Vintage Pompadour Pearls // Cleaning

Pompadour Pearls are a brand of faux pearl that were popular in the 1950s and 60s. This particular strand has a gorgeous ornate clasp and these were given to me from my mother who got them from her mother. Obviously they're quite old, and while still beautiful, they were looking a bit yellowed and aged. I did a bit of research on them and decided to give cleaning them a go.

They were so easy to clean- I took a bowl of warm (not hot) water, added some gentle hand soap and let the pearls soak in the solution for a few minutes. Then I just rubbed gently the necklace with a toothbrush so I could get into all the cracks. Once they looked clean, I just gently dried them with a towel, particularly the clasp.

As you can see from the photos, it has made a big difference and they're looking a lot whiter then before. No doubt you'll be seeing these in some upcoming outfit posts as they are just so beautiful!

Olivia Ellen XXX

Old and Borrowed: Jewellery

I don't know about you but I adore vintage and old items because I love thinking that there may be some kind of story behind them. Today I wanted to show you a few jewellery items that I've acquired and let me tell you, I love them all.

The first item is my most recent, I got this fabulous necklace from a charity shop (I believe it was a Compton Hospice shop) for only £2.50. I didn't buy this with the intention of wearing it out- I actually bought it for a costume- but I think it's so pretty. It's simple yet makes a statement because of the sparkles, and oh how I love sparkles...The only weird this is the clasp- it's just a hook which keeps the necklace on because of the large gem at the end. It's been ok so far but I'll have to be careful with it. I love wondering who this necklace once belonged to and what they wore it for.

The rest of the items I have to show you are all ones that my mum has given me that she used to wear, and I love these items because they all have meaning and I know where they came from. These two rings are so pretty and I really like them- when I want to wear an elegant outfit they are perfect and they both fit me perfectly.

This is a completely gorgeous and very special bracelet to me. It was once my mum's charm bracelet, she used to buy some charms herself and sometimes they were given to her as gifts. It has some really cute ones on it (so much better than charms you get these days), for example a church which opens up and you can actually see people getting married inside, and even an magic lamp with a tiny blue genie inside! I don't often wear this out because I'm scared of breaking or losing a charm but I love it even so.

These earrings are faux pearl and I wear them a lot because they're so simple and vintage looking, they go with so many things I own.

Finally is this watch which was a gift to my mum from my dad, and although it doesn't work anymore, I've still been wearing it so much lately. I love the red faux croc strap and the watch face is just great! I may one day get a new battery for it but until then I'll just carry on wearing it, either alone or stacked with a mixture of other bracelets.

 I'm probably going to do another post in this style but with more accessories/clothing rather than jewellery and I may even do a post on searching charity and vintage shops is I get chance at some point so let me know if you're interested in seeing that!

Olivia Ellen XXX
@oliviaellen97