Posts tagged Jewellery
Bespoke Sterling Silver Ring by Biggley
5Whilst browsing Twitter a few weeks ago, I noticed that an independent jewellers called Biggley were looking for bloggers to review some pieces from their new range. As a fan of silver jewellery, which they specialise in, I jumped at the chance of applying, and was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the few bloggers to receive a piece.
Biggley are based in Glasgow, and are made up of a small team of qualified jewellers and designers, who handcraft a variety of beautiful, bespoke jewellery. They make a wide range of pieces for women, men and children, from necklaces and bracelets, to rings and earrings, most of which is made of high quality sterling silver.
The piece I received is the D Shaped Ring from Biggley’s latest collection.
The ring is really unusual as it breaks away from the typical circular design of a ring, with a straight bar which sits across the top of the finger. The ring is crafted from sterling silver, and is set with a single cubic zirconia stone, which has a brilliant shine to it. As soon as I saw the ring I was really taken with how unique it is, and I think it’s absolutely stunning. Unsurprisingly, my mum does too, and she keeps asking me for it, so I keep having to hide it from her!
The ring also fits really nicely, and is an absolute pleasure to wear as it goes with any outfit, and due to its shape doesn’t spin round, so feels comfortable on the finger.
Biggley’s jewellery is all bespoke as every single piece is crafted by hand to a high standard, and is made to order. This doesn’t mean you have to wait a long time for your item though, as they aim to have all pieces ready to post within seven days of the order being placed. I am genuinely impressed by just how perfect this ring is. It’s flawless, and has obviously been made with care and attention to detail, by an extremely skilled and precise jeweller. I love it.
The D Shaped Ring costs £40, which for a quality piece which is made especially for you, is extremely affordable. To view Biggley’s current jewellery collections, click here. You can also follow them on Twitter and Facebook, where they will soon be launching an exciting giveaway, so keep an eye out for that!
Naomi x
*This sterling silver ring was sent to me by Biggley for review purposes. All opinions expressed are honest and my own.*
My Week on Instagram #1
2As you may know, last week I joined Instagram, and so far I’ve really been enjoying photographing my daily happenings and looking at everybody else’s pictures. So, to bring my blog and my Instagram together a little bit more, from now on I will be blogging a round-up each week of my favourite photos. I haven’t yet taken that many so it’s slim pickings this week, but without further ado, here is my first installment! The image is clickable for a closer look.
Our Halloween pumpkin, carved by me / Mog the Rat having snuggles in my dressing gown / My dad’s baby bearded dragon, Russell, who in the last week has turned a lot more yellow! / Fireworks from the Abbey Park firework display on Saturday / My Butler & Wilson skull necklace / Sunday lunch at The Hunting Lodge – Stilton, Mushroom and Broccoli pasta bake with chips and veggies / AMAZING Rich Chocolate and Peanut Stack / Sunday rainbow / Miggley the Rat sitting in my slipper boot
If you’d like to follow me on Instagram and see more of my photos, my username is bewitchery_. Please comment on this post with your usernames too as I’m looking for more accounts to follow!
Naomi x
Pixie Chains Fantasy Pink Locket
3A couple of months ago I was very kindly gifted a beautiful locket by Pixie Chains – an independent jewellery brand specialising in cheap, retro, vintage style jewellery with a unique edge. The brains behind Pixie Chains is eighteen year old Matilda Littler from Derbyshire, an A Level student with a keen interest in fashion and photography, who makes a lot of the jewellery she sells herself.
The locket I was sent is the Fantasy Pink Locket, a gorgeous oversized gold tone locket which costs just £3.99 – a small price tag for a lot of necklace that is worth every penny.
The locket itself is excellent quality. It has a good weight to it without being too heavy, so it’s comfortable to wear, and it fastens securely so you can keep your secrets safe. The details are also really pretty and feminine, with a silhouetted rabbit on a pink background, chunky gem-style front, raised patterning all over and to top it all off, a large, girly bow. There is also a quote on the front of the locket which is slightly obscured, but the bit I can see properly reads ‘I was green and I like kangaroos’. The whole design reminds me of Alice in Wonderland, an old favourite of mine.
I’m a big fan of statement pieces of jewellery, and this is definitely that. It hangs on a long chain and sits below my chest, and is so versatile it looks great with anything – whether a t-shirt and jeans or a dress and heels. Here is how I wore it today, with a pinky purple jumper and black skinnies, it made a basic outfit look bold and brilliant.
All of Matilda’s pieces really are lovely and her business is growing fast, so if you want to keep up with her progress and be the first to see her latest pieces, you can follow her on Twitter and via her blog, and order items from her Etsy store. Here are a few of my favourite bargain pieces from her store…
Beatrix Potter Collection Miniature Book Earrings – £3.99 per pair
Oreo Biscuit Cookie Necklace – £3.99
Vintage Comics Avengers Charm Bracelet – £5.99
Which Pixie Chains piece if your favourite?
Naomi x
*This Fantasy Pink Locket was sent to me by Pixie Chains for review purposes. All opinions expressed are honest and my own.*
Stella & Dot: Autism Awareness Boutique
0April is Autism Awareness Month, and to raise money for The National Autistic Society the lovely folks at Stella & Dot have set up an online Autism Awareness Boutique. Stella & Dot sell a wide range of beautiful, unusual jewellery and accessories, and their Autism Awareness Boutique features five items, the net proceeds of which will be donated to The National Autistic Society. The National Autistic Society are the UK’s leading charity for people with autism, including Asperger syndrome, and they provide information and support for those with autism, and their families.
The items featured in the boutique include Stella & Dot’s Spirit Bracelet, Tree of Life Necklace (my favourite), La Folie Necklace, Pippa Necklace and a funky ‘Bring It‘ jewellery roll. As you can see below, every single piece is absolutely gorgeous with prices ranging from £25 to £55, and at least 15% of each sale will be given to The National Autistic Society. The charity is one which is very important to me, so I urge all of you to shop for a cause and check out Stella & Dot’s Boutique!
The boutique will be open for the whole of April, so there’s plenty of time to get your hands on one (or all!) of these little gems, whilst also supporting a worthy cause.
Happy shopping!
Naomi x
Batcat Necklace from TrueCutie
5Earlier this week I received a very special delivery in the post from a fantastic independent jewellery brand called TrueCutie. TrueCutie is owned by Chatch, who has been making and selling cute, kawaii inspired jewellery and accessories since 2011, and she is extremely talented. Chatch and I had been talking on Twitter, and she offered to create a piece for me to review based on my suggestions, and what I gave her to work with was bats and cats. In no time at all, Chatch had worked her magic and made me an absolutely gorgeous Batcat hybrid necklace, and I couldn’t be happier with him!
Batcat is extremely well made, and it is obvious that Chatch puts a lot of love and care into her work. He is also very detailed, with heart melting eyes, blushing cheeks, pink ears, a quiff of hair and a curly tail, all of which add to the little guy’s cuteness. The pendant is quite large (around 1 inch high and 1.5 inches wide), and comes on a 24 inch chain, so it really makes a statement. I really like how the necklace sits too, as the angle of the bat wings keep Batcat straight, and the length of the chain means he hangs quite low.
The necklace is also really versatile. I think it looks great with bright, colourful clothing, such as the dress pictured above, but it also works well with plain outfits and helps to jazz them up a bit, adding a fun, quirky edge.
Because Chatch’s accessories are all handmade, they are all unique. She is also happy to do commissions so you really can have a one of a kind piece that is special to you, which is hard to find these days in a world of high street monotony! Every time I wear Batcat I get so many compliments, and people always ask me where I got him from because they’ve never seen anything like him before, which is what I love about wearing individual pieces. I just love him so much!
If you want some TrueCutie goodies for yourself, or as a gift for a loved one, you can view the TrueCutie Etsy shop here. Everything is so reasonably priced (ranging from £2 to around £15), and if you’re looking for a commission you can get in touch with Chatch at . You can also find TrueCutie on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, and Chatch will be holding a stall at London Comic Con in May for the first time, which is really exciting! Chatch is a lovely, friendly girl and her products and service are amazing, so please help support a very gifted maker. She’ll be making more hybrid pieces soon too, so keep an eye out for those.
Here are a few of my favourite pieces from the TrueCutie Etsy store.
Five-a-Day Fruity Hair Clip – £12
Strawberrylicious Ice Cream Cone Necklace – £8.50
Red the Crab Necklace – £7.50
Fondant Fancy Necklace – £10
Which TrueCutie piece do you like best?
Naomi x
Fashion and Beauty Christmas Haul
6Well! After weeks of preparation – shopping, cooking and decorating – Christmas Day has been and gone, and we’re all probably a few pounds heavier than we were this time last week! I hope you all had a wonderful time, celebrating in your chosen way with the people you love, and I hope Santa brought you everything you wished for. I personally had a great time! The highlight of Christmas for me is playing games and doing quizzes with my family, and they were definitely done in abundance.
Christmas isn’t just about the presents, but I got some really lovely fashion and beauty related things this year, so I thought I would share them with you today. I also got a lot of chocolate, baking equipment, geeky stuff (including a bat detector which I’ve been wanting for AGES) and books – my friends and relatives know me well!
So, here are some of my Christmas gifts. Apologies for the strange colouring in a few of the photographs… They were taken in bad lighting!
My dad bought me this absolutely beautiful sterling silver Bat Skull necklace. He mentioned that he got it from Etsy and it was handmade in New York by an obviously very talented maker. I instantly fell in love with it when I opened the box, and in my surprise I ended up dropping the box in my mug of tea, woops! I adore bats so I am going to treasure this piece.
I also love hares, so my dad gave me this large pewter moon hare pendant as well. Isn’t it stunning? I need to find a chain for this pronto so I can start wearing it.
The dinosaur at the top was from my sister, Rex from Toy Story was from my fiancé, and the owl was from my fiancé’s sister. Owls, dinosaurs and necklaces are a few of my favourite things, so I was very pleased to receive all three of these beauties.
I received three different perfumes this year, all of which are replacements for perfumes I already have. Cacharel’s Amor Amor (one of my all time favourites), Vera Wang Princess Night, and an Accessorize Gift Set.
I didn’t get much make up this year, but my cousin gave me 17’s Smoky Eye Palette and a few little 17 lip glosses. The red gloss is gorgeous! The guy at the bottom is a rather cute owl lip balm.
How amazing are these?! My fiancé’s sister gave me these Batman nail transfers. I was so excited when I opened them and I cannot wait to give them a go. Definitely expect a review of these soon.
This cat bag from my mum was one of my favourite gifts this year. It’s big and furry and very soft – it needs to stop raining now so I can use it!
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a scarf, gloves or socks, and this year I got all three. The scarf is purple with green skulls and is nice and light – ideal for spring. The socks have squirrels on them, one of my favourite animals, and the rainbow mitten gloves are SO SNUGGLY – win!
Not the best photo in the world but my mum got me a BATMAN ONESIE! Amazing, right?
A massive thank you to everyone who spoilt me this year, I am extremely grateful. Did you get anything fashion and beauty related for Christmas this year? I’d love to see your hauls too!
Naomi x
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
BooHoo £50 Blogger Challenge
2To celebrate BooHoo being included in Fashion Vouchers‘ ‘Top 10 Fashion Money Saving Websites’ list, Fashion Vouchers have launched a new blogger challenge! The challenge is to put together an outfit costing £50 or less using clothes, shoes, accessories or anything else from BooHoo’s website. There will be four winners, and each will win a £50 BooHoo fashion voucher. I love a good bargain so this challenge is right up my street! I’ve entered a couple of other challenges like this before and I always enjoy window shopping lovely items to put together my ideal outfit on a budget, so I thought I would give this one a go too, and here is my entry…
(Click the image for a closer look)
Shop this look:
– Annie Oversized Vintage Jumper in ‘Black’ (£20) – Davina Skull Print Leggings in ‘Berry’ (£10) –
– Quinn Black Suedette Platform Courts (£12) – Diamante Skull Chain (£8) –
I have been browsing the high street a lot lately for Autumn trends, and have spotted a lot of big slouchy jumpers and grunge style pieces on the shelves, with a mix of Gothic style prints. Lucky for me, I already incorporate these styles into my look anyway, so it seemed only natural to take this route when choosing my outfit for the challenge.
Too often people go for bright, patterned tops and plain bottoms, so I thought I would switch the conventions around a bit. I knew that I wanted to team a simple black jumper with bold bottoms, and the Annie Oversized Vintage Jumper seemed like a good starting point. I chose the red Skull Print Leggings to go with it as they offset the bagginess of the jumper nicely by being skin-tight, and the red adds a gorgeous splash of Autumn colour. The skull print is what initially drew me to this piece as it happens to be one of my favourite clothing prints, and it gives the outfit a hint of Gothic.
I added black Platform Courts to the outfit to show that grunge/Goth can be sexy too, and that the image can be carried through to the evening with some killer, confidence boosting heels. My final addition was the Diamante Skull Chain. I adore big statement pieces of jewellery, and own a few sparkly skull necklaces myself, so when I saw this necklace I just had to include it… It matches the leggings perfectly, and would really stand out on the simple jumper, giving the outfit a girly edge.
My outfit totals exactly £50, which I am very pleased with. This is the kind of thing I will be wearing myself throughout Autumn and Winter, and if I win I may even use the voucher to buy this outfit!
I was contacted about this challenge by email yesterday, but anybody can enter. If you fancy trying your hand at styling on a budget, here are the rules for entering:
How to Enter
1. Head over to BooHoo.com and start piecing together an outfit, making sure you do not exceed your £50 budget (no student discounts or other voucher codes can be used to help you stretch this budget I’m afraid).
2. Write a post about your outfit and this competition on your blog, which includes a link back to our home page www.fashionvouchers.com.
3. Email a link to your entry to .
Rules
1. The prize will consist of 1 x £50 BooHoo.com voucher, and there will be four winners.
2. No cash alternative is available for the prize.
3. The competition starts on September 1st.
4. Closing date for entries is September 30th.
5. Winner will be announced by October 10th on our twitter page @fashvouchers.
6. Only one entry per person.
I hope you like my outfit, and if you decide to enter yourself please comment below with the link to your entry so I can check out your fashion finds… and good luck!
Naomi x