Jewellery Trends Inspired by SNSD/Girls' Generation

If you follow K-pop like me, you'll be familiar with the certain looks that these stars have - it's a part of their 'image. Sometimes this image stays the same, or changes over time depending on their concepts. For example, looking at one of my favourite girl groups SNSD, also known as Girls' Generation, they started out with a cutesy, dolly, innocent image and as they matured their styles became more classy, sophisticated and elegant as well as the musical styles. Being a fan of theirs from my high school days 'til now, I feel as though I went through that growth and maturity phase like they did and being similar in age, I can certainly relate and see them as my idols/role models. I feel like their style is my style, so every now and then I like to check out their outfits worn at premiere events, fashion shows, photoshoots and even the outfits they wear to the airport. Not only do I take notice of their outfits but also their hair, makeup, jewellery and accessories. They inspire me so much that I've decided to share 3 jewellery trends that I've noticed on the girls and also on those around me.

The following items for each of these trends features some very affordable pieces that you can easily add to your collection - styling on a budget!

Floral

When I think of floral, I get reminded of spring and summer. Yes we do see flowers more in these seasons however for jewellery pieces, floral is great to wear as a pattern or a design all year round. In moderation it's quite pretty and when worn to complement an item/outfit rather than take over and be the centre of attention, it gives a nice finishing touch.

Credit: As watermarked

SNSD's Hyoyeon is wearing a lovely sleeved lace dress with a chunky floral necklace. Sure it counts as a statement piece but when paired with blue dress and a blue bag, it blends in with the overall look. I decided to give this look a go with a less-chunky floral necklace:

Elegant Opal Floral Necklace
$5.42 USD

Here's a closer look at the details of this gorgeous necklace from Born Pretty Store:

I love how the flowers aren't too over-the-top with a simplistic design of alternating big and small flowers. The piece sits really nicely on the decolletage area and I think it looks great with a lovely lace top/dress. I find the double chains to be quite a unique and I reckon it makes the necklace look less fragile and more weighty without it actually being so. Pretty good for something around $5!

Pearls

Beautiful, bright round pearls... there's just something so classy about them, whether it's one pearl on its own or a cluster of them. And I think that a female wearing pearl earrings, a pearl necklace, a pearl ring and a pearl bracelet would look perfectly normal to me! You can never have too many pearls (okay maybe it'll look odd if you layer it on too heavily - moderation is key).

Credit: As watermarked

Ah Jessica, I miss you!

SNSD's Jessica (to me she's still a member) once wore this chunky pearl cluster necklace from Chanel (I don't know the actual name of the necklace) with a white collared shirt and she looked so chic! I absolutely love her simplistic yet elegant style and I find that whatever she wears is in such good taste. No wonder she's becoming a fashion designer - she's a true fashionista after all! I wish her all the best with her career in the fashion industry.

Let's see how well I can pull off this look with a very similar necklace:

Enchanting Pearl Cluster Necklace
$6.13 USD

Mine is no where near as cluster-ful as Jessica's but when I first saw this on Born Pretty Cute, I was immediately reminded of Jessica's stunning necklace and so I had to have it. Not only does it look good with collared shirts but also fancy dresses and such - I can just picture it *_*

Unlike Jessica's, this is a flat-cluster rather than a 3-dimensional cluster which would appear more bulky/heavy. This one drapes nicely around my neck and I like how the gold chains peek through the pearls to give that white and gold look. Also those small rhinestones in between the pearls add a touch of sparkly-ness. Speaking of rhinestones... guess what the next trend is?

Rhinestones

Aka bling-bling! I love sparkly jewellery and accessories and for me it doesn't necessarily have to be derived from particular stones or crystals as I'm also a fan of the more affordable man-made kind. Sure the 'real' stuff is more luxurious and precious but what matters is most to me is its overall look! Rhinestones and diamantes can be just as sparkly for only a fraction of the price. This trend will always stay relevant.

Credit: As watermarked

The stunning Jung Sisters! ♥

Of course when celebrities endorse sparkly jewellery pieces like the ones above, they're going to have a hefty price tag on them. But what if they weren't endorsed by a celebrity... would you be able to tell that the above items are pricey? I didn't think so. Let me give you an example with this sparkly ring I have:

Elegant Simple Rhinestone Studded Ring - $2.99 USD

... $3 for this ring? Say whaaaaat, who would've thought/known?! I can assure you that it doesn't feel like a cheapie $2-3 item - it actually feels and looks like a legitimate ring that's at least in the double if not triple and so forth digits, not single digits like it is. How surprising, right? Here's more proof that it doesn't look flimsy/tacky:

Could fool anyone with this rock on my ring finger!

(By the way this is not a hint or anything, this girl isn't getting engaged anytime soon :P)

I still can't get over the price and how something for affordable looks very much like a actual diamond/engagement ring. Anyway enough about that, moving onto its style. Yes I know that it can be a little too bling-bling for an average girl who is not anywhere near the engagement phase yet (like me) but a way to avoid any questions is to simply wear it on the middle or index finger. That way it'll look like a dressy/cocktail ring and no one will misunderstand. I find this halo, cushion cut style very classic and vintage-like. I adore this style on earrings as well, similar to the ones endorsed by the Jung sisters above.

Now I haven't thought about what type of engagement ring I'd want but for those who do know or specifically, ladies who've got an engagement ring (lucky ducks), having a 'cheaper' one to wear everyday can be a safer option for you. We all know how costly these rings can be and the thought of losing one is almost unbearable, so why not wear an imitation of the real thing to keep the real thing stored away safely? No one will even know and if it gets lost, it's better than losing the actual ring, hey! So ladies, if you've got a halo engagement ring similar or the same as this one, you could consider getting it for yourself to wear instead, especially if you're feeling paranoid about it going missing, because I know I would.

I can honestly say that I am a fan of all of these jewellery styles worn on the SNSD girls, hence I see them as my fashion/style icons. I don't think I've ever seen them wear something absolutely ridiculous which I'm quite happy about :D

You can purchase any of the items above from Born Pretty Store which offers free shipping worldwide and 10% off your order using the code 'JLQK31' at the checkout

A questjen for you:

Which of the 3 jewellery trends is your favourite?

Or do you have any to add to this list?

I love anything that's sparkly so my favourite is the rhinestone/diamante trend!

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Disclaimer: Products were provided for consideration. This is not a sponsored post with monetary compensation, nor am I affiliated with any of the companies mentioned in this post. All opinions stated by me are 100% honest and are free from bias. For full disclaimer, see http://www.questjen.com/p/disclaimer.html.

Gold Accessories from Born Pretty Store

There are many ways to 'pretty ourselves up' - by wearing makeup, dressing nicely, painting our nails, styling our hair and accessorising with jewellery. The one that I have followed ever since I was a little girl was wearing jewellery because this made me feel more girly and pretty (as well as wearing dresses and skirts). In fact, I had my ears pierced when I was only 2 years old so it was as though I grew up to be interested in jewellery - thanks mum, there's no way that I would've agreed to getting my ears pierced at the time! Growing up I wore plastic rings, mood rings, jelly bracelets, tattoo chokers and bracelets (oh the 90s!), friendship beaded bracelets and more... this is like a trip down memory lane, all of a sudden I feel nostalgic. I couldn't wear these at school but whenever we had a casual day, I went all out with the bling-bling!

I loved gold and silver jewellery but I wasn't allowed to wear these as a child, only the fake stuff except for my earrings for my sensitive skin/ears. Once I was a naughty girl and took my mum's 18 ct-gold diamond ring from her drawer and wore it on (it didn't fit but this didn't matter to me) and spun around in the backyard with it, because I felt like a princess lol. You can imagine what happened next... it flew off my finger and it was never to be found again. Mum wasn't too pleased when I told her, though I was forgiven, surprisingly! Now that I'm an adult, I can choose we wear real gold or 'fake' gold, and the same goes for rose gold, white gold or silver. I don't restrict myself on what to wear, I like a bit of everything and it depends on my outfit and style. Dainty pieces, statement pieces, I'm good with anything as long as they look nice.

Here are my latest gold pieces to add to my collection:

Clover Design Open Bangle

$2.49 USD, normally $4.62

 

This is an extremely affordable bracelet and judging by the quality, it does seem as though you get more than what you pay for. The design is simple yet elegant and the detail on the clover with the rhinestones is gorgeous. I have a tiny wrist and have lots of trouble buying bracelets and bangles because of it. Whenever I come across any adjustable bracelets or bangles like these, I feel like Cinderella with her perfectly-fitted glass slippers. Makes a great gift for someone too!

Back to the rhinestones again, they appear to be glued on with great care and precision, and don't seem to be prone to falling off. I've worn this bangle at night and it glistens under the lights so prettily. I doubt that many would guess that this retails for just a few dollars!

 Leaf design necklace

$7.43 USD

I don't have a lot of statement pieces, especially necklaces so I was keen to pick this one. It's bold but not too over-the-top and can go with many different outfits. I personally am a big fan of this design with the two long leaves connected together. They can be folded to save space for storage, which is handy.

See?

Once again I find the quality of this to be very sturdy, non-tacky and it's a good price. It's got that classiness to it which I adore and I can see myself wearing this for a number of occasions.

Looks great with this top, which has bits of gold in it

These pieces can be purchased from Born Pretty Store which offers free shipping worldwide with no minimum spend and on top of that I have a 10% off code for all of my amazing readers - JLQK31 to use at the checkout. The code can also be viewed on my blog's sidebar in case you need it again :)

 My questjen to you:

 

Are you a fan of gold-coloured accessories?

 

I like silver, white gold and rose gold more than yellow gold but I do like wearing yellow gold from time to time!

 

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Disclaimer: Products were provided for consideration with no obligation to share or review. This is not a sponsored post, nor am I affiliated with the company mentioned in this post. Clicking on the links do not benefit me in any way, shape or form. All opinions stated by me are 100% honest and are free from bias. See more at http://www.questjen.com/p/disclaimer.html for full disclaimer.

 

Lace Nail Stickers from Born Pretty Store

Hi guys! I have a NOTD (Nails of the day) to share with you guys ^^ For this NOTD I used 3D nail stickers which resemble lace trimmings. Lace has got to be one of my favourite 'designs' for clothing pieces and accessories - it's so pretty and I love the texture, haha.

NOTD: Purple Elegance

 Nail polish: China Glaze - Robotika

2mm purple rhinestones from Born Pretty Store

Lace stickers from Born Pretty Store

Since my nail polish colour was a metallic purple, I decided to use purple rhinestones to complement the lace and the nails!

It was my first time using white lace trimming designs on my nails. I've seen them on other peoples' nails many times, either with stickers or konad stamps. These nail stickers were kindly sent to me by Born Pretty Store to review :)

 10 pcs Elegant Lace Style Sticker Nail Art DIY Glitter HL211

 $5.23 + Free shipping

I'm not sure whether I'll get around to using all 10 sheets ahaha... so for that reason I'll be including at least one sheet in a future giveaway.

I had a look at the instructions at the back of the packet and as you can see, they are very simple and clear. I guess the Chinese is a not as simply written compared to the English because I can't understand it (I only know how to read basic, simplified Chinese). Diagrams are used to assist the writing if the person reading cannot understand English and/or Chinese. If I were a grammar/punctuation nazi then I would criticise the inconsistent spacing, spelling and capitalisation. But since I'm nice and not a nazi, I'll let all of that slide ;]

 

For both nails I only needed one sheet and I still had some leftover. I liked how there were different patterns but two of each of them so I could have the same on both hands. Having different lace patterns made my nails look less plain and repetitive. Cutting is needed to fit the stickers on your nails and this is great because nails of all shapes and sizes can have these stickers perfectly stuck on.

What is Born Pretty Store?

It's an online shop that sells nail art materials, makeup and accessories at wholesale prices. Which is entirely true because for 10 of these nail stickers, it's only $5.23! Definitely not the same price that other regular stores sell them. Sometimes I get 2 or 3 sheets for $5 in physical stores... and now that I think about it, it wasn't really worth it :/ But now that I have discovered Born Pretty Store, it's probably better that I purchase all of my nail art products from there since it's cheaper and there's FREE shipping on all orders ^_^

These nail stickers have a bit of a rubbery feel to them and they stick well and can be removed without using too much force and leaves no sticky residue. Although, I wouldn't recommend just wearing the stickers on your nails as I reckon they won't last that long so you're better off applying a top coat on (as instructed in the nail sticker instructions, duh Jennifer!) Hehehe I never used to apply a top coat on so I'm just saying so you' all know better ^^"

What I find amazing about Born Pretty Store:

* When I first heard about them, they were having so many freebie promotions and giveaways, it was awesome! Through this I was able to get 2 x 12 Colors 2mm Rhinestone Nail Art Decoration, Hello Kitty & Chanel Logo Nail Sticker, Hello Kitty Nail Art Plate and a pair of gold and black false lashes which I don't think they sell on their shop. But anyway, they always have awesome freebies to check out :D They have a few currently~

* Wholesale-priced items. Enough said :3

* There is always free shipping no matter how little or big you spend! Free worldwide shipping is amazing! I don't know how they can be so generous with this offer, especially considering that they sell items at wholesale prices so it makes me wonder, how do they get profit? But yes, good on you Born Pretty Store =]

* Discount codes! Amanda from Born Pretty Store gave me a discount/promo code to share with my readers to use at the checkout - JENL73. Also, if 10 people use this code, Amanda will offer a Born Pretty Store giveaway for you guys!

I haven't tested the code out myself but if anyone does, I'd love to know if you do because I'm curious as to how it works.

Overall thoughts on Born Pretty Store

They have always shipped out my items quickly (please remember that shipping time is NOT the same as arrival time! People tend to get them mixed up or think they're the same) but I think they are sent from Hong Kong to Singapore (I may need to double check on this, it could be the other way around) because the customs declaration is from Hong Kong but the return address is from Singapore. A little but confusing but yeah, what I'm meaning to say is that the time it takes to arrive is usually longer than it should be from a country in Asia to Australia and vice-versa. I think it's supposed to take a bit less than two weeks but with this product and previous products from Born Pretty Store, it has taken no less than two weeks with about a maximum of three. To be honest I'm not too fussed about arrival time, only shipping time because for me there shouldn't be a holdup if I've already ordered and paid for my item and it is in stock. I am quite patient when packages take their time to arrive, it makes the waiting game more exciting *looks around* Not really but it makes me temporarily forget about them. And when they do come it's like a surprise... pretty sure I'm not the only one who experiences this :P

Their emails are written well and I am able to communicate to them with ease. I can completely understand if there are some typos here and there etc. because English may not be their first language. They are very friendly and answer all questions. Born Pretty Store love to received feedback from their customers 'cause that's what they're about, excellent customer service :) I have received emails from them regarding past items that have been sent to me and they would ask whether I had received it yet and if there were any problems. The first time I received this email I was really surprised since many other online stores would not be so 'caring' towards their customers. Probably because they have this mindset that once they ship something, it's no longer their responsibility or concern as to whether or not the package reached their customer safely. Thank you Born Pretty Store for showing your concern, I really appreciate it!

I hope you liked my NOTD. I am definitely not very creative or artistic so don't tell me if it looks bad or ugly xP I won't be offended, I just reckon it's not necessary to say! It's like telling someone who knows they suck at dancing but they'll still dance anyway because it makes them happy... gahh bad comparison but you know what I mean, right?!

Sadly it is no longer on my nails anymore (hence I called it NOTD instead of NOTW) as I am back at work where I cannot have my nails painted at all! It's a little upsetting for someone who is starting to love nail polish so much :( I've got to make this sacrifice for my job lol. Before I get more questions about why I can't wear nail polish I'll just answer it here - I handle food so it's common sense to have hands and nails and clean as possible.

And working also explains my uhh... 'not-as-often-blogging-that-I-said-I-would-do-now-that-I-am-on-holidays' xD Yes... I'm looking at you Frances LOL, dear oh dear I am under pressure to blog more now! Sorry I got a little lazy and tired from working n_n" Not a good enough excuse I know, so I promise to blog again within the next few days before I work again this week!!

To other news... I finally got my fringe cut this week and it now sits above my eyebrows and it's still a side fringe. I'll wait a couple of weeks to grow maybe half a centimeter and then I'll take a picture of myself. Unless I feel like taking one soon then I will :)~

Okay I am out of here, see you all in my next post!

BY THE WAY AUS BLOGGERS! Have you joined the 2011 Kris Kringle?? There's only one day left to enter to get a KK! More info here on my previous post

Hope everyone's having a great week so far ^.^

OH YEAH! Almost forgot my questjen of the week...

What's your favourite nail art design?

Do you like lace? Stripes? Spots? Crackle effect? Bows? Rhinestones/bling? Leopard print? Roses? Something else?

I love versatility, so for me it's all of the above! As long as it looks good with a nice combination of colours =)