live the good life, live the #Prairielife

When Prairie Charms announced a new blogger collaboration on their Twitter page, I won't lie - I was as game as a badger for a piece of the action. Their website is one I had been stalking for a little while - their stock package is all so pretty [feel free to do your own stalking by clicking here or by visiting their gorgeous little blog here.]

I love quirky, one-off little boutiques and with Prairie Charms' vast choice of unique, hand-picked and hand-made products; these guys ticked all the right boxes for me. Prairie Charms sell beautiful pieces of jewellery, beauty bits 'n' bobs and hair accessories - and new for 2015 they have branched out into some simply fab habitat and packaging ranges too.

There's no better feeling than having a little online shopping spree, right? WELL, get this; there is. 

You know that warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you donate to someone less fortunate than yourself or when you contribute towards a cause that means the world to you? And the intense, blissful joy that online shopping brings to the soul? Prairie Charms allows you to bask in the glory of both those feelings simultaneously. 'Cos for every piece you buy from them, they'll donate 10% of their profits to the Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital Charity and the 'Kiss it Better' campaign.

It's guilt free shopping, guys.

So, the aim of this collab action was to pick out some pieces from Prairie Charms' range and write them into a lifestyle blog post; all to celebrate the launch of their gorge new lifestyle ranges. #PrairieLife. And I mean really; I was spoilt for choice.

In the end, I chose the Fallon Beaded Wire Bracelet [shop similar styles here] and the Sada Nail Glitter in gold.

The Delivery

So, after a couple of days of nearly mobbing the postman in my excitement, my little parcel arrived. I won't lie, I ripped it open pretty swiftly, but the packaging was so cute. Everything was wrapped in sweet pink tissue paper, taped with patterned washi tape from the range and in a fab little purple shiny postage bag. Little, girly touches like this on a delivery make you really remember the company that sent them and really added to the overall Prairie Charms experience; it was like Christmas unwrapping my little wrapped items :}

Prairie Charms were also kind enough to throw in a little freebie with my order - and it's like they read my mind. You may have seen - in my #TMIFridays post from the other week - how I got my jars out to show you [ooh-eer] and said how I'd love to decorate them and make them a bit prettier. Well, they only went and sent me this super cute Katy Prettiest Pink ribbon. So my little achievement jars got the girly makeover they oh so needed. 

Fallon Beaded Wire Bracelet

So, this little beauty is a one-off piece. I can bask firmly in the glory of knowing that there are no two of these fab little bracelets the same and for once, I own an original of something! But if you love it as much as I do, don't worry - there's other similar ones you can buy here.

I chose the pink, neutral tones to suit my wardrobe; I tend to go for pastels or neutral shades when I make a purchase; dusky pink, oxblood, tan, cream, black and gold - so this colour will fit in a treat. However, the colour of the charm bracelet also lends itself incredibly well to summer and festival season. 

The peace symbol meant a lot to me in picking out this piece; I've had a truly horrible few months of bad health and anxiety, and this little charm appealed to me in representing that I am working to find peace in my life and the importance of finding [and remembering] your inner peace. Hashtag DEEP.

Plus let's not lie, it's well cute.

Sada Nail Glitter

Just putting it out there; I'm a bit of a magpie. I heart a bit of sparkle, a sprinkle of glitter. And this glitter just looked fabulous. 

I don't want to sound like Goldmember off Austin Powers, but I love gold. I don't own any silver jewellery and all my bags have gold trimmings. I love how well gold complements other colours, instantly adding a splash of warmth. So although I ummed and ahhed over pretty much the whole range of nail glitters on the site, it was always going to be gold for me.

The glitter is so fine and shimmery; such a lovely, consistent quality. Not like the way I imagine glitter; those primary school memories of the plastic tubes of glitter and squeezy bottles of PVA glue you used to attack / bling up your paintings with. I was really excited to try this product out.

For summer, I'll wear this with pastel shades. I might experiment and do French Tips, or make little stencils and sprinkle the glitter on too - the world is my [fabulously sparkly] oyster.

For nights out or occasions where I want to sparkle [excuse that terrible pun] I'd also love to do all my nails out in this beautiful glitter.

The application

It's dead simple to apply.

Prairie Charms advise that you apply this glitter over paper, so any excess can be shimmied back into the packet and reused. Fab idea! Also avoids there being a 'shipyourenemiesglitter.com' type accident on the carpet. So that's what I did. And it was all good.

I decided I wanted to mix the shimmery, light catching texture of the glitter with a matte polish. I LOVE a good old oxblood shade [despite it being a bit last season] and always feel fab with this colour on my nails. Maroon and gold look amazing together; classy, warming and suit most colours; adding a vampy twist to my nails. 

So I decided for my initial look to use the glitter on my ring finger; to create a statement nail. I used Revlon's nail enamel in 'Ruby Ribbon' matte and I also popped a quick coat of Barry M's Gold Foil nail polish on my statement nail, to ensure it was gold through and though! After painting my statement nail, I sprinkled the glitter on and once it was dry, used a coat of clear polish to hold the glitter in place and prevent it coming off too easily.

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I am made up with my purchases and have enjoyed every step of my journey with Prairie Charms. In fact, I loved it all that much that I have signed up to receive their first Spring Box - I can't wait to see what goodies are inside!! Their customer service is fab, their packaging - in homage to their stock - is one-off, personalised and cute - and all this whilst knowing that your purchases are helping others. You get to buy something one-off, handmade AND help out a charity at the same time. All shopping should feel this good. 

Keep your eyes peeled; there will be more on this collaboration coming soon!

In the meantime, why don't you check out Prairie Charms' website and blog?

And if you want to see other bloggers' collabs and what they thought of different items in the range, simply search for the hashtag #PrairiePayItForward on Twitter. There are some truly fab ideas and gorgeous home-made blogger creations - makes me want to order alllll over again!

Have you ordered through Prairie Charms yet? What do you have your eye on this season?