I'm sorry for this unusually late post....no excuses!
The laptop I was using for years started to act up, giving me mouse problems and was so difficult to work with.....we bought 2 more laptops during the summer, we moved, and life just kept happening....all that together led to my absence from blogging!
Let's stop the small talk and talk about fun girly things 😊.....
I have a past due review of a few pieces of jewelry from Premier Designs (2017), which is a independent consultant, direct sales type of company that grows from the same tree like Mary Kay, Avon, Scentsy, Pampered Chef, etc etc. Sells are made typically during a jewelry party and hosts earn jewelry credit to get free pieces of jewelry from their catalogs, which is exactly how I ended up with these pieces. In my opinion Premier Designs offers one of the best host benefit, offering at least 50% of the party sales as well as offering monthly specials to earn even more free jewelry. Find out more
here.
One of my favorites!!👇👇
Premier Designs, Stately ($46) Antique matte silver with crystal
The ring is gorgeous. The finish is described by PD as an antique matte silver but in my opinion looks more like a very matte white silver. There is almost no shine to it at all. The finish is so pretty, I wished I had more pieces with this type of finish. I like wearing this ring on my middle finger since it is large and takes up space on my finger so the reason probably has a lot to do with my fingers being so short, turns to naturally wearing my larger rings on my middle finger. The front crystal details shine bright. I'm realizing pictures here don't match the reality because the crystals are breath taking in person. Not only are the circular dots all along the ring a great touch for the design they are almost perfect in size and spacing. Every aspect of the ring is perfect in my opinion. The ring looks like it was designed and made with much care and the details are pristine.
The only piece that was really looking forward to wasn't as nice as I thought it would be....actually turned out to be a big disappointment.
Premier Designs, Gray Mist ($46) Antique matte silver and Mother of pearl
The stone looked great, it was the silver that gave me issues.
Worn, tattered, distressed is not how I wanted my jewelry to look. For me, the only way this type of finish is okay is if it's worn or distressed from everyday use, etc. While I think the worn and distressed look does look pretty when done correctly, I don't dismiss the look and style of it, I just think it has to be done correctly. In my opinion there is an art to it, just like other ways of creating jewelry. I own certain pieces of jewelry finished with this type of distressed/worn style, I like the way it looks....but I'm just not feeling this PD ring.
The first ring they sent me looked worn and used. The consultant assured me that was the finish/style on the ring they were going for. Wasn't happy with that so I asked for a second ring to compare. The second ring they sent wasn't any better....Worn, distressed, and had a small scratch on the stone and scratch on the silver part where the ring widens. Returned them both. It's disappointing because this ring could be gorgeous if not for the distressed look. If it's not broken, don't fix it.
A few more items that caught my eye include a inspirational bracelet, silver earrings, and a set of silver bangles. I had more items on my mind but found them to be over-priced.
Premier Designs Sea Spray ($29) Rhodium plated
Stunning, fun, and lightweight.
Using stoppers on the hook is a must when wearing these earrings, they are very light weight!
The design is nothing like I've ever seen. Perfect for adding more flair to your outfit. I usually wear these earrings with a floral top or a top with one simple color.
Premier Designs, Sentiments ($39) Antique matte silver, brass,
copper plated with crystal and cotton
For some reason the Sentiments bracelet is least worn of all my PD jewelry. I think I've worn it only once.
I'm not sure why but I feel uncomfortable wearing the black cotton cord. It's not the silver aspects that disconnect me, but I'm thinking it's the black cotton cord on this otherwise beautiful bracelet. Even so if the silver aspects were strung on a different type of cord, maybe silver, bronze, or even white cord I think it would look better and would lead me to wear it more. Now having said that I see a DIY project in my future.
Premier Designs, Stacktastic ($49) Antique Matte silver and crystals
Pretty and chic. I don't usually wear all 5 of these bracelets together since they make a ton of noise. I love wearing only 1, 2, or 3 if I'm in a good mood....I'm sometimes a minimalist 😀 The look of silver adds a nice touch to my outfits. I rarely wear the one with repeated crystals (left side).
Aside from all the beauty I did however run into a bit of a conspiracy involving these earrings, which I may or may not have lost it's other half 😏....
These (above) are Premier Designs earrings called Lilac ($28)
Matte silver plated with purple epoxy.
The design is paisley swirl, peacock inspired. Very light-weight so I use stoppers on the ear hook to stop them from falling out.
I went to Wal-Mart one day.....I wasn't looking for anything particular, just window shopping....
Those look familiar. My first thought.
They are literally the same earring.
The Wal-Mart version is obviously silver with blue epoxy and obviously more affordable.
I thought my mind was playing tricks so I went home to look at my PD versions. Then went back to purchase the Wal-Mart earrings (they were very cheap, like under $3), then went back home to compare and couldn't believe the resemblance. Same print, same hook (irrelevant), same type of metal except the PD earrings are silver plated and based with common oxidizer.
Were the PD earrings bought at the same distributor as Wal-Mart? Then did PD go and dip them in matte silver?
I don't have a problem with the idea of companies using pre-cut designs for earrings but I thought PD designed their own jewelry? I thought they had a design team to figure out all of this? I didn't think using a cheap 'Made in China' piece of metal was even an option they had. I'm kind of disappointed about it. Countless times I've been told the company takes pride in their work and is geared to honesty. But can you be both proud and honest using material for pennies to then sell for a profit? And how many more companies do this? It's like finding out Wal-Mart and Neiman Marcus sell the same pair of shoes. To be fair I must think about all the other pieces of PD jewelry that are probably no different than these earrings. It could have all just started off as a cheap metal that they carefully plated in silver, I don't know. All I know is that I'm shocked the same design somehow ended up on two totally opposite platforms.
By coincidence I wear the Wal-Mart version a lot more than the PD version! Like honestly the PD versions are very pretty with the oxidization to give it that antique silver look that I love, but the blue and silver on the WM version are somehow more practical and go with jeans since they are blue.
Disclaimer: All items were earned by my jewelry party sales as a host perk. All opinions are my own. This post contains safe links.
