Collaborative / Partnered Post - My Jewellery Obsession And 4 Things That You Need To Know Before Selling Your Gold Jewellery*

Ever since I was a little girl I've loved jewellery, one of my most treasured memories of my grandma, is emptying out her jewellery drawers and playing jewellery shops with all of her necklaces, bracelets and brooches. I remember being bought the odd thing as a child, but as soon I was old enough, I couldn't get enough of the stuff, and I asked for it as presents, and when I could I bought my own - I don't care whether it's new or vintage, costume jewellery or the real thing, I am a real jewellery obsessive, as you can probably tell from these pictures of just some of my collection.

I am always loathed to get rid of things, but tastes change (clown necklaces anyone?), things get broken, and every now and then sense kicks in and I try and make my collection a little bit more manageable. I'm not one for throwing things away so I usually pass my unwanted pieces on to friends or family, or I take them to the charity shop. You can't give away everything though, so what do you do with those more special but still unwanted pieces, or even necklaces that are tangled or earrings that are broken, well if they're made of gold or any other precious metal, then you can of course sell them.

Selling gold jewellery for cash is still something that's extremely popular with a lot of individuals, especially during the tough economic climate in the UK. This is because gold is still something which is both sort after and valuable, and even though the prices have gone down a bit lately, there is still good money to be made selling your unwanted gold jewellery. I must admit I've actually sold quite a few pieces in the past, as I say tastes change, things break, and sometimes it's better to have the money in your hand rather than sitting unloved in drawer somewhere.

Anything involving money can be a bit of a minefield though, it's better to be safe then sorry, and it's important to think about it long and hard before you make any decisions, so if this is something that you're considering, then there are four important things to consider before you hand over your unwanted gold jewellery for cash.

Selling your gold online can be more profitable...

There are lots of different places whereby you can sell your gold jewellery, such as jewellers, cash for gold stores, kiosks in shopping centres, pawnbrokers and of course via online companies. Although it might seem like the most scary and complicated one, the last option may be the best one because internet stores tend to give you a higher valuation for your gold. The reason for this is because the online world is more competitive. You can easily compare quotes via the internet so companies need to stand out and give you the best price out there.

You can sell gold which is broken or tangled...

A lot of people deter from trying to sell their gold for cash because it is broken or their jewellery is all tangled. People think that this means the company in question will not accept their gold and thus it is worth nothing or very little. However, this could not be further from the truth. The worth of your gold is calculated based on the weight of it and how many carats it is. So, if you have got an old tangled gold necklace and it is broken, you can trade this in so you can buy new jewellery, whether you’ve been brave and recently got a nipple piercing, or a helix piercing or you simply want to add to a new and more on trend piece to your collection.

You should never have to pay for a valuation of your gold...

A lot of people, including some people that I know have unfortunately ended being up tricked by companies who charge them to see how much their gold in worth, either that or they take a valuation fee off the final offer. You shouldn't have to pay money in order to learn how much you can sell your gold for. After all, this defeats the object of selling your pieces in the first place, okay you want to get rid of something but at the same time you also want to make a bit of extra cash. You need to ask for a free quotation; moreover you need to ensure that there are no obligations involved. Make sure that you don't have to go ahead with the transaction just because a company gives you an estimate.

You can receive your cash quickly...

More and more people are turning to selling their gold for cash because of its quick payment solution. This is a much more attractive option in comparison to payday loans and credit card spending. Nevertheless, some people do not realise just how quickly you can receive cash for your gold. It is not a drawn out process like auction websites and alike. Instead you get an instant valuation and once the gold is received , from most buyers you will get your money within 24 hours. This is great because it means that cash for gold can solve problems such as unexpected costs and expensive bills. Just make sure that this is the case and you're dealing with a reputable company who won't leave you hanging and waiting for your money.

As I say even though the price of gold has fallen compared to say a few years ago, it's still something worth considering if you have some unwanted or broken pieces just lying in the drawer and you could do with some extra cash for some home improvements, a holiday or even just to buy some new pieces of jewellery. The key thing is to be careful, make sure you know what you have, and shop around, in my experience the valuations varied dramatically, so get a few different quotes, it might take a bit of time but it will be worth it in the long run. Hopefully this post has given you something to think about, just consider some of the things that I've mentioned, do your research and pick a reputable company and you should be quids in, and you could be ready to add some new pieces to your jewellery collection - I can honestly say that I probably don't need any more jewellery but I don't think that's going to stop me buying more x Are you a jewellery obsessive like me? Let me know in the comments x

*Collaborative / Partnered Post

Personalised Gifts For All Occasions From Personally Presented*

I don't know about you but I love buying presents, in fact I probably enjoy buying things for other people just as much as I enjoy buying things for myself. I think I'm one of those people that just likes making other people happy. There really is nothing better in life than seeing someones face light up when you give them something that they really love. 

I've been told on numerous occasions that I'm a good present buyer but lets face it, buying things for other people isn't always that easy. What are their interests? Will it fit? Will they like it? There are so many things to consider when you're buying someone a gift, that it's not really surprising that some of us end up saving ourselves from a mountain of stress, and going down the money or gift card route. 

I doubt any of us would turn down a gift voucher or some cash, but there is something just a little bit impersonal about it, and whether it's true or not, it sometimes makes you wonder just how much thought they've actually put into you or into your gift. Like all of us I'm often guilty of taking the easy way out especially with people that I don't see that often or know that well, but most of the time I try to really think about what I'm buying, and what my recipient likes and dislikes. It's hard but for special occasions and for those special people in your life it really is worth it when you see their faces and the joy that you've created.

For special people and special occasions I like buying present that people will treasure, and things that they can look at and say "Louise bought me that" I think that's one of the reason why I love personalised presents so much. If you buy somebody a gift with their name on, or their initials, or an important date, not only will they know how much thought that you've put into the gift, but they're also more likely to keep it and cherish it.

Thanks to the internet it's now easier then ever to get your hands on beautiful, fun and unique personalised gifts, thanks to a UK based, family run company, Personally Presented. With over 1000 different gift ideas to choose from on their well designed and easy to navigate website, you're pretty much guaranteed to find the perfect, special present for anybody in your life from your best friend, to your dad, your gran, your brother or even your new baby niece.

With items ranging from mugs, prints, teddy bears, and personalised bottles of champagne, to personalised Beatrix Potter items and books, cuff links and greetings cards, they have something for every occasion including birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, christenings, and even graduation gifts.

As you may know this year I celebrated a big birthday, and I was lucky enough to receive quite a few pieces of jewellery. Jewellery makes a fabulous gift for any occasion, be it a special birthday, as a bridesmaid gift or even as a graduation gift, or as a congratulations on passing your exams gift. Jewellery is always special but even more so when it's personalised, and Personally Presented have a large range of pieces including watches, necklaces and bracelets, to help you mark that special occasion.

The team at Personally Presented recently sent me one of their jewellery pieces to review and I have to say I am so, so happy with the piece that they sent me, the Personalised Heart Friendship Bracelet which retails at £20.49. 

It comes in a plain, brown craft style box, but you can pay an extra £3.99 to have your item gift wrapped. There are 4 colours to chose from a light almost turquoise blue, pink, grey, and the navy blue that I received. 

The bracelet comprises of a coloured suede / leather cord, with a curved, puffed silver plated heart in the centre, that can be personalised with up to 3 initials, I just went for one, the letter L for Louise! Alongside the heart there are several movable silver plated beads, and an adjustable love knot style fastening tipped again with silver plated beads, which means that this bracelet can fit just about any wrist size.

This is a really nice quality piece, the embossing / etching is nice and neatly done, and this bracelet has a nice weight to it which I wasn't really expecting. It looks fab on it's own but you could also wear it layered up with over friendship style bracelets or even beaded or silver bracelets. The adjust ability means that this bracelet would make a perfect pressie for a young teen with a thin wrist right the way up to someone my age and older with a chunkier wrist. This would be a perfect well done on passing your exams gift, or a great birthday pressie, or even a slightly funkier bridesmaid gift.

Personally Presented really do have a special gift for every occasion, and with a tag line of "Gifts Worth Giving" you're guarantee to find a present that your recipient will cherish, and with free UK postage, an excellent returns police and a personalised customer service experience, with Personally Presented, finding that special present for that special someone couldn't be easier x 

*Sample

A Little March 2018 Primark Haul - Clothes, Accessories, And Some Beauty Reviews

Suffering from several chronic illnesses as I do, I've come to rely on online shopping quite a bit, and even more so this year, when I just haven't had the energy to get out there into real shops and enjoy one of my favourite pastimes . Online shopping definitely fills the void but you really can't beat getting out there and getting into a bricks and mortar shop. I've the odd look out but a couple of weeks ago I managed my first trip into Intu Metrocentre since before Christmas and whilst it damn near killed me off, it was well worth the effort, I had my eyebrows waxed and I managed a trip to Primark!!

It's one of those things that just can't be explained, why oh why doesn't  Primark have an online store? My own personal theory is that they would probably get way too many returns thanks to the less that consistent sizing but hey I would take the risk and I'm sure lots of other people would as well, so come on Primark do it and help me save a few spoons!

I'm not going to lie despite the fact that this trip was so long coming and so long awaited I didn't actually buy that much. I stocked up on a few of my Primark essentials including some more oil balancing facial wipes, some blue jeggings and some black leggings, and I picked a few other bits including another one of their basic t-shirts.

As someone who at the moment detests her tummy, and her hips, I need something to cover it up and with a bit of length, and Primark's long length t-shirts do exactly that. As someone who is at the limit of Primarks sizing scale I find these tees pretty generous, they have a lot of stretch in them and they are so so comfy to wear. This is one of the short sleeve versions, and whilst their are various necklines available my favourite is either the crew neck or the scooped neckline like this one. Again there were a few colours to choose from but I decided to switch it up a bit a leave the blues and stripes behind and go for this nice classic khaki green shade. These t-shirts are real staples for me at the moment and for just £3.50 I can really afford to stock up.

I know I've just talked about length, and how I need long line things, but my next purchase though is just a little bit shorter than what I normally go for.

There is no way that you could describe this as a cropped jumper but compared to my usual bum and tum covering numbers this is pretty short for me. I couldn't resist it though, I love the ribbed detail, and the baguette style crystals on the neckline, and grey really is one of those classic colours, that I'm personally learning to love again. There was a huge muck up price wise with this one, this jumper and all of it's sale rail friends in this shade and in a wine colour were tagged as £13 reduced to £5 - Bargain! When I got to the till though they had been a big mistake and they shouldn't have been reduced! Since both the tag and the price on the rail said £5 though that's what they had to give me it for! - abiding by the rules = one happy LouLou.

That was it for clothes but I did pick a jewellery item from a sale rack, and this time there was no argument about the price, this super cute real semi precious stone (amethyst?)  friendship bracelet was just £1 reduced from £3.

Featuring faceted purple and lilac crystal stones, with a clear crystal, silver tone disco hanging from the middle, it fastens with a Chinese knot style fastening, with tiny silver tone hearts on the end of each strand. This bracelet is so pretty and could easily pass for something like Lola Rose, and if you weren't a fan of the circle charm they you could easily remove it with some wire cutters without ruining the rest of the bracelet.

I think I pretty much say it every time I go into Primark now but their beauty range keeps getting better and better!! The selection has improved dramatically and the quality on the majority of things that I've tried has been excellent for the price.

At the moment Primark seems to have a glut of how can I put this? high end dupes, not quite out and out copies, but you know, clearly getting there, does that bother me? no not really, as I've said before I'd rather buy a dupe than an out and out fake product from ebay or from a local buy and sell group, and if it's done well then I'm definitely not complaining. They have quite a few Too Faced inspired lines in at the moment but I thought I'd give one of their Kylie inspired products a go.

I've got to be honest and admit that all of those matte lip kits did nothing for me, I'm not the hugest matte lip fan and I'm definitely not a fan of the butt hole lip look but whilst I've had an indifferent relationship with lip gloss for a while, give me a plump glossy lip, over a dry, lined matte one any day.

I do love a nude / pink lip so I though I'd give this PS Nudes Lip Collection kit a try. This kit in the shade Hypnotise contains a 10ml Lip Gloss, and a 1.5g lip pencil, both in a pink / nude / almost mauve shade.

The gloss is a touch sticky but the pigmentation is excellent, and it wears incredibly well, it comes out a touch darker than it appears in the tube, but it applies really easily with the sponge applicator, and it actually feels quite creamy, and smooth on the lips.

The coordinating lip liner pencil is easy to sharpen and comes in a plastic feel, barrel. It's a touch paler than the gloss and again the pigmentation is excellent. It feels smooth to the touch, but it isn't so creamy that it will end up all over your face.

Apologies that I haven't managed to get a shot of either of these products on my actual face but this is what I'm wearing in the You Tube video that you can see at the end of this. For just £3 I'm so, so impressed with this kit, the pigmentation, and feel of the products and the wear time, easily beats a lot of high end brands. Both of the products work perfectly together but since this is the type of shade that I go for in lipsticks I think I'll get a lot of extra use out of the lip liner, which is pretty similar to the Rimmel Exaggerate Full Colour Lip Liner in 063 East End Snob. If this shade isn't for you, there are are several other colour combinations available so you if you're a nude lip fan you're bound to find something you like.

I debated whether or not to pick up one of the Too Faced inspired cheek kits but in the end I decided to try out this highlighting palette, which may or may not be inspired by various products including the Anastasia Sugar Glow palette ;)

The PS Pure Glow Highlighting Palette comes in very on trend, and blogger friendly rose gold, and marble print cardboard packaging. I'm not the biggest fan of cardboard packaging because after a while I think it can look a little grubby but in this case again I'll make an exception. It feels sturdy enough and it fastens with a magnet so your highlighters will be kept safe and secure.

The palette itself contains a little section, which tells you where to put your highlighters (just in case you don't know), and four good sized, round pans crammed full of beautiful metallic and shimmery loveliness.

On the top row you have Desert, a gorgeous shimmery, metallic white, and Glimmer, a beautiful, metallic gold

and underneath you have a Eden a shimmery, nude pink, and Firefly, a rich metallic copper, bronze.

As you can see the pigmentation is excellent, and all of these shade are beautifully soft and buttery. Again no face shots but I am wearing a lot of this palette in the accompanying You Tube video. There is probably no wear on earth that you'll be able to see the shades on my face but I actually did virtually a full face look with this palette, I used Glimmer, and Firefly to create a rich metallic golden bronze eye look, with just a hint of Desert under the brow, and I used Eden on my cheeks, for a pale shimmery blush look. This is beautiful and super versatile and well worth the £5 that I paid for it. Yes you could probably get some sort of highlighting palette for less but would it be as good as this and would you be getting 4 x 7g, smooth and high pigmented colours for your money? I doubt it and I'm so glad that I picked this up. I've been so, so impressed with both of these items, and I'm definitely going to be heading straight to the beauty section next time I'm in Primark which will probably be next week because my mum needs to take something back :)

I know I've already mentioned it a few times but just in case it hasn't clicked yet, I've made a video to accompany this haul which you can see below or via this link.



If you like haul videos then definitely make sure that your subscribed to my You Tube channel, because I've got a few exclusive hauls coming up ever the next few days, including one that you won't want to miss x In the meantime if you've bought anything exciting in Primark recently or if you have any Primark beauty recommendations then please leave me a comment and let me know, or link me up to your blog post, or You Tube video x Thanks for reading and I'll see you soon with my March beauty empties post x

The Colours Of Autumn - Outfit Of The Day / Night

As much as I love fashion, clothes, accessories and shoes, unlike a lot of bloggers I don't really post that many outfits of the day. There are many reasons I guess why I don't do that many ranging from a lack of confidence in front of the camera, to poor body image, and a not very skilled principal photographer (sorry Mummy Lou) but with a big birthday approaching I'm trying to be a bit more accepting of myself and a bit braver all round.

So just before I headed off to Monday night's Intu Eldon Square Fashion Spooktacular, the mother ship kindly shot a few pictures so I could cobble together a very rare outfit of the day post and this was the result...

What I Wore

Joe Browns At Simply Be - Autumn Leaf Wrap Dress

80 Denier Black Opaques - George At Asda 

Madia Tan Buckle Ankle Boots - Dorothy Perkins

Lola Rose Sloane Square Beaded Bracelet - Fire Agate

Olive Wood Wooden Bracelet - Somewhere In Cyprus 

I ordered this dress a few weeks ago now after seeing it on the Simply Be website. Joe Browns don't carry the plus size line on their own website (Why not though? How weird is that??) so I think that this dress is a Simply Be exclusive. It's not hard to see why I ordered it, it's just perfect for this time of year.

In a faux (essential if you're on the curvy side) wrap style, it's made from a stretchy jersey fabric. The dress has a black base which is a perfect foil for the flower and leaf print. Thanks to the brown, yellow, orange, tan, and grey tones, this dress fits perfectly into the traditional Autumnal colour palette, that gets its influence from the changing colours of the leaves and foliage, and those fabulous Autumn sunrises and sunsets.

Outside I teamed it with a black PU bomber jacket, and a black Michael Kors tote bag to tone in with both my holy grail black George opaque tights, and with the background of the dress.

Instead of going for a black boot or shoe though, I teamed this outfit up with one of my favourite pairs of boots, a pair of past season, tan, brown, buckle detail ankle boots from Dorothy Perkins, that coordinate perfectly with the colours on the dress They don't have a huge heel and they aren't too flat either so they're really comfortable which is great when to you need to walk around a bit, as I did on Monday night thanks to a fire alarm. They're quite a classic style so it shouldn't be too hard to find something similar in stores this season. Sticking with the tan theme and thinking of how I can wear the dress in the future I could also potentially wear it with my Clarks Hamble Oak Brogues (see my post here) for a different look.

Because the dress had such a busy and I didn't want to accent my cleavage too much, I decided not to wear a necklace and instead I wore, a bracelet on each wrist. On one wrist I wore a slightly, chunkier stretch bracelet which I got on holiday in Cyprus a few years ago, which is made from a varnished, golden brown toned olive wood, and on the other wrist I wore a Lola Rose bracelet, which I received as a Christmas present a few years ago now. I don''t think it's the easiest one to find anymore but it's the Lola Rose Sloane Square Beaded Bracelet, which originally came from QVC UK and mine is made from Fire Agate,  which with orange and brown tones, again perfectly with the print on the dress.

I know lot of bloggers let their pictures do the talking but you know me I love to talk and I thought it might be nice for you to find out a little bit about the pieces that I wore and why I chose them, even though in most cases here it is down to colour coordination ha ha. I'm really going to try and do more outfits of the day to try and be brave and boost my confidence a bit. Why shouldn't I ? After all human beings do come in all ages, shapes and sizes and we all clothes so if we love clothes we shouldn't we have the confidence to show ourselves off and put ourselves out there. Are you a fan of autumnal tones in clothing, jewellery and accessories? Let me know your thoughts in the comments x 

Primark Haul - March 2016 Edition - Clothes, Beauty, Jewellery And Home

Greetings from LouLouLand, or should I say cough and sniffle land! After managing to keep it at bay for what seems like weeks, on Wednesday I eventually succumbed to the horrible cold virus that seems to be floating around at the moment. Despite feeling beyond yuck, I feel way better than I did yesterday and on Thursday so I thought I'd try and get a little post and a video up just so you don't forget who I am :)

On Monday I managed another Primark trip - hurrah I love a good Primark trip, almost as much as I love a Costa Mango Creamy Cooler :) and on Monday I managed to combine the two :)

Normally I just go to Primark to have a look round and see what's new, but this time I went for something specific from their home wear section.

Yes, it's the daisy cushion, to match the duvet set that I featured in last months Primark haul (you can read it here if you haven't already). I'm obsessed with daisies and I'm obsessed with cushions so it was only natural that I went back for this one. It comes in two sizes but this one is the larger of the two which was £6.

The cushion comes with a zip fastening, removable cover, and like the bed set it's double sided. One side features the huge yellow and white daisy on a blue background, and the other features a daisy chain pattern, on a coral pink background.

I haven't managed to put the duvet set on the bed yet but I'll definitely post some pictures on my Instagram page when I do. In the meantime though I'm using this cushion with the gingham, check side of the IKEA Rosali bedding and strangely enough, the pattern clash seems to work. That's why I love interiors so much, it's like fashion sometimes things that shouldn't work, just do.

Next up beauty and I eventually managed to find out where the beauty stands had moved to. If you're looking for them in Primark Metro Centre you'll currently find them right on the back wall next to the nightwear and underwear, but take a tip from me, if you're looking for make up don't bother!

I know the staff can't supervise the stands all the time but you'd think they'd try and keep a bit of an eye on them? The majority of the make up items had been opened, and there was bronzing powder over everything! It was a total mess - I loved the look of the Velvet Lip Pencil in Nude but every single one had been opened and tested or broken :(

I was really disappointed but I cheered up a little bit when I saw some of their new make up brushes - swoon so pretty with matte black handles and rose gold ferrules, when I looked at the price, I had to pick a few up to try.

The first brush I got was duo fibre stippling brush, ideal for use with foundation or cream blush products. I use this type of brush an awful lot but especially in the summer when I use them with cream blushes and my Chanel cream bronzer.

For me this brush is probably a bit small to use with foundation but it's something that I'll definitely get plenty of use out of. The fibres feel nice and soft on the skin, and at just £1.50 the PS Stippling Brush is definitely worth a try.

The next brush that I got was a double ended eyeshadow and concealer brush, again in the matte black and rose gold this brush double ended brush can either be used for powder, liquid and cream concealer or for eye shadow.

.

The brush features two different sized heads, both of which are made of super soft, duo fibres. Whilst the fibres are soft and silky though the brushes heads themselves have just the right degree of density and firmness, to make blending and precise application a breeze,

This brush believe it or not was just £1 - if this had different branding on it I'm sure that it would sell for a lot more else where. I'm definitely going to have another look at the brushes next time I'm in store, and I definitely think I'll pick up another one of these.

My final beauty purchase was surprise, surprise, another two packets of the PS Love Your Skin Oil Balancing Facial Wipes. I've been doing a lot of swatching lately and I went through nearly a packet in a week so I thought I'd stock up - these are a bargain at just £1 for 2 packets of 25 wipes.

Clothing wise I only picked up a few essentials - the summer things are nearly all in store now but I just can't get excited about summer just yet. I don't have any holiday plans and I'm not happy with my weight so I think I'm just going to hold fire at the moment and not go out and spend money on things I don't really need, hence I just picked up a few bargaintastic basics.

I guess you could argue that these jeggings are really a summer purchase. The very, very pale blue colour is probably more appropriate for the dry days of spring and summer but the price was too good to turn down. I own a few pairs of these jeggings in different colours now and they normally retail at £7 a pair but they were on offer for just £5.50. My only advice would be that you probably need to size down in these as they are quite stretchy but they're cheap and they're comfy.

Speaking of comfort I don't think that there is a piece of clothing that it more comfortable than a pair of leggings. Find the right pair and they feel like a second skin, but finding the right pair isn't easy. I've bought so many pairs of leggings it's untrue some cut your circulation off, some bag at the knees and some are just well, perfect, unfortunately they never seem to last that long, and about 3 weeks ago now, two pairs breathed their last and ended up in my mam's rag bag.

So I needed to replenish my stock and to be honest I think Primark's leggings are as good as any. I tend to go for their viscose mix and they feel really soft against the skin. The sizing is generous and the price is even better, they are normally £3 a pair, but on Monday they were on offer at just £2.80 so I took advantage and got two pairs.

That was it for clothing but I did mange to pick up a couple of jewellery pieces including this super cute bracelet from their new Disney collection

Despite the fact that it says bracelet I actually bought this as a necklace never mind it's really sweet just a very fine gold tone chain, with a gold tone Mickey Mouse head charm attached, It's really sweet and really delicate and it was a bargain at just £2.50. They also had a few other pieces including a crystal embossed Mickey head necklace and a Love necklace, where the O is shaped like a Mickey head. I'm not the worlds craziest Disney fan, but I do love cute jewellery pieces so I'll definitely be back for more.

The final jewellery piece that I picked up is the complete opposite, where as the Disney bracelet is small and delicate, this silver tone bracelet is a real statement piece.

This elasticated bracelet is on a small, irregular bead band, and features a large, silver tone, filigree charm, with a long silver tassel dangling from it. I don't know what it is about this but I had to have it the minute I saw it. I like layering my bracelets and I think that this would work equally well on it's own, as it would alongside some of my more delicate pieces. It was just £2.00

As I say just a small haul but I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful anyways. Before the sore throat hit I managed to record a quick video to accompany this haul so don't forget to watch it via this link or below x



Thanks for reading and watching and if you've been to Primark recently I'd love to know what you bought so link me up or let me know below x