Harliquinn Designs

I have a very good friend who “creates bling”.  And I love it!

Dara and I grew up together and now she designs her own line of jewelry called Harliquinn Designs.  Each piece is handmade by Dara, who grew up watching her mom make jewelry for fun before realizing how much she liked designing it herself.  Now she’s turned it into an incredible up and coming business.  I don’t just say this because she is my friend, but I love her designs.  Not only are the pieces beautiful but I don’t really see them around anywhere else which makes them unique.

She started with small rings, earrings, bracelets, necklaces and pendants. Now she’s expanded to include rings I like to describe as chunkier with more bling added.

Dara makes dog tags and charms to add to collars as well so even your favorite pet can have some bling as well.

While I would wear just about any piece of jewelry Dara makes, it’s definitely the rings that are my favorite.  They are silver plated ADJUSTABLE rings.  That’s right, I said adjustable.  Gain a little weight, lose a little weight – you will still have the perfect fit.  She puts Swarovski fancy pointed back stones and chatons in a Crystal clay.  After the stones are placed, a mica powder is painted onto the pieces for more shine and glitz.

The ring I was given has black clay with a silver/metallic mica powder which I find seems to make the ring look different according to what I wear.  The ring has blackish colored crystals in gray, crystal, green and yellow stones.

The day I picked it out I was wearing blues and the ring actually looked blue.  Another day I put it on with a mostly black outfit and it made the ring look so much darker – more black and gray.

Dara can be reached directly on the Harliquinn facebook page and the Harliquinn Designs website.  If you live in Rhode Island,

items are also available locally at A Bee’s Buzz.  Prices start at just $10 and go up from there.  All of her pieces are so different and unique, the jewelry is really worth a look!

Sheyna Jewelry

OK ladies (and spouses and significant others and so on), listen up because today we are talking about Sheyna jewelry.

Sheyna has been featured on Oprah’s blog (Oprah!) and even during a segment of Bobbie’s Style Buzz on NBC’s TODAY Show. Sheyna approached Buy-Her and asked if we would also review a pair of earrings, to which we replied of course!

Shortly thereafter?  A cute little blue box arrived in the mail.

I opened the box as my boys stood around excited to see what arrived and pulled out these pretty earrings from the pouch.

Aren’t they cute?  I have to say while I do not usually wear gold, I was still excited to put these on.  Blue is one of my favorite colors.  Adorable!  I wore them on a few occasions and while sometimes I seem to have a sensitivity to certain earrings, these did not bother my ears at all.  Which is always a plus in my book.

I am totally in love with the concept of Sheyna jewelry.  From the website, you can design your own necklaces, bracelets and earrings from a collection of about 10,000 items (from over 4,000 designers)! There is a spot on the website where you can create your own looks.  I had such a blast playing with it.

From the drop down box you plug in what you want – like a bracelet for example.  Not only do you choose what you want the band to look like, but then you can customize it with various charms, beads and more.  At the top of the design you are making, a running tally of the price is kept so you can make sure that what you are creating is in line with what you want to spend.  No surprises at the end.

Each item is handmade around the world and shipped - for free - about 28 days after the order is placed.  Free shipping!  Christmas is coming sooner than you think my friends!  Sheyna has so many stones, beads and charms to choose from.  The best part? You can go as big – or as little – as you want with prices ranging from $5 – $5,000.  Just thinking about being able to design a piece of jewelry for as little as $5 totally makes my day.  Affordable for everyone!

Did I mention they have a 30 day money back guarantee?  If you are not satisfied with what you receive, it can be returned for a full refund!  Oh, and they even have a deal of the day featured – something that has already been created.  Like what you see?  Snap it up quick!  If you will excuse me I’m going to hop back onto the website and get creative with another design.  The possibilities are practically endless!

Violet Eyes by Sorrelli Jewelry

I love jewelry.

Specifically, I love costume jewelry (or “fashion jewelry”) because it’s a relatively inexpensive way to add versatility to your wardrobe.  The same basic black dress can be the start of dozens of different looks, depending on what jewelry you add to it.

But I struggle with necklaces.  I especially struggle with necklaces for the rare occasion that I’m “going out”.  You know what I mean.  Not just leaving the house – which I admittedly might not do for a few days in a row – but hitting the town.  Walking into a bar.  Ordering cocktails.  Putting on your pretty shoes.  Going out.

I’ve had a hard time finding jewelry that was the appropriate level of bling for my going out nights.  Everything I own is either too fancy – jewelry I received as a gift for being in a wedding that is a little too sparkly for the jeans I’m probably wearing out – or not quite nice enough for the momentous hiring of a babysitter.

A free product sample sent to me before BlogHer changed all that.

Last year, Sorrelli Jewelry mailed me a necklace and earring set from their peachy keen collection to wear sometime at BlogHer.  I liked the colors – which were just as versatile as I’d hoped they’d be – but the necklace was super long.  Too long to work with the majority of my V-neck wardrobe.  I wear the earrings often, but the necklace had not solved my Lack of Going Out Bling dilemma.

I was contacted again this year before BlogHer and asked if I’d be willing to wear more of their jewelry.  I agreed, having drooled over everyone else’s samples the year before, and put in a tiny request for a Not Awkwardly Long Necklace.

They mailed me the answer to my bling problem: the violet eyes collection.

I was actually shocked to receive these pieces because I had fallen in love with the Violet Eyes collection on the Sorrelli Jewelry website.  I assumed that whatever I was getting would be stuff that no one else wanted – and certainly not my absolute favorite pieces.  But fate and Lilly at Sorrelli smiled upon me, and I ended up with these beauties:

The Violet Eyes collection, as you would suspect, utilizes various shades of purple in an antique silver setting. From the website:

“Swarovski Crystals: Vitrial Light, Crystal with Aurora Borealis, Light Amethyst, Cyclamen Opal, Tanzanite, Violet, Light Amethyst with Aurora Borealis

Synthetic Stones: Light Amethyst Cats Eye, Pink Glass”

The end result is something that is shiny but not too shiny.  No glaring diamond-wanna-be white light here, ladies.  And purple?  Should basically be a neutral in my book because it goes with almost anything, at least when you’re talking purple gemstones.

At about $80 for the earrings and just over $120 for the necklace (unless you catch them on sale or have a Sorrelli discount), it’s a damn good thing this jewelry is so easy to match.  It falls outside of what I would normally consider “inexpensive fashion jewelry”, but it is also high quality – so it’s going to last forever, and it’s probably not going to break when you try that dance move you think you’re still capable of pulling off.

Affordable Fashion Trend: Statement Necklaces

I hate trends that require a total wardrobe overhaul.

As a rule, I tend to avoid any fashion trend that means throwing out the contents of my closet and starting from scratch.

One of my favorite trends right now is the rush towards “statement necklaces”.

What the hell is a statement necklace?

Simply, and redundantly, put – it’s a necklace that makes a statement.  In other words, it’s a large necklace that says “Hey!  Look at me!  I’m the focus of this outfit!”

But we’re not talking hanging expensive jewels around your neck.  No, what makes this trend so great – and accessible – is how affordable it is to follow.  Think costume jewelry.

Statement jewelry makes your existing wardrobe more versatile.  You can take neutral pieces and add color with a necklace – or change the entire feel of an outfit just by swapping out your jewelry.

You can find unique costume jewelry – including great necklaces – anywhere from flea markets to department stores.  I’ve actually found that plus sized women’s clothing stores tend to be the best places to find really great stand out necklaces, though I have no idea why.  (I suspect it’s because they’ve figured out before the rest of us that drawing attention towards a great neckline is an easy way to detract attention from other parts of our bodies.)

Follow me over the jump for a few examples of statement necklaces that are perfectly in line with today’s top fashion trends…

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