year I’ve been trying to add more summer basics to my wardrobe, and after browsing countless online and high street stores, House of Fraser have really come up trumps. Though House of Fraser stock a lot of premium brands, they also sell a wide range of more affordable brands, so you can add staple pieces to your wardrobe on a budget, that can be worn year in year out.
House of Fraser recently challenged me to pick some summer items to style, up to the value of £30. I thought the best way to go for this challenge would be simple and versatile – things that could be dressed up or down and paired with different things to create different looks – so I opted for this plain Jane Norman Maxi Vest Dress, and a cute little Ziba 3D Skull Bracelet.
Jane Norman Maxi Vest Dress / Ziba 3D Skull Bracelet / Primark Sandals / Alexander McQueen Cateye Sunglasses / Juno Black Patent Grab Bag
The dress is made from a light jersey fabric, so is very cool and comfortable, and the vest section is lined so you don’t have to wear a bra on hot summer days. I think the dress looks great as it is, but it also looks amazing with a sparkly cropped jacket and clutch for a glamorous evening look. This is currently discounted from £20 to £12, which is incredibly cheap for such a lovely piece.
I chose the Ziba Skull 3D Bracelet for several reasons. For one, I love skulls and covet anything with a skull on it, but this year I’ve also really started to love fine and delicate pieces of jewellery. I used to always wear big chunky items, but the beauty of bracelets like this is you can layer them together, but if it’s too hot to be wearing a thick wedge of bangles, they look elegant and lovely worn alone. This particular bracelet was £9 when I chose it, down from £12, but it’s now only £6 so is even more affordable. Also, if skulls aren’t your thing, the Ziba range has loads of other designs to choose from. I especially like their cute little owl.
In total, my House of Fraser items have a value of £32, but with the online discount they now come in at £18, which is a pretty good saving. I’ll definitely be going back to House of Fraser in the future to look for more affordable basics. Also, why not check out their current range of maxi dresses and bracelets?
Naomi x
*This Jane Norman Maxi Vest Dress and Ziba 3D Skull Bracelet were sent to me on behalf of House of Fraser, for review purposes. All opinions expressed are honest and my own.*
Heavy Spike Bracelet from Accessories Boutique
2
7 years
I was recently contacted by the lovely Julie of independent jewellery retailer Accessories Boutique, who very kindly offered me the chance to choose a piece from her online store to review. Accessories Boutique is a veritable, virtual treasure trove of individual pieces that have been specially chosen to suit all styles, and they stock everything from necklaces and bracelets, to scarves and bags. There are hundreds of beautiful pieces available, so much so that it took me a while to choose one, but I eventually settled on this stunning Heavy Spike Bracelet, which retails for £18.00.
I’ve always had a thing for studs and spikes on accessories, and used to wear a lot of them during my ‘Goth’ teen years, but unlike the cheap, tacky stuff I had back then, this bracelet is classy, eye-catching, and a bit more ‘grown up’. It consists of five rows of high-shine metal spikes, which are blunted so they won’t snag on clothes, and are securely joined at the back and strung onto robust elastic. As its name suggests, it is also quite heavy, but not to the point that it’s uncomfortable to wear. Everything about this bracelet, especially the weightiness, oozes quality, and it is incredibly well made. It fits really well too as it’s slightly curved, so has an elegant shape and sits neatly against the wrist.
This is undoubtedly a statement piece which is perfect for the current Gothic and Biker trends, and it is also very versatile. I usually wear a lot of thin bracelets stacked on top of each other, but this is so big and bold I can get away with wearing it on its own, with whatever I’m wearing that day, and it always grabs people’s attention. In fact, I love it so much that I plan on featuring it in a few up and coming outfit posts, so check back soon for those.
You can get your own Heavy Spike Bracelet, and loads of other gorgeous pieces, online at Accessories Boutique, and if you spend £20 delivery is free.
Happy shopping!
Naomi x
*This Heavy Spike Bracelet was sent to me by Accessories Boutique for review purposes. All opinions expressed are honest and my own.*
Celliana Spike and Peace Bracelet
7I was recently given the opportunity by Sarah at Celliana to choose a gorgeous piece of jewellery from their new Regal Treasure collection. Celliana are a UK-based, online jewellery design company who put a lot of thought and care into creating exclusive yet affordable pieces. Their jewellery combines contemporary high fashion and traditional crafting techniques to bring you exciting designs which fit but also transcend current fashion trends, and every single item is designed by the company’s own small team of talented designers.
I actually found it quite difficult to pick just one piece when browsing the Regal Treasue collection as there are so many stunning pieces, but in the end I settled for a simple yet versatile bracelet – their Spike and Peace Bracelet, which costs just £4.00.
When I first received the bracelet I was really impressed with the way it was presented. It came in a little black drawstring pouch with a label attached, which in turn was in a Celliana branded bag-like ‘envelope’ – a lot more luxurious and far more personal than just being thrown into a jiffy bag!
The Spike and Peace Bracelet is very well made. The black cord which forms the bracelet is very tightly braided which makes it extremely strong, so there’s no worry that the bracelet will snap, and it has an adjustable cord fastening so it will fit any wrist comfortably without the chance that it will slip off or feel too tight.
The gold, metal-look peace sign and spike beads are woven securely into place, and have a decent weight and shine to them which gives them a look of real metal! I’ve found that, with some badly made bracelets, any protruding beads have the tendency to slip around and point in different directions, which can get quite annoying. However, the spike beads in this design stay pointing in the direction they’re supposed to, which is a sign of a good quality product in my eyes!
Celliana’s Spike and Peace bracelet sits really nicely on the wrist and is perfect for this season’s trend for stackable bracelets, and luckily at £4.00 it is cheap enough to invest in a few pieces from their website for a more dramatic look! It also fits the Autumn/Winter trend for all things Gothic, what with the spikes and black and gold contrast, which looks beautifully classy.
Celliana will be launching four Autumn/Winter 2012 collections over the next few months, with Regal Treasure being the first. They have also recently released their rather feminine Elegant Rose collection, but there are still two more amazing collections to come so keep an eye out!
Naomi x
DIY Simple Cord Bead Bracelets
5
8 years
I was recently browsing the summer sales and noticed that there were a lot of fine cord beaded bracelets around. I thought they were very cute and subtle, but I couldn’t justify spending money on what was essentially just a piece of string and a single bead. So, being the thrifty girl that I am, I decided to make my own! Under my bed I have a big box of craft stuff, so today I dug out some cord and a few beads and got making. As I went along, I took some photos so I could put together this little tutorial for you all 
Each one only takes a few minutes to make so you really don’t need to set aside much time to try this out.
All you will need to make your simple cord bead bracelet is:
Leather Cord
Scissors
A Pretty Bead
And this is how you do it!
1. Cut a length of cord which is a few inches longer than the circumference of your wrist. It needs to be quite long so you can tie knots later on! Any excess can be snipped off if needs be, so try not to make it too short.
2. Thread your bead onto the cord, making sure that it’s in the centre.
3. Tie a tight knot either side of the bead to keep it in place.
4. This is probably the most fiddly bit… Tie one side of the cord around the other side of the cord to create a sliding knot. It’s difficult to explain how to tie a sliding knot so if you don’t know how to do it, there’s a simple guide here.
5. Do the same on the other side. The sliding knots will make it easy to make the bracelet tighter or looser.
And that’s it – once you’ve trimmed it down you’re finished! I made several bracelets using different glass coloured beads so I can wear them stacked together. And here they are…
What do you think? I hope you like them! I’d love to see a photo if you decide to try this out.
Happy crafting
Naomi x
Simple Glam Sparkle Bracelet
2
9 years
by Naomi in Fashion
I was recently lucky enough to win this beautiful bracelet in the wonderful @simpleglamspark‘s first Twitter giveaway. The piece is made of cream and beige pearl look beads with silver coloured accents. The bracelet adds a touch of feminine class to any outfit and I wear it a lot, more than any of my other bracelets in fact. I get a lot of compliments on it!
@simpleglamspark is a lovely, friendly lady and she is just starting out with her business, crafting cute little bracelets for all occasions at great prices! If you would like to see Simple Glam Sparkle’s jewellery and show her some support, you can visit her online shop here.
Naomi x
