New in: gold jewellery from Accessorize

Maybe it has something to do with growing up in the early nineties, when gold hoop earrings were the height of 'chav' - but I've never really been one for gold jewellery. With the exception of a few special 'hand-me-down' pieces (which you can read about here in my everyday jewellery post) I generally always opt for silver - until recently, that is..

Recently, I've realised that it's obviously so fashionable for a reason - all these pieces I've been wearing were picked up at different times from Accessorize - who are really knocking it out the park with their new Z by Acessorize range, in particular. I love the shiny gold chains, semi-precious stones, and dainty charms - I want it all. Before you ask - this post isn't sponsored - I just really love their new jewellery!

For work, I wear a lot of plain shirts, blouses and tops - and I really wanted a few pieces to brighten up the outfits - and add a little bit of individuality to my work 'uniform'. I particularly love the plain gold chain, it goes with anything.

Also, please excuse my beautiful, but scratched coffee table, it's a well loved piece of furniture that my grandfather made - but it has seen better days unfortunately.

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everyday jewellery + rings

The other day I was thinking about the jewellery that I wear every day and the sentimental reasons behind me wearing it, and thought I'd show you a little peek at the kind of things I decorate my hands with. Generally, I'm not a superstitious person, but around the time I lost one of my favourite rings, I went through a very tough time at uni. I know these things are stupid and unrelated coincidences, but part of me holds these jewels a little tighter when I'm feeling shitty. I think it helps that most of them were either gifts from the women in my family, or bought for me by the women in my family, so it makes me feel like they've got my back, in a stupid way.

I wear on a regular basis quite a lot of jewellery, actually.. I have some pieces that belonged to my grandmother: a gold sovereign necklace and a beautiful sapphire and diamond eternity ring given to her by my grandfather. I also wear a little silver band with flowers engraved into it that I got with my mother in Florence for my 21st birthday. On the other hand, I wear a really special gold ring that was my great-aunts and given to me when she died. The other things I wear are bits and bobs I've collected over the years, like a skinny silver band found when I was at uni, or a plethora of moonstones because I've always been fascinated with them.. 

I could go on and on and on about how special these things are to me, but I think everyone has a piece or two that is special to them. And really, I shouldn't be so superstitious with these things, the memories I have connected to those people carry on even if I'm not wearing those rings, but I feel like they're little reminders of them, when things are shit or I'm really down. 

seat, dresser, trinket

If you follow me on twitter, you'll know why I've been rather absent from my blog this week - I have been doing the week-from-overtime-hell (official title). I've been getting up at 6/7AM every day this week and I am beyond exhausted now. I had an early start today and then came home  and had a little (well-deserved) nap. I have tomorrow off and then I am back in on Sunday. At least the weather has brightened up for me! It's supposed to get up into the thirties here tomorrow and I'm quite grateful, I want to lounge around in the sun, my body is craving ittt (I'll factor it up though, don't you worry!).

After work (and my nap) I popped into town and had lunch at an awesome little Italian deli/cafe nearby which I adore - it also sells all my favourite kind of fruit drinks from Italy - and then wandered around the charity shops and found an amazing 70's telephone seat going for only £10! They said they would try and save it for me for tomorrow but it's so cool, I think it will look awesome in the hallway at our uni-house where our phone is currently on the floor and we have to sit there to have a conversation! My mum said everyone used to have them in the 70's but I've never seen one. It looks a bit like this, but more solid, and the seat is a bit different. When I've bought it and got it in the house, I will take pictures for you.

But these pictures above, are, as you can probably tell, of my new dresser. I got it from Ikea (because I need cheap furniture!) and I got the mirror there too, and the blue cloth, and the little plant. I kind of threw everything together when I got home but I really liked how it looks. I've had this little gold enamel bowl for a while and I use it to store my jewellery in at night so I don't lose it, and I also have my most-reached for perfumes. Generally, I really love it and feel all ~grown up~ with a proper dresser! I really want to get a vintage glass trinket box to keep some earrings in and then I'll be completely happy with it.

charity ears

If you know me, you know I love earrings.. Generally, the bigger the better! I think because I waited until I was almost 18 to get my ears pierced, I have such an obsession with earrings, and with me they just need to be big and heavy and shiny.
Most of the earrings you can buy in the shops these days are, frankly, crap! Overpriced and made of poor quality metal, I very rarely can justify buying them when I see such amazing ones in charity shops or at carboot sales all over the country, never costing me anything over £1. The earrings you see here are all 80's-90's costume jewellery (though my friend Alex found a pair of Christian Dior earrings once! keep your eyes peeled..), but they are made of a much better material, I find. For example, I wore a pair of Topshop earrings a couple of times and they turned green and brown and the back fell off - the white enamel pair in the second photo are my ultimate favourite earrings and I've worn them countless times and they're still flawless.
These are just some of my collection - a lot of the heavier/bigger ones are clip-on's, and they can take a little getting used too because they are so heavy! The crumpled-gold ones are the heaviest, and I can generally only wear these for a couple of hours before I lose all feeling in my earlobes, haha..The black 'diamond' drop pair are a bit more evening-wear ish, but they make me feel all glamourous, which is something a scabby green pair from H&M, Topshop or Accessorize never does! 

jewels

 I've found and bought a few gems recently, and I thought I would show you because they have become regular additions to my appearance..

1. I found these earrings in a charity shop with my friend Debbie the other day. They only cost me a £1! They're enamel and metal and costume jewellery, but I find that vintage costume jewellery doesn't really make me go green? 

2. I've wanted one of these crystal bullet necklaces for such a long time, and I finally found one from an English seller on Etsy - there are some much prettier colour ones - but I like quartz and this one was called 'Clare', which swayed me somewhat..! It's from the seller Rain by Rina and I do suggest you check her out - I will say that the chains aren't great - I wore it once and it went completely green, so I changed it for some cord I had at home.

3. I think this is the final ring I will add to my collection for a bit - I now where six of them on a regular basis and it just seems a bit overkill to wear many more! I found this one in a local charity shop, and I do have a soft spot for amethyst. I think it cost me about a £1, but it's hallmarked and I think that's a bargain!

4. I don't wear many bracelets, but I spotted this for 50p in a charity shop, and I thought it was really unusual, I've not seen anything like it. It reminds me of that whole fake-Celtic kind of jewellery I used to love getting on holiday, and I really like wearing it. I'm not sure what it's made from, but it's not turning me green, so that's always good!

I love my charity shop finds, I so rarely buy high-street jewellery these days, it doesn't come close in terms of quality or price! I highly recommend scouring flea markets, car boots, charity shops and the internet for nice jewellery. 

forgive us now for what we've done

I'm feeling sorry for myself today - I had to go to the dentists yesterday and I got some nasty injections that have left my jaw all bruised so I'm sitting around the house today feeling a bit lame and eating chocolate brownies. And I've been looking at bits of jewellery that I want.. 

Hamsa necklace, Little Nell, £8

I really love the hamsa symbol for some reason, I'm not sure why. I came across Little Nell recently and I love her jewellery, but this caught my eye. I do have a keyring very similar to this though, I'm tempted to try and make it into a necklace!

Blue Quartz Pendant, Fashionology, £33.50

Ever since I came across Unearthen's crystal necklaces -  I have wanted one. However, I can't quite justify shelling out upto £200 on one their beautiful necklaces. Fashionology do these which are pretty beautiful, and as close as I can find that don't cost the earth! 

'Cross Drop' earrings, Topshop, £6.50

I'm not really sure why these are referred to as 'cross drops'.. they're ankhs? Anyway, it's another symbol that I really love, I already have an ankh charm bracelet. This is what I'm most tempted by today, as they don't cost the earth and will cheer me up..

What's caught your eye recently? 

Regular Jewels!

I've wanted to show you these things for a while.. these are my favourite rings, that I wear virtually every day.. and I think they're all beautiful, and completely precious to me.

I made a decision recently to stop wearing awful, cheap jewellery that turned my fingers green and to invest in lovely, good quality pieces that I would be able to wear for a long time, and cherish, and hopefully mean something to me. 

The oldest one is the blue oval, which I got about a year ago now? Maybe less, from a carboot sale. Although this one, and the one on my right hand, made up of triangles of shell and mother-of-pearl, didn't mean a great deal to me, they were beautiful finds, and didn't cost more than £7 put together. The blue one was £5 and is plated silver - with a stone of indeterminate nature, haha. The other was £2, and I think is also silver plated, although it bears no hallmark, which makes me think it isn't. It's some kind of silver metal, at least.

The other two on my ring finger, however, are the most meaningful. (This isn't the best picture of the rings, below, but I apologise for the icky cut on my hand - the pleasures of working with knives, eh?) 

The top one was a 21st gift, half from me, half from my mother, from when I went to Italy. It was about twenty euros, but I think it's a wonderful memento of the trip, and a bit different from like, watches and things people get when they turn twenty-one! It's got these lovely little flower-type details, which I think is beautiful, and it looks so nice next to the other one..

Which has a little story to it. My mum found it whilst cleaning out a cupboard, and remembered that my Gran had given it to her, because she didn't wear it. The ring is very similar to an eternity ring my mum wears already, so she said I should have it. I thought it was lovely piece of costume-jewellery, so I had it on straight away, thinking that it was sad it was so grey and tarnished. But then I bought a silver-cloth, and gave it a little polish and it came all off, and my dad told me that they were sapphires and diamonds! So I was so impressed and have been paranoid about it ever since!

Shortly after writing this post, my mum comes back from a funeral of her aunts, I guess my great-aunt - I met her when I was younger and she was this lovely woman, and I am a quite sad that I didn't know her better. I've kind of made a little resolution to get to know my family better. Anyway, my mum got given some of her jewellery, and she passed on one of them to me - it's absolutely gorgeous, and really unique, take a look;

It has this sort of bow/cross design in the middle and all these swirls around it, and the metal is kind of crimped, which I've never really seen before, and gives it an interesting shine in the light. Unfortunately it's a little bit big for me (it only fits securely on my thumb!) so I'm going to see if I can get it reduced at a shop or something. 

What pieces do you wear every day? Show me, I'd love to see! 

Carboot Sale Treasures

I got home from the carboot sale I went to the other day, when I realised that I never posted about the last one that I went too! I got some wonderful bits of jewelery that I've been wearing quite a lot. So I thought I would do some kind of bumper post, especially after being inspired by Zoe's post about what jewellery you can find at carboot's & in charity shops! Which is pretty fantastic. 

I can't really tell you how much these were individually, because I just got from a stall where I collected a giant handful of everything I liked, and they charged me about £2-3 for the whole lot, which you've got to admit, is fairly excellent. 

The green triangles I call my Quality Street earrings, 'cause I'm a dork. 

The rings I wear on a daily basis, and the bracelet needs a few links replacing, so when I get on that, I'll be wearing it!

Just quick shots of me wearing some of them. The white enamel earrings are my absolute favourite, I wear them so much. They look really excellent with a slightly more dressy outfit, or to dress up a t-shirt and leggings. They're really good quality, too. 

The giant 'pearl' and gold ones are clip on's, and although they make me look a bit Pat Butcher, they make me laugh. I haven't really worn them much cause they hurt a little bit, just around the house to keep me amused. 

This is what I bought on Sunday! I didn't really find as many earrings, which upset me, but hey, I can cope. I can remember what some of this cost:

The silver ring on the far left: £4. For real silver, it's not too bad! 

The silver owl brooch: £2. So gorgeous.

The colourful owl: I think about £3-4? There was an entire stall selling just owl-related stuff! It was amazing.

And the choker at the bottom cost me £2. 

The other things I just picked up because they looked cute. The other silver ring with adjustable band is a mood ring! I didn't realise at the time because my hands were so cold, so it didn't change colour, but I'm fascinated by them! Haha. The earrings were just sort of cute, and the sovereign ring, although tacky, looks pretty cool. 

I picked up the choker because it looked so similar to the bracelet I bought before!

The bracelet is on the left, the necklace on the right. Like I said, the bracelet is missing a few links, and the choker missing a clasp, but I'm gonna pick them up next time I go to Hobby Craft or somewhere, and wear them together!

This was the silver ring, it's absolutely gorgeous. It's actually too big for me, but it doesn't stop me from wearing it. I am in love with the shiny blue glass stone. Along with the white earrings, they're the best thing I've managed to find!

Also realised the best way to store my jewellery is in bowls and plates, so I picked up this little gold enamel bowl for 50p to keep my rings in!

I also picked up a cheeky Polaroid camera for a fiver, so I'm hoping it works! Need to hunt down some film on eBay. (:  I hope that was interesting! Do you guys go to charity shops or carboot sales? Let me know if you pick up any bargains. (:

Also I was thinking of having a little blog-sale, would anyone be interested?

And he shall be my T-Rex, and I shall name him..

So, my lovely little followers, this is what you call regular blogging! Quite intriguing, don't you think. Anyway, this is what I wore Christmas day (and boxing day, cheekyy). I got some lovely new bits and pieces for Christmas, so thought I might show you them.

I know I look a little bit silly, but I really like this photo! I thought I looked quite good for a change, haha. Anyway, HOW great is my lipstick? This isn't really an accurate description of the colour, so if you want a proper post on it, let me know! It's Corrupt by Illamasqua, and it's super bright pink. Not like fuschia-pink, more a paler hot pink. It's hard to describe but it's excellent!

Illamasqua Liquid Metal in Surge

I know my eyeshadow is a little bit smudgy but I'd worn this all day, whilst shopping during the sales! Haha. Here I am wearing my shiny shiny new Illamasqua Liquid Metal in Surge, which was also a lovely Christmas present from my Grandma. I wore it with an eyeshadow over the top and with a base but it did unfortunately crease. It's very liquidy, so I might have to leave the top off for a bit to let it dry out, haha.

Pure Cotton Cable Knit Jumper

This may be my new favourite jumper in existence. I picked it out, from Marks and Spencers, from the mens section, and I got it for Christmas. It's this beautiful, amazingly cozy beige cable jumper. They're not even that expensive. I know the pictures on the M&S website look very cheesy, but I like that I can pull this down long enough to wear it just over leggings, or stick a £3 H&M skirt on underneath... Lovely lovely stuff. And very useful for cold days at uni!

Also, I genuinely cannot recommend men's jumpers enough! A much much nicer fit than womens ones, which are always cropped and fitted and shit. Horrid! Haha.

(ALSO, doesn't my wall on the left of me look pretty awesome? I redid it with new photos and such not long ago!)

Galibardy T-Rex Necklace

And finally, my most excellent present of all, which I adore. My Galibardy Dinosaur necklace. It is amazing, and I've wanted it ever since I laid eye on it. I'm going to do a whole post about Galibardy but let me just say.. they have some AMAZING pieces. Everyone has commented on it, and it's just excellent. One of those quirky jewellery piecs that I just love. He definitely needs a name now. I'm thinking something like Trevor. Who knows, I will take any suggestions!

Not gonna lie, thought I look quite stylish that day. Haha, if only you could see me now, in my stretched out primark jumper and pj pants, with my hair all greasy and eating chocolate orange in bed at 5AM cause my sleeping pattern is fucked! hahah.

Anyway, I hope you don't think this is bragging or showing off or anything, just thought I'd show you where to find some wonderful things that I love already. (:

What did you guys get for Christmas?!

Clare Marie
xxx

(Under the jump is a list, of everything I used on my face, just in case you fancy such things!)

Primark Rings and Other Things...

...and how I could be in the Sound of Music.I'm joking. I've also never seen that movie all the way through. But that is beside the point.

Yesterday I went into Reading to see the loveeeeely Miss Rachel. Even WITH the decidedly awful weather, we had a nice wander around the shops, a lunch that was eaten outside, precariously, under Pret a Manger's awning, lots of gossip and laughs, and we even trekked it up to Primark, which was an effort because of the rainnnnn.
But they have redone Reading Primark! I am quite impressed. It looks 1000x better than it used to. If you've ever been to that one, it always looks a bit of a mess. So I'm quite glad that they've done it, because they don't have those silly tower things where they fold clothes on anymore, and they've sorted out the jewelery section so that actually HAVE a good one now..and that is where I picked these babies up!

These are awesome! I've generally never really bought any jewellery from Primark because I've just never found anything that I really like. Then recently I've found loads of stuff I like. I bought an awesome pair of owl-earrings the other day which I'll show you at some point, and I got the snake ring in the top right at the same time..Buttt

t I got the rabbit, the bee/bug, and the ball. They look kind of funny lying down like this, and I realised this when I was editing the pictures, so here is a Photobooth picture, to show you what they look like on..

I loveee these. They were all £2 each! That's a right bargain. And I'm a sucker for anything animal themed. However, I have learnt my lesson all too well with cheap jewelery, so when I got them home, I immeditaely painted the inside of the bands with clear nail-varnish, and this will protect the metal from tarnishing as quickly and will stop your fingers from turning green! Which is really handy. I love the one of the bug in particular even my mum was like, "Clare. These are so weird." Haha, I don't think she understands me sometimes.

I also realised the other night that I have no like.. 'traditional' nail varnishes. I have loads of blues and greens and purples and things, but very few reds or pinks or corals, so I wanted to expand on that by buying a deep, vampy red. And I got a damn perfect one!

This is Barry M's Wine Red. And it's gorgeousss. I had to do a little clean up on my index finger and it stained it a little bit, but it's a beautiful vampish red jelly. It's a little lighter than the bottle, but if you layer it up it gets darker. But I demand you all go out and get it because it's beautiful and I just had to take it off because I have work tomorrow and that makes me sad.

And it's late now and I have to go to bed now or I won't wake up in time for work and then my manager will be angry and I could lose my job. Fun stuff!

Some Great ASOS Jewellery Finds!

I had a very stressful afternoon, yesterday, and I have a bit of a chest infection or I'm getting flu or something but I have this horrible cough..! I'm not a happy bunny at the moment, to say the least. So I'm going shopping with my mum this week coming and then to London the week after because it's my birthday on the 7th June and that's my present. (: I thought I'd have a look and see what I can find online, and ended up spending hours on ASOS.com! Big mistake.
But I did find a lot of great jewellery..



Statement Cobweb Mega Necklace, £30.00
Short Layered Necklace with Perspex and Metal Tassles, £14.00
Cath Kidston Antique Brass with Turquoise Bead Detail Floral Cluster Necklace, £32.00
Short Multi-Row Necklace with Metal Tubes, £10
Chubby Owl Stud Earrings with Rhinestones, £5.00
Metal Lizard on Faceted Stone Ring, £8.00
Ruthi Orlin Silver Plated Skull Studds, £25.00
Coiled Snake Drop Earrings, £5.00
Rhinestone Encrusted Coiled Snake Stud Earrings, £5.00