beauty winter

Product of the week: WHITE AAA QUALITY FRESHWATER PEARL NECKLACE

What better way to add a little traditional class and elegance to a sultry summer number than with a gorgeous pearl necklace? At PearlsOnly you have a wide and stunning variety of pearl necklace designs.

The beauty of pearls has been admired for hundreds of years, their sleek and dreamy surface conveys radiant and pure beauty with their silvery shimmer and stunning white glow – they can be worn as part of a classic dinner date outfit or a light summer dress to turn heads under either the soft glow of a candlelit meal or the brilliant gleam of natural sunshine. read more

Lavender-pearls

Surprise pearl finds!

Pearls have been used in jewellery making and valued highly within our society for many generations, and considered to be great objects of beauty for countless centuries. The most valuable and revered pearls occur quite naturally in oysters or fresh-water mussels but are extremely rare, with the majority of pearls being artificially made, or cultured. They are not the same quality as those that occur naturally but are much cheaper and so are more readily available to everyone.

So considering the rarity of naturally occurring pearls, imagine the surprise of one woman when she discovered two pearls inside an oyster that had cost her less than a pound! Apparently the odds of finding a pearl in this way are around two million to one. The lucky lady was with her fiancé enjoying a celebratory home cooked meal. Shellfish and champagne was the chosen menu as the couple had recently managed to finally buy a new home. The oysters had been carefully cooked smothered in parmesan cheese. read more

Pearls – folklore and healing properties

It is quite amazing that something as beautiful as a pearl starts life in a most unglamorous way, growing from a tiny piece of grit inside a mollusc which is not renowned for its beauty! Although occurring naturally for many centuries the advent of cultured pearls made these wonders available to many more people who can now enjoy the indulgence of owning and wearing stunning pieces of pearl jewellery.

Our love of pearls and their association with all things beautiful goes back a very long way in history. In Roman times Venus was their goddess of love and personified all that we associate with pearls – love, innocent charm, resplendent beauty, and all with a touch of mystery. The story goes that Venus started her life fully grown inside the shell of an oyster. She emerged naked out of the sea to fill the world with love and beauty. read more

Pearls of wisdom – fascinating facts about pearls

No one can deny that pearls are beautiful and can be used in jewellery to make stunning creations. But how much do we actually know about them? Apparently there are as many as 17 different types of pearls and these fall into three main categories – natural, cultured and imitation.

Natural pearls are very rare these days due to over harvesting in the past. For them to be formed requires a unique set of circumstances. They are formed inside molluscs, moist commonly oysters and mussels. The process begins when an irritant gets inside the shell. This could be something as small as a tiny grain of sand or little stone. In order to protect the surface inside the mollusc a secretion known as nacre is secreted around the irritant. Layer upon layer of this lustrous substance builds up and so the pearl is formed. This rather amazingly can take up to seven or eight years. Although there is variation amongst the species as few as one in every thousand oysters or mussels might contain a pearl. And out of these only a few will be of the right quality and texture. In terms of quantity, around three tons of oysters might only produce 3 or 4 perfect pearls. The most valuable pearls are perfectly symmetrical, relatively large and produced naturally. They shine and shimmer and have an iridescence known as orient lustre. The main oyster beds lie in the Persian Gulf, along the coasts of India and Sri Lanka, and in the Red Sea. Chinese pearls come mainly from freshwater rivers and ponds, whereas Japanese pearls are found near the coast in salt water. Freshwater pearls also occur in the rivers of Scotland, Ireland, France, and Austria. The different locations and types of water where the molluscs are found produce local variations in colour, ranging from white, to those with a hint of colour, often pink, to brown or black. read more

WHERE DO PEARLS COME FROM?

Pearls are quite possibly the oldest form of widely used, naturally occurring beauty product for use in cosmetics and jewellery available – they have been around since, well, not TOO far after the beginning of time (okay, human time – if we’re speaking dinosaurs and the lot they’ve only been around for a few seconds!) and it’s brilliant that they have stood the test of time so well that their beauty is still revered by connoisseurs of all things luxury all over the world on a daily basis. read more

Super easy ways to get the Hollywood starlet look

When it comes to femininity and glamour than nothing comes close to the old Hollywood trends. From the twenties onwards Hollywood saw the rise of the powerful and provocative female that loved to not only flaunt it, but ooze style and sophistication. There is a rather specific formula to the old Hollywood glamour look but it is by no means a secret one. The look is easy to adopt and the female fashion icons are still just as relevant and worshipped today then ever. When it comes to achieving the look of a Hollywood starlet such as Marilyn Monroe, May West and Audrey Hepburn to name but a few there are a few set rules you need to follow. In this post we are going to cover everything you need to know from top to bottom to achieve this gorgeous look. From hair rollers, pearl necklaces and eyeliner tricks, right down to faux fur coats and stilettos we’ve got it covered! Head’s up girls, here’s how it’s done. read more

The Best Pearl Accessories

The pearl has come along way throughout history and is no longer confined to grandmas jewelry box! Pearls are one of the fashion industry’s favourite embellishment and we are seeing them everywhere from the lining of denim shorts to pearl encrusted headbands. The beauty of pearls is universal and they are certainly not limited to necklaces, earrings and bracelets.

In this post, we are going to examine the many different ways in which pearls have inspired our fashion, culture and lives not to mention their artistic influence. What’s so great about a pearl? A pear is born in the ocean and recovered like a secret treasure; fashion designers, artists and regular folk alike have all drawn inspiration for the iridescent little gem. What gives pearls that beautiful, natural iridescent glow? They are actually made up of layers of calcium carbonate most commonly in the form of nacre, a natural substance which is produced by pearl oysters that coats the inside of the sea creatures shell. read more

Pearls for prom

Prom season is almost here! You’ve all worked so hard and now you’re looking forward to ending your term in the true style of prom. You probably have a million things buzzing around in your minds about what you’re going to wear, how you’re going to have your make-up and most importantly, who’s going to be your date! Prom can be a magical time but also a stressful one if you are getting yourself in a bit of a mess trying to work out what’s going to look best on you.

We know you have been browsing the net endlessly and have been shopping with your girlfriends trying to piece together the perfect look. But why not begin with something as simple as a pearl bracelet or necklace? You don’t always shave to begin with the dress, pick the accessories first then choose the dress afterwards, it really works. read more

Pastels, pearls, mermaids and make-up

Thinking outside the box and using pearls to create the perfect look

So, you love wearing your pearls as we all do. Pearls offer you that beautiful subtle hint of feminine beauty with a touch of class. Wearing pearls can make you feel feminine, flirty and fun and can also open up many more doors when it comes to fashion and beauty. In this post we are going to explore how your love of pearls can be transferred to your style and used in numerous different ways to create and inspire looks. Trending at the moment is the themes of pastels and pearls and the ‘mermaid’ look, the mermaid look sees women incorporating pearls into their overall look as opposed to wearing them simply as jewellery so we are also going to excitedly explore this gorgeously alternative look as an excellent way to explore pastels, pearls, mermaids and make-up read more