You can read plenty about Akoya pearls, South Sea pearls, Tahitian pearls and freshwater pearls on the web. Everybody that sells them is keen to tell you about these common variants. Today we’re looking at some of the less common varieties of pearls, their features … and who will love them!

Conch Pearls - For Chic Chicks!

Conch pearls look quite different to the pearls we are used to - they do not have a lustrous nacre on the outside. However, they are still extremely valuable, because nobody has devised a method to culture them! All conch pearls are natural pearls, so if you’re looking into a conch pearl piece of jewelry, be prepared for your credit card to slink off, hoping you won’t notice him slip out the door.

Despite a lack of nacre, they can be extremely beautiful, with a ‘flame’ effect in the color.

Keshi Pearls - All Shine

Keshi pearls are the exact opposite of conch pearls - they are all nacre. They are formed as part of the culturing process, when the oyster rejects the implanted nucleus, but continues producing a pearl anyway. Keshi pearls used to be bargain pearls with a beautiful look - now they are much rarer since pearl farmers have begun reimplanting rejected nuclei. Therefore, you know the drill … they are more expensive!

They are extremely high-shine pearls, and beautiful on women who look to dress up and hit the town.

The most prized pearls are often the most unusual

Cortez Pearls

These are simply pearls from a particular type of mollusc - the Pinctada maximia, and Pteria Sterna, which live in the Gulf of California. Cortez pearls as an export for Mexico were once worth more than all the country’s other exports combined. They were fished almost to extinction, resulting in a ban on hunting the molluscs, however culturing technology has brought them back.

Cortez pearls have a gorgeous thick nacre and are reasonably large - and they are also the only pearl in the gem industry to completely qualify under the Fair Trade Gems protocols. Great for luxury loving yet eco-friendly women!

Online shopping has been billed everywhere as the stress-free alternative to ‘real-life’ shopping. While it has plenty of advantages (huge price discounts on great items, no petrol, fast shopping), this is not always true! Apart from the drawback that we are slowly replacing more and more ‘real life’ activities with ‘fake’ ones on the internet (think Facebook for friendship, P2P for cinemas, and Second Life for the whole rest of life!), online shopping has its own drawbacks. If you have ever spent hours comparing prices, looking for shipping rates, finding out that they don’t ship to your area, and receiving items only to find that your hips have magically expanded since you order, you’ll know what I mean!

Shopping online is not always stress-free

So we’re here to look at the benefits of both different shopping styles - and tell you that to learn to shop without any stress, you will definitely need a mix of both in your life. For example, when it comes to clothes and shoes, it always pays to go to the mall first. The instant gratification and endorphin rush really is unbeatable - plus, you can try it on! But, how many times have you bought something on impulse at hte mall … only to see it for half the price at an online store, a week later. D’oh! These tips for making real-life shopping stress free come from the Glam network … stress-free online shopping tips follow :-).

Shopping with friends - much more fun than in front of a screen

• Don’t give in to peer pressure. Shopping with a friend can create some of your best memories in life - but it can also create overfilled, hardly used wardrobes. If something suits your friend/s taste, but not yours, don’t be afraid to say so! True friends will respect your opinions. Tell her you just want to check out some other ones before deciding, if you are feeling particularly clucky and feathery … chicken!
• Pay no attention to that number in the corner. Pick clothes for trying on by eye, not by size label. And do make sure you try on! In many stores, the sizing charts are as much a statement of the store’s culture and customer base as any representation of actual reality.
• Make a plan, and force yourself to stick to it. That is, don’t bring your credit cards if you know you shouldn’t be spending on them! Make this decision at home, well away from that gorgeous summer dress…
• If you’re shopping for swimsuits, do your fake tan a couple of days beforehand. You might be just as disapproving of your ‘circumference’ in the mirrors (even though nobody else is! They’re looking at your gorgeous smile, remember :-)), but at least you’ll look like a beach goddess at the beginning of spring.
• Have a good check through your wardrobe before you leave - you’ll have an idea of what will go with what, and also help you set goals for what you really need - and what you don’t.

One of the best ways to make sure you keep to your self-imposed shopping ‘rules’ and goals is to bring a friend who’s not afraid to crack the whip - gently! Tell her your plans before you leave, and ask for some gentle reminders, and where necessary, some violent arm-pulling .

Shopping online does have plenty of benefits. There are just too many online retialers with excellent prices, secure payments, great service and a huge range to ignore online shopping. If you can remember a few simple guidelines, and get yourself set up to shop online, it will be a much less stressful experience!

Online shopping - there's plenty of money in it, but it doesn't have to come from YOUR purse!

• Check out the big online stores first (Amazon, eBay, Etsy, etc), rather than Google. Google’s ranking system has nothing to do with value for money, customer service, or product range. You can sometimes find yourself falling into a ‘Google hole’ when shopping online, which is very frustrating.
• When you find a good online retailer (like one of our favourite online pearl stores ;-)), make sure you bookmark them. They can be impossible to find with Google again. Keep them all organized into an ‘online shopping’ folder within your bookmarks.
• Get yourself a Paypal account, to avoid the worry of having your credit card details with a hundred different sites. Many retailers use Paypal - if you want to buy something from one that doesn’t have Paypal and you’re concrened about security, find a phone number and see if you can pay over the phone. Oftentimes you will not need to provide a CVV number over the phone.
• Always double check shipping, handling and credit card payment charges.
• Try to compare at least three prices for the same item.
• And check the Better Business Bureau to ensure that the merchant you’re buying from is not listed as a ‘bad egg’ with these guys.

Most of all, if something seems to good to be true, it almost always is!