Hopelessly Heather

During the past couple of years, I’ve found it increasingly difficult for me to summon up the energy to wear and show off new fashion and jewelry pieces–though, it’s not because of a lack of desire. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we have been under lockdowns, mask mandates, remote work mandates, social distancing, and a whole host of other things that eviscerated my very full pre-COVID “fashionista” existence. I now rarely leave my house and, when I do, I’m required to wear a mask for the majority, if not the entire, time I’m around other people, while also maintaining social distancing. The shift to remote work where video meetings are the norm has caused me to focus more on makeup looks, rather than adornments, which can be distracting when people only see you in a tiny box from the shoulders up, and (in person) are annoying to untangle from mask loops. Similarly, I’ve found myself gravitating towards simple and comfortable fashion pieces, most of which I have owned for some time. As such, since my jewelry and fashion collection has grown at the same rate this past year as in previous years, I’ve been terrible about cracking open the packaging and modeling the pieces. By the time I finally do muster up the energy to wear new things, it’s not unusual to learn that they have already come and gone in the brochure. Regardless, I am not going to let that stop me from posting photos and reviews of whatever new pieces I do find the inspiration to don. This intro is an explanation as to why you will see many items with “no longer available” after them, rather than linked to my eStore, but also to explain why my selfies have been “missing in action” a lot more the past couple of years. Here’s to hoping that 2022 will bring about some improvements!

Another link in the chain…in Avon’s Elegant Enamel Link Necklace and Sterling Silver Marcasite & Onyx Drop Earrings (no longer available).

There are a couple of things I found irritating about this necklace: (1) the links kept flipping every which way, and (2) the decorative links only made up less than half of the entire chain length. I don’t know if it’s just a me thing, but I always think that it makes a chain look unfinished and/or cheap when the decorative links of a medium-long necklace only take up a small portion of my chest. I’m sure it’s because I don’t wear many collared button-downs, which these would probably look a lot better with. Whatever it is, they just don’t end up being my favorite look. 

On the other side of the coin, these delicate drop earrings are exactly up my alley. They are simple, classic, and beautiful with a hint of sparkle, but aren’t distracting on camera or a pain in the butt to manage with mask. Bonus: They are feather light and because they are sterling silver, my ears don’t get angry at me!

Hearts and souls…in Avon’s Mother-of-Pearl Overlay Necklace (no longer available) and a pair of clear stone studs from an earring pack I previously reviewed that is also no longer available.

The pendant on this necklace has some heft! I was surprised at how large it was and how much it weighed–neither do I consider a negative. While I’ve been gravitating towards smaller and simpler pieces, my preferences have also shifted to shorter chain lengths because they can be seen in their entirety on video meetings. This necklace ticked all the boxes for me–it is really stunning in person. All of the clear glass bits glint and shine in the light, and the mother of pearl heart has a gorgeous opalescence to it when the light shifts (or I move). 

While the stud earrings aren’t particularly noteworthy, they are exactly the sort of earring I’ve been relying on throughout the pandemic–unobtrusive and simple, with a touch of beauty. 

Drop a little autumn here, a little autumn there, and a little autumn everywhere…in Avon’s Radiant Azure Drop Earrings (no longer available)!

LOOK. AT. THESE. The bluuuuuuuue is so stinkin’ pretty!! Again, these are small and light drop earrings, but they pack a wallop with their vibrancy! For the look on this day, I was wearing head to toe black/charcoal, and the earrings were the only punch of color. It’s really surprising when something beautiful, no matter how small, smacks you upside the head and shakes out a tear or two. When I opened this box and saw them in person, they were so perfect, I could have full-on cried. LOVE THEM!

Finding a muse…in Avon’s fmg Glimmer Eyeshadow Quad in Muse and Natural Wonder Earring Pack in Tiger Eye (no longer available)!

This palette is AMAZING! I really love that there are three mattes and one vibrant mega-shimmer shade–the ideal ratio of matte to shimmer for middle-aged (::ahem:: older) ladies like me. We still get a little va-va-voom, but not so much that it looks like we played in our grandkids’ glitter collection. You never really know how a shade will look on your eyes until you actually put it there, and I always fully commit, even if it would be in my best interest to remove it all and start again with other shades–I ain’t got time for that. As a result, I’m always overjoyed when I test out new shades/palettes and find that they look great on me!

The dangly earrings are a tad longer than I usually opt for, but they really caught my eye when I popped open the package and saw the set in its entirety. Side note: This is how I choose my jewelry pieces nearly every day–the ones that catch my eye first that day win! Believe it or not, I actually like how wonky the bits hang–they don’t look manufactured to perfection and, at a distance, you can’t even tell. I think they are really interesting to look at without being distracting.

Signature looks…in Avon’s Pearly Drop Necklace (no longer available), Iconic Signature Earrings, and fmg Glimmer Starry Night Eye Palette (no longer available)!

For proof that I fully commit to my eyeshadow choices, here you go. I never thought the grey-blue shimmer shadow in the palette would be way more blue than grey, but I was wrong. It turned out okay, but was way too shimmery for my taste, and was a bit too vibrant for the look I was going for. Regardless, it was totally my fault, and not the fault of the shadows–I’m still very much a newb when it comes to figuring out what all the different shades do on my skin and with my hazel eyes. Lesson learned.

I realized far too late (days after the fact) that none of the photos I took of the entire necklace on turned out well, thus you are stuck with only Avon’s stock photo of it, which is a shame, because it’s striking! My favorite thing about it is that you can slide each end of the chain through the circular thing to make them hang at whatever lengths work best for you–even going so far as cinching up the circular thing (what the heck is that called?!) all the way up to choke length, which I did on another day and LOVED IT. 

The earrings are Avon’s iconic emblem that could be found on its fashion pieces’ packaging and tags for several years. There’s no way I couldn’t get these for my collection–they have a vintage look, but also honor Avon’s fashion history. Check. Check. Take my money. Adding the clear glass stone in the center only upped their fancy factor. Yes, please…and, thank you.

Reach for the stars…in Avon’s Celestial Earrings Gift Set!

I dunno whose brainchild it was to take a traditional hoop earring and add a little dangly goodness to it, but I want to thank them–I saw so many iterations of this design last year and I’m a big fan! While still offering up simplicity, they put necks on a swivel for double-takes. Perfect for little peek-a-boos through hair worn down–a rarity this past year! I need these in all the metals and shades!!

Sparkling is mandatory for the first night of Avon Kickoff in Avon’s Sparkling Leaves Choker Necklace (no longer available).

Why on earth did I wait so long to wear this choker?! It’s beyond, guys! Avon Kickoff provided dress codes for the first two evenings, and both required some glamming up. It felt so great to get all dolled up, and this choker had me squealing in glee. It is made up entirely of clear glass stones that sparkle all the way around, so nobody will miss out on its brilliance! Surprisingly, it’s only a medium weight, so it doesn’t feel like your neck has gotten a huge workout when you take it off at the end of the night. 

I pulled the adorable studs out of my jewelry box, which I’ve reviewed before…though I can no longer recall their name, so I was unable to locate the review. Regardless, they were the ideal pairing, and I wore them styled like a mini ear crawler–so cute!

Old school glamour, Avon Kickoff style, in Avon’s Love Infinitely 3 Piece Set (no longer available)!

Because it had been (seemingly) a million years since I’d gone way over the top for a vintage look, I pulled out all the stops for the second night of Avon Kickoff, and took a ton of photos for posterity. The 3-piece set also included a fabulous necklace, but I opted to wear the bright red satin ribbon instead, so it stayed in the box while I donned the stud earrings and ring; however, I can report that the necklace is just as blingy as the other pieces in the set–and it’s set in an infinity symbol…it’s marvelous! The earrings don’t look special in photos, but they are large, causing spectacular brilliance! I don’t wear many rings aside from my wedding set, but this ring was perfect for this look–very old school glam. 

Into the mystic…with Avon’s Colorblock Cardigan, and Sterling Silver Mystic Topaz Necklace and Earrings! 

I’m kicking off 2022 warm and comfy in this cardigan! I don’t know why I assumed it would be knit, but it’s a poly blend, which I really dig. It is flowy and hangs beautifully to show off the color-blocked handkerchief hem. My only gripe is that the small had a lot of excess fabric all around (I plan on gathering some of the excess in the back with one of those sweater suspender things), and the arms are cut for someone much taller–which isn’t usually much of an issue, except that the wrists of this cardigan are also color-blocked. Overall, I love it though!

More small-scaled goodness with some gorgeous topaz–just look at all the colors in those stones…they are magnificent! The sterling silver chain on the necklace is the same as all the others, and I still wish they’d include a few extra “loops” to shorten the length, but that’s a tiny gripe. I realized after taking photos that the earrings are different from each other, and I had them in the wrong ears–whoops! They are still sensational, even if the stone encrusted edges are on the wrong side. ::giggle::

Those are all of the past several weeks’ selfies! What was your favorite and how would you have worn it?!

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