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Saturday, November 21, 2015

The 4 C's | Buying a Diamond Engagement Ring on a Budget

So the past two months have been a bit of a hectic time for me, with work, planning this amazing blogging event in December and everything else life throws at me.
The best thing that's happened to me these past few months however, has got to be the fact that now... I'm ENGAGED!!!!
Okay, it wasn't a surprise, but it's still super exciting!
I'd known for two weeks that he was going to propose, as I'm a bit of a perfectionist and my soon to be hubby wanted me to pick my own ring as I'm the 'one who has to wear it for the rest of my life'. But he did have some hand in the choosing.. just wait!
So when it did, he sat me down, and said 'I want to buy you a ring' (don't worry, this isn't the proposal!). I couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. I knew he was going to eventually, I was just waiting and waiting in anticipation for the last year or so for when he felt he was ready.
We're now in our second flat together and are finally settling in with expensive furniture to replace cheap crap we bought for our first flat and generally, investing in our future life together, so what better a time to be 'ready'!
After a lovely Sunday roast cooked by moi, we went for a walk down the canal. I knew this was it!!! After about half an hour of strolling and exploring, I turned around after taking a nice picture and he was down on one knee. It was so CUTE! It happened. It was adorable. I couldn't wait to tell everyone!
I have a jeweller that I go to every time I need something fixed and I can't help but browse the ring selection in the hope that I'd wear one someday. I've been with S now for over 4 years and he's accompanied me to the jeweller on many occasions. As girls do.. I've hinted many times which ring was my favourite in the hope that he'd remember for when the day did actually come. 
Even though, deep down I knew and he knew what ring I wanted, I still wanted to spend some time looking at various options and doing some research into diamond clarity etc. We chose the weekend after he brought it up and proposed the weekend after that.
I will let you in on what I found out, before I let you in on the reason I settled on this beauty. I don't claim to be an expert (I may even be horrendously wrong on something I'm sure!) this is just what I know to be true. If you really want to know more about this sort of stuff, go to a jewellers! They'll tell you everything you need to know!
Diamonds are rated with 4 C's - Clarity, Cut, Colour and Carat. 


 Whether its a Halo, Cluster, Trilogy or Solitaire style, Pavé, Channel, Bar or Flush set, choosing a ring can be quite daunting when you first start looking.

I'll try and break it down into understandable chunks :)

The Colour scale is from White to Yellow. Both ends of the spectrum are quite rare, therefore completely colourless and pure yellow would be very expensive. If your budget is between £300 and £500, you can look between I and K and still maintain a good clarity and carat. If your budget reaches to around £1000, you could probably find one as high as G if you're lucky. There is no point however trying to aim for the best of the best in all categories.

You cannot look at one without the other but sometimes you have to make compromises as you can't have it all (unless you have BIG $$$$$).

Carat isn't always the size of the diamond, but the weight. Some rings, particularly clusters, halos and trilogies, carat is given as a collective weight as each stone is so small. Also, depending on how its cut and how its set, the carat can vary so much.

Clarity is how 'perfect' the stone is.  There are tiny imperfections in stones which can be visible to the eye. These are rated I3- SI2. From SI1 (Slightly Included) to VS1 ( Very Slightly Included) you would need one of those magnifying things to see them and then VS2 through VVS to FL (flawless) are the rarest and most expensive and would need to be looked at under at least a 10x magnification to check for any imperfections.

As my ring is a Halo, the diamonds are relatively small so that the centre stone stands out. Collectively, I believe the collective carat is between 0.75 and 1 carat with G/H colour and SI1 clarity. Set in a slim 18 karat (different type than stones) white gold band. It's gorge!

If the carat is low, you can probably get away with having a low clarity as you wouldn't be able to see it. And the higher the carat, the more noticeable the colour.

But truthfully, none of this really matters. That is what I came to realise after trawling the internet to find the 'perfect' ring that 'ticked' all the boxes. Realistically you're not going to find one that meets your high standards that actually looks and feels deep down like the ring of your dreams! 

You should choose the one that really feels right. The one that your heart calls to. 

The one I settled on was really the one I wanted all along. I think I only looked at others for peace of mind that I was choosing it for the right reasons. The decision ended up being between my ring and a simple trilogy. They were both gorgeous!

Secretly, I knew the trilogy was the checkbox choice but I would always look at it and know that. The Ruby and Diamond ring however, it meant more than mere value for money or being the clearest, colourless most perfect cut within my budget. Diamond is my birthstone (April) and Ruby is his (July) so, this ring really spoke to me and represented our relationship. In the end I left it to S to choose between them and I think he too knew deep down it was the perfect ring for me.

Plus, if I ever wanted to, the centre stone could be changed out for a Diamond. 

But I love it. it's perfect, its different and it's meaningful. And that's exactly what an engagement ring should be! 

Choose with your heart. Not your head!

Have you gotten engaged recently? What ring did you/your other half choose? Let me know in the comments!
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Monday, November 09, 2015

Big Blogger Christmas Party | #BloggersXmas 2015 | Update

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Firstly a big S/O to our Sponsors JournoLink, Onedox and Lash Perfect!
Here's the original post.
Time is ticking now and we cannot wait to meet everyone and for the day to be amazing. Without giving too much away, or even giving away who our brands will be.. here's some exciting news!
Just 26 days until the big event! We've now got over 30 brands working with us to make this event a success and I cannot tell you how much work has gone into this! 
We've got some really exciting brands coming to show you their products on the day, and some very special bloggers will have the chance to have some free treatments on the day - from lashes and brows to nails and reiki! There's plenty to do and get involved with!
There'll be lots of twitter and instagram competitions on the day, so bring your phones fully charged!
Be sure to take lots of pictures, especially at our selfie wall, complete with moustaches and other props! You'll even get to pose with one of our brands amazing accessories for a chance to win one!
Upon arrival, as a little ice breaker, you will be given a small piece of card with a Christmassy image on. During the event, you will have to try and find the brand with a matching image and find out more about them. This will hopefully give newbies the chance to build some confidence talking to brands and if you tweet a picture of yourself with the brand and the matching cards, you'll be in for a chance of winning some fabulous prizes!
Keep an eye out within the Event's Gift Guide booklet that we will be handing out at the start, as it will have the information for all the giveaways and how to enter!
We will also have some fun games of Bauble Bobbing - more prizes to be won here! and there'll even be a little wrapping station where you can bring items to be wrapped!
Tucked away, will be a nice area to sit and chat to other bloggers. Finch's has an amazing menu of food and drink if you get peckish! So sit, eat, meet and greet! You can also do a bit of blogging here if you wish!
Once you've spoken to all the brands, and had an amazing time, feel free to sit and chat over some cocktails, or start making your way home, leaving with a goody bag full of amazing products!
Tickets are still available for the event! They're just £10 (or £15 on the door) so grab yours before they're gone!
TICKETS HERE
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Friday, November 06, 2015

FARFETCH | MYSWEAR | Python meets Suede


I've wanted a pair of slip-on trainers basically... forever! These Maddox beauties are perfect. With the added customisable feature that FARFETCH offer on their SWEAR shoe range, you can create the perfect pair of shoes, suited to your tastes, style and boldness! 

There are 10 different styles of shoe for women and 10 styles for men, so not only do you have a wide choice of designs, but also a wide choice of styles of shoe!


You can be as daring and outlandish as you'd like as they offer a wide variety of colours, materials and combinations, so you can make a pair of shoes truly one of a kind!

I went for a slip on trainer, as they were very on trend this Summer/Autumn, with all sort of designs cropping up in high street stores and from high end designers too! My favourites were the black faux pony pair with a bright white sole that many stores have on sale, but I've never gotten around to purchasing any! 

Looking through the various options, I decided to go for the Python skin in black for the toe, the red suede choice for the sides, a white sole, black insole and silver elastic. This design combines my love of leathers and keeps in with the seasonal colours of black and red. SWEAR is contemporary, rebellious and imaginative. I feel my design fits all three descriptions, by mixing colours and leathers, I went for a subtly bold (if that's a thing) statement, keeping it contemporary with the silver accent of the elastic.

I really like how you're able to contrast colours and materials with the SWEAR range on FARFETCH and people can be themselves!

Teamed perfectly with a pair of dark skinny jeans, they are all about style and comfort in one. Add in an oversized jumper/coat, and you're in for a winner, just like Ashley Olsen (style QUEEN!).


What colour/material combos would you choose? Let me know in the comments!
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Tuesday, November 03, 2015

Pegasus LIVE 2015 | Beauty Showcase | Euston


We've been working with Pegasus for over a year now and this was our second beauty showcase! I absolutely loved our first one, as it was one of my first ever blogging events. You can see my post on it here.
Pegasus represent some of our absolute favourite brands including Avene, Collection, Trilogy, Bio-Oil, Rapid White, Lloyds Pharmacy, Dr. Organics and their most recent addition to the Pegasus family, Weleda.
Towards the end of the event, they held a panel to talk through the successes and challenges that the beauty industry faces. Members of the panel included THE Ultimate Beauty Blogger; Jane Cunningham of British Beauty Blogger, Catherine Forrest, Google Mobile expert, Anna-Marie Solowji, beauty journalist and co-founder of BeautyMART and Imogen Matthews, beauty industry commentator and author of the Premium Market Report. 
 The first brand that caught our eye was Collection. We were really impressed with their products at the last Pegasus event. You can see our post on the Little Mix palette here. This year, we got to try out the new Illuminating Touch foundations, and the new professional make up palettes, including eyeshadows, blushes, concealer palettes, and an all in one face palette. I can't wait to try them! For up to £5.99 you can get your hands on the #ConcealAndLightLikeAPro, #FaceTheDay, #BlushAndGlow or the #YourStyleYourMood palettes from Boots.

Pegasus' newest addition to their beauty hat of tricks, Weleda has fast become my favourite addition to my handbag. Their new almond range (especially the hand cream) are absolutely scrumptious. The new packaging is beaut and the products work so well for this winter's attack on our skin.

Trilogy is another is another brand that impressed us with their range last year. Their rosehip range of anti ageing products just looked amazing. Showcasing at this year's event was their CoQ10 range and cleaning balm. Their flannel was super soft and even removes make up from the most sensitive skin with one quick wipe. 

Ladival was a new one for us, they offer deep protection for skin, protecting you from all of the sun's rays, not just the known ones! They also offer a range for kids, and not to worry, they all have that sun lotion smell that just brings us back to holidays past even when sniffing it in winter! Oh how I could do with a nice holiday the new year!
We swear by Bio-Oil. It's the one product that does so much from one little bottle! It can help bring youth back into tired skin, reduce the appearance of scars and stretch marks and even-out uneven skin tone. Again this year, they were promoting body confidence with their #mybodyphilosophy.
Our tip was "Ignore the comments of others and be proud of what makes you different!"
Solgar was another brand we hadn't come across directly. Their all-gold stand couldn't've been more appealing.

They offer a wide range of vitamins and supplements. Their products include: Skin, Hair and Nails, Hyaluronic Acid Complex, Resveratrol, Biotin and Wild Alaskan Full Spectrum Omega. These can help with collagen, plump and smooth the skin, help with anti-ageing, healthy hair and hair growth. We are huge fans of the Dr. Organic ranges, especially the Snail Gel range. The benefits we've seen of the gel and creams is amazing! Dr. Organic's new Hemp Oil range smells so much better than you'd probably think. I cannot wait to get my hands on the lip balm and Shampoo. Avene has been a favourite of ours for quite some time, solving many skin issues we've faced over the years. They're offering an acne treatment routine rivalling that of Clinique! Super eager to try it out. I can't help but love Skincere's packaging. Its so simple, clean and looks great in photos (what more could a blogger want?!) We didn't get to try out the products, however their promise of 100% natural ingredients which were alcohol, wheat, soya, dairy, synthetic, fragrance and preservative free-ness is just so appealing.

Some more amaze brands include Rapid White, SEQ, Pure Essentials, Skin Effect and Manuka Doctor. I've been using the Pure Essentials Micellar water all month and it's so good at taking my makeup off after a long day! Rapid White toothpaste is the staple to my daily routine also. It leaves my teeth feeling super clean and super white after just one brush! 
We're really eager to see the benefits of the Manuka Doctor anti-cellulite and anti ageing range!


Lastly, is Lloyds Pharmacy. They were offering skin reports, informing you of elasticity, skin type, moisture etc. Some really interesting results helped us find suitable skin care, perfectly matched to our skin type!




The Panel was really informative and gave us a real insight into how to improve our blog, what products to invest in and what the key trends are!

We absolutely love the PegasusLIVE event this year, and cannot wait for next year! 

Did you attend PegasusLIVE? What was your favourite brand?

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