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!

If you’re feeling a bit flummoxed by the Tahitians, the South Sea, the Akoyas and the Mabes … and considering just buying a nice new saucepan as a gift instead, we’re here to give you a bit of insight! We’re also here to save you from having that saucepan thwacked over your head (no lady wants another excuse to be confined to the kitchen!). Here’s a quick rundown of the difference between freshwater and salt water pearls.

Can you tell whether they are salt or fresh water pearls?

Basically, the difference between freshwater pearls and salt water pearls is that in one, the pearl mussel or oyster is a salt water creature, and a fresh water resident in the other! There you go - end of explanation .

However, in terms of jewelry buying, there are quite a few differences between fresh water pearls and salt water pearls.

One of the main reasons that people feel that salt water pearls are of higher quality than fresh water, is that salt water pearls are more often natural pearls, and less often cultured. It is more difficult to control the circumstances under the ocean, and oysters are often lost to environmental occurrences. People that are ‘farming’ pearls prefer safer, freshwater environments. However! Not all freshwater pearls are cultured, and not all salt water ones are natural. In fact, only a small percentage of salt pearls are natural - in many places in the world, ‘hunting’ oysters for the chance of finding a natural pearl is illegal. Wild oyster harvesting is tightly regulated.

A cultured salt water pearl is still a joy to behold, and there are a couple of major differences between salt and fresh water pearls, whether God put them there, or we tweaked nature’s work along a little bit:

• Salt water pearls generally have a more brilliant shine than fresh water pearls
• Salt water pearls are usually round, freshwater pearls are usually off-round, which is sometimes called ‘Baroque’. Sounds better than ‘looks like someone sat on it’, anyway!
• Salt water pearls come in a narrower range of colors. Fresh water pearls usually take on the hue of the mussel’s shell, but can also be dyed by naughty, interfering humans
• Saltwater pearls almost invariably come from the mollusc family Pteriidae. Remember that next time you’re playing Trivial Pursuit!

An example of 'looks like someone sat on it', or Baroque pearls ;-)

As to the different names of salt water pearls, they almost always refer to the region they were grown in. Regional differences can make some slight variations in pearl appearance. Akoya pearls originally came from the Akoya region near Japan, South Sea pearls are caught in the southern hemisphere, including Australia, and Tahitian pearls come from the North Pole. Ha! Caught you :-).

Or, if you want an extremely simple way to tell the difference - salt water pearls almost always cost more than freshwater pearls!

Most people do a fair bit of research on their bridal jewellery. You’ll look into things like what necklace shapes and styles will best complement the neckline of your gown, whether your dress is simple enough to accent it with a tiara or hair jewelry, what earrings your little cousins are less likely to rip straight out of your ears, and which bracelets won’t get filled with cake so easily!

Wedding jewelry - simple, stylish, or super-over-the-top?

One thing that a lot of people discount because it seems too ornate, or too expensive (not actually true, happily!), is incorporating your wedding jewelry into your dress! Bridal Market Week in New York late last year saw the resuscitation of this trend, when Crystallized Swarovski Elements collaborated with some of the States’ hottest designers. Zuhair Murad, Vivienne Westwood, Alice Temperly, Vera Wang and Julien McDonald were among those involved in the resurgence of a wedding dress as part of the bridal jewelry.

If you’re going to indulge in this sweet, ethereal and decadent trend, we have some dos and don’ts for crystal dresses as bridal jewelry:

Do:

-          Go as ornate as you like with your actual wedding jewelry. As long as it is still tasteful! Most crystal wedding gowns are more of a shimmer than all-out Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves material.

-          Allow yourself the luxury of some color in your wedding jewelry - there’s no need to coordinate to the accountancy rulebook. It’s all about your personality.

-          Consider using mirror backed crystals … in moderation. If you see Michael Jackson standing at the window of your bridal shop, salivating while looking at your dress, you might want to lose some of the mirror ;-). Just a bit!

Don’t:

-          Forget to co-ordinate your veil. Crystals can be scattered through for a starry night effect, or form part of the trim for a regal look.

-          Be afraid to splash out on wedding jewelry, or one show-piece in particular. Crystal jewelry is very budget friendly compared to traditional stones.

-          Choose jewelry and a dress that will interfere with each other. It’s just as awkward as that time you and your boyfriend got your braces caught together. And just as embarrassing!

And just a warning, if you choose to check out the full complement of dresses from the show - you will see bald brides, as well as some that look decidedly like they haven’t yet completed a full course of hormone therapy! But aren’t the dresses beautiful …

Vera Wang Crystal Wedding Gown

Julien McDonald Crystal Wedding Gown

Zuhair Murad Wedding Gown

Monique Lhoullier Crystal Wedding Gown