Antique Silver Arm Chain Sleeve Review.

My goodness it's been a long time, hasn't it!? Welcome back!

 So I think we shall just get straight to it, shall we? Excellent.

Background information about the purchase:

On Thursday 4th April, exactly one week ago, I decided it was time that I try to find some more bits and pieces for my IllumiNaughty psy-trance night costume - as it was exactly one month until the event happens. I'm going as a gothic tribeswoman - so think of Lara Croft but slightly less generic. After scouring the internet trying to find an "upper arm bangle," I came across a little (but by no means insignificant) eBay shop with lots of independent, home made jewellery. Thinking this was perfect, I browsed through her products and came across the one I wanted to buy. The measurements for said product were very helpful and after realising that I'd have to have my version of the product adjusted so that it would fit, I got in contact with the seller (Melissa). She was very accommodating and helpful and responded very quickly, telling me that it would be no problem. After giving her my specific measurements via email, I bought the item. I immediately got the automated eBay email saying that my order had been placed, and shortly after, I received an email from Melissa herself, telling me that she would dispatch my item first thing the next morning. Excited to see how it would turn out, I awaited the arrival of my package.

Only two days after purchase, my package arrived!

You know what time it is! It's review time!

Here is the contents of the package - which was small (and sweet), but that's excellent for those of us who like to protect the planet as much as we can.

Even though it's such a tiny product, I love the wrapping that it came in. It could have just come in some boring plastic wrapper and then put directly into the brown envelope - but I think it's much nicer when you're presented with something that's slightly different instead. It also seems to be a lovely trend to personalise the product with a cute little handwritten message. As with my other products that I've reviewed thus far, I was very pleased to see it on the back of the envelope!

 Now, it's the actual jewellery's turn to be in the spotlight!

Here's the jewellery inside its little package. As you can see, the sticker is adorably intricate and the message is a nice gesture.

My little bundle of chain that was hiding inside the stripy outer packaging! I'm really glad that there was outer packaging because it made the experience even more pleasant.

I think it's time to wear the chain and see if it fits.

Hooray! The fit is nice and snug and it generally feels quite nice to wear too. I also really like the way that it looks. The chain at the top above the elbow is adjustable which is very handy. If you need other adjustments making to the measurements given on Melissa's eBay page, then she will be more than willing to do that for you. I can't wait to try it on with the rest of my costume. This was absolutely worth the £8.99 + the £1.05 p&p fee. 

To conclude: Melissa was very helpful right from the beginning. I felt very at ease buying from her eBay shop. I was a little concerned that the product wouldn't fit upon arrival, but the time and effort that she clearly spent adjusting the product for me made sure that that wasn't an issue. I loved that there was more to the packaging than your generic online shopping experience from big retailers. Her shop is home to many intricate and unique products that are all hand made and I'd be very comfortable ordering from her again in the future.

Efficiency: 10/10

Packaging: 10/10

Comfort: 10/10

Quality: 10/10

Service:  10/10

Thank you very much, Melissa! Here's her eBay shop:

Click here. 

And that's all for the time being! Thank you for taking the time to read! Ciao for now. x

Vae Nox Personalised Choker Review.

Good afternoon my little snugglepops! 

Firstly, I must apologise for my absence lately. My laptop has been undergoing a spot of maintenance and so I haven't been able to spend much time on it. However, I'm back (for now) and I have a new review in store for you! (Ooh that rhymes).

Background information about the purchase:

On Thursday the 28th February, I ordered a gothic style choker with a unicorn cameo, from a delightful little independent online shop called Vae Nox. I came across Vae Nox on Tumblr and was amazed by how intricate and unique some of her products were. I messaged her, and she was happy to work with me in doing this review! She immediately offered me discount on a product of my choice, which I thought was really very generous. I picked the product that I liked the most, but there was a slight problem (due to me being so darn picky)! I didn't want the actual choker part to be purple and black because I own no purple clothes, and my intent is to actually wear this item of jewellery! (Funnily enough). So upon explaining this slight predicament, she seemed very keen to help and explained that she had a plain black choker in a slightly different material and that she would be more than happy to personalise the product for me! I accepted and within an hour and a half, a message popped up with two photos of my personalised product. She then linked me to her Etsy store where I had my own listing and coupon code for the product. I bought the product and she notified me that she had received my payment both through the formal Etsy guidelines, and through the messages we were sending on Facebook. I was told that my product would be shipped the following morning and that it may take slightly longer to arrive due to it having to make its way across from Switzerland. Excited, I thanked her profusely and awaited my package... 

One week later after making the arduous journey from Switzerland, my choker, along with some cute complimentary goodies, arrived in the post! :D

Now for the review itself!

Here is the contents of the package - which was well protected. 

I love the gift wrapping. It reminded my mum and I of an old fashioned sweet shop. I was particularly amused with the "made with love" at the top of the stripy package. Once again as with the circlet, there was a cute little personalised message on my receipt (which never fails to make me smile).

There's my little personalised message on the receipt. 

Now for the choker and all the little bits and bobs that came with it!

This is the choker in its individual little package. 

This is the back of the choker. I really liked the intricate pattern on it. It gives it an authentic vintage feel and the weight of the cameo itself gives it a very high quality feel.

There's the choker. It's well made, and as you can see - it has a chain at the back so you can adjust it to the size of your neck, which certainly comes in handy! The material of the choker itself is very smooth and it feels delightful against the skin. There is also a strip of velvet that runs along the top of the choker and sits against your skin which makes it feel secure and soft.

I also got a free pair of earrings (middle), a free Vae Nox emblem badge (left) and a free skull cameo badge (right). I have put some pictures below of each of those products separately:

I thought this was such a fantastic, kind, and lovely surprise. I certainly appreciated it and it really goes to show just how much time and effort Kim put in to making this experience special for me. I think it helps to remind the buyer that this isn't your normal high street shopping experience. This is one person, trying to fill in the blanks that the high street retailers miss, by selling alternative but very well thought out and good quality products. 

Let's put the choker on shall we!? 

Yes. Let's.

Et voila! There we have one well made, well fitting choker. I look forward to choosing an outfit based around my new choker. This is a fantastic accessory and I think that it's tasteful for any occasion - whether that's casual or posh. 

To conclude: My experience with this seller was extremely pleasant. She was helpful, accommodating, generous, kind and very thoughtful with every aspect of this purchase. Her dedication to making her customers happy, definitely shows. Everything was well thought out and the experience was smooth, from the very beginning. I came across absolutely no problems and I certainly have no second thoughts about getting in contact and ordering with Vae Nox. Rest assured, I will definitely be looking at her website for any alternative/gothic jewellery purchases in future. 

Efficiency: 10/10

Packaging: 10/10

Comfort: 10/10

Quality: 10/10

Service:  10/10

Thank you very much Vae Nox for making this an enjoyable shopping experience! Here are her links:

Facebook: CLICK

Etsy: CLICK

Tumblr: CLICK

Thank you very much for reading!

Circlet Review.

Hello there! It's time for my first ever review. So here goes nothing!

Background and information about the purchase:

On Monday the 25th of February, I ordered a silver circlet from a cute little eBay shop: which can be found here. I'm going to a psy trance night in May and I needed this as part of my costume. The first thing I noticed was simply how perfect the item was. When I looked at the price, I noticed that it was £14.99 + £2.50 p&p or best offer. Intrigued, I decided to take my chance at making a "best offer." So I contacted her with an almost random offer of £7. A couple of hours later, I received an email notification that said the seller had made a counter offer of £10.50 + £2.50 p&p. Thinking this was very reasonable (after making a saving of £4.50), I accepted the offer and sent a thank you reply for being so generous. She replied stating that my order would be sent by first class post the next morning. 

Sure enough, the next morning, I received an email notification saying that my order had been sent! (Yay)!

So when the post arrived just after lunch time today (27th February), I was super happy to see a cute little box that could only contain one thing: - my circlet!

Now for the review!

I opened the box and was greeted by a tidy appearance and a nice little personal message on my receipt.

That's the content of the box - well presented with pretty blue tissue paper.  

There's my message! I'm not sure if the little message comes as standard with every receipt that's put into people's orders - but I think it's a nice idea. It's simple, but it personalises the sale a little bit more and helps to close the gap between the impersonal internet shopping experience and the personal high street-style shopping experience. It's a nice reminder that an actual person has sent this and has put the time and effort into making sure it arrives safely and promptly. 

Here comes the exciting bit - the circlet itself! 

Laid out on the pretty blue tissue paper. As you can see, it has a chain at the back so it is adjustable. I have a little head, so naturally I placed it on the smallest link. However, depending on hairstyle, other head wear such as a veil (if you're a bride) and of course, natural head size - the chain means that you can have it as big or as little as you like - which is super handy!

Now for the moment of truth - does it fit?

Yes it does! It's slightly the wrong shape for my head but that can be solved by a little bit of nipping and tucking on the jewellery itself. It's versatile enough to allow for a little bit of adjustment - again if you're wearing a complicated hairstyle or other head wear, being able to adjust the jewellery itself might come in useful. 

It's very comfortable and I think it'll top my costume off nicely! 

To conclude: I very much enjoyed my experience with this seller. She's very kind and obviously dedicated to delivering the best service to her customers. I know exactly where to go in future to make any unique, but classy jewellery purchases. 

Efficiency: 10/10 

Packaging: 10/10

Comfort: 10/10

Quality: 10/10

Service: 10/10

Thank you to unfauxgettable for allowing me to do this review and for generally being an excellent service provider! 

You should definitely check out her eBay store/ website. Her eBay store is linked above, and here is a link to her actual website: CLICK.

Thank you for reading.