One Fine Day: Feat. A Charm Bracelet by Nomination

Hello!

Life seems to be moving so fast at the moment that blogging has taken a little bit of a back seat. To give you a wee update, I start a new job in the morning! Once everything settles down, I'm hoping to get back into more regular posts - plus I have a few events coming up in the next few weeks so that's something I'm looking forward to.

Blessed with a rare free weekend, I had a lovely day with Chris yesterday. We got up late, took these obligatory photos (poor, long-suffering Chris...) and mooched into town for an afternoon of overindulgent food, drinks and record shopping. Check out my Instagram feed to see what I ate, drank and purchased!

I was recently given the opportunity to try a charm bracelet by Nomination from Argento Jewellery, which has not been off my wrist since I received it.

Truthfully, I've never really been a bracelet person, nor am I particularly a fan of typical charm bracelets (looking at you, Pandora...). However, I have so fallen in love with this one!

Stacking rings - Primark

Nomination charm bracelet - Argento*

These bracelets are quite unique in the sense that, usually (to me, anyway), charm bracelets bring to mind dangling charms or the overdone Pandora-style types. Nomination bracelets are basically a series of silver links which are stretchy, like watch straps sometimes are, and each 'link' has the potential to be a charm.

Someone pointed out to me that the idea is that when you have swapped enough links with charms to fill the bracelet, you're left with enough spare links for a whole new bracelet, which you could maybe give to someone else - I thought that was a really lovely idea.

Argento recently launched the Nomination 'Rose Gold' collection and asked me to choose three of these charms to create my bracelet. I went for quite a simple rose gold 'plate' charm, with two of the beautiful stone charms - 'Black Agate' and 'Amethyst'.

I must admit, I struggled a lot putting the bracelet together. Even after watching a ton of YouTube tutorials, I still found the whole process fiddly and pretty bloody difficult tbh. I was however pleased to discover that I must not be the only one, because they also sell this handy little tool for adding and removing charms. I'll definitely be investing in one of these for any new charms I get.

The range is huge, with all the charms set in 9ct rose gold, backed on silver stainless steel like the rest of the bracelet. It was hard to choose just three so I can't wait to collect more charms and add to my bracelet.

Shirt - Lazy Oaf

Here's a little shot of the rest of my outfit. I picked up this shirt a few weeks ago and it has fast become a favourite; Lazy Oaf is one of my top brands ever, love love love their stuff! Plus whenever I wear this shirt, I get Alice Cooper's 'Poison' in my head - and that's a pretty awesome song, right?

Rose Gold and Aqua Stones

Hello!

A jewellery-based post for you. With Mother's Day coming up, it's the perfect opportunity to give (or receive!) something special.

I was lucky enough to get a closer look at a beautiful piece of jewellery from the 'Bronzallure' collection available at Chisholm Hunter, a UK jewellers with heritage dating back to 1857 -  they've got a store in Manchester too!

This rose gold plated necklace is made from a unique bronze alloy metal, plunged into 18ct rose gold and finished a aqua-coloured chalcedony semi precious stone charm.

I'm definitely not one for dainty jewellery so I absolutely love how chunky the rolo chain is. Despite its thickness, the necklace is surprisingly light due to the alloy base metal.

My favourite feature of this necklace is the unusual fastening. While a typical necklace closes at the back, the large lobster clasp on this pendant is designed to be worn at the front. I love how you can adjust it so that the stone hangs lower on your neckline.

I had the idea that the necklace would look great fastened tighter and put on backwards so that it was almost like a choker chain from the front, but with the lovely aqua stone hanging down the back. I've paired it with a low-back crop top below but I think it would look gorgeous with a backless or cut-out back evening dress.

The Bronzallure collection is new to Chisholm Hunter for Mother's Day. The range is inspired by classic Italian design and given a modern twist with stones like topaz, quartz and amethyst.

You can view a great selection of Mother's Day gift ideas on their site, here - which includes well-known brands like Michael Kors and Thomas Sabo.

My readers can also receive 10% off site-wide by entering 'BLOG10' at the checkout!


On another note, I can't get enough of MAC's Velvet Teddy lipstick which I'm wearing in the photos above. I know it's not exactly groundbreaking news anymore and I'm not usually one to buy into celebrity makeup trends but I actually seriously adore this shade and I never would have chosen it without its huge rep! Not wanting to splash out on a MAC lip liner as well, I've paired it with a Maybelline liner I picked up which I think works really well - it's called 'Velvet Beige' from the 'Color Sensational' (cringing at having to write the American spelling) range.

I also can't wait to blog the playsuit I'm wearing in the top photos - I recently bought it from Boohoo after spotting a presenter on MTV wearing the White version and tracked it down! I'm going to Amsterdam for a few days towards the end of next week and will hopefully get some outfit shots in to share once I come back.

Are you looking forward to treating your mum (or being a treated mum) this Mother's Day?

Valentine's Jewellery at Argento

Hello!

I'm sure it hasn't slipped anyone's mind that Valentine's Day is fast-approaching (not that I go crazy with it myself or anything!). Jewellery is always a winner as a Valentine's present but I think it can be hard to find somewhere that sells a great mixture of brands at reasonable prices; other than maybe Argos - though you won't score any points for buying us Elizabeth Duke, boys!

Step forward, Argento Jewellery; a site I've recently been introduced to. As well as selling big brands like Thomas Sabo, Pandora and Links of London, they also have a great range of lesser-known designers to discover.

Argento recently sent me a blogger 'Valentine's Box' which was really sweet and has introduced me to my new favourite affordable jewellery brand, August Woods.

In my blogger box, I got a selfie stick (how did I live life without one before?), some tanning mousse by Vita Liberata and the necklace below by August Woods.

The necklace is actually probably a little too feminine for my tastes (not really one for flowery jewellery), however there are some amazing August Woods pieces on the Argento site, which is an exclusive brand. In particular, I love these Gold and Silver Rope Hoop Earrings and this amazing Ruby Red Druzy Stone Necklace, which is only £5 in their sale! The brand seems to have an abundance of lovely rose gold jewellery too, like my necklace above.

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, I've picked out my top four gift ideas for the big day. I am completely in love with the Olivia Burton watch, anyone buying?

Clockwise from top left: Olivia Burton Big Dial Gold Watch, £95 // Argento Rose Gold Amethyst Necklace, £60 // Argento Oval Amethyst Ring, £30 // August Woods Rose Gold Hearts Bangle, £12

As you can see above, Argento have their own brand which I feel is incredible value. There's loads of vintage-inspired jewellery featuring coloured stones in the range.

If you've seen anything you like in my picks as a present for someone else or just a gift for yourself, there's currently an offer online to receive a free heart bracelet when you spend over £50.

You can also get an exclusive 20% discount by using LOVE20 at the checkout!

Are you hoping to receive some jewellery this Valentine's Day? Which is your favourite piece above?