Where Should You Wear Your Costume Earrings?

There is no reason you can’t have a little fun with your jewelry! Costume earrings are just perfect for loosening up a normally conservative look and letting your personality shine through with spontaneous joy. Sometimes you just need earrings that fall somewhere between stodgy studs and over-the-top, jewel-encrusted beauties fit for a debutante ball.

Costume earrings are the answer to your jewelry prayers. From outrageously funky feathers first made popular in the 1980s to an exquisite handcrafted limited production from your favorite kindergartener, costume earrings come in all shapes, sizes and colors. It is fun just to shop for these earrings and imagine where you would wear them and what people would say!

It is easy to find earrings that incorporate natural materials such as wood elements, glass beads, shells and buttons. Many costume earrings are designed to create an organic look and are shaped like fruit, sea creatures, leaves, and so on. The sky is truly the limit because you can find earrings in so many different, trendy styles.

These earrings compliment more casual outfits and are often appropriate to wear to work – if you have a bright and unusual personality. Of course, more conservative styles are available for work accessories, but that does not mean these costume earrings are boring.

If you are just starting out down the fun road of experimenting with costume earrings, introduce them slowly and graduate to bolder, more colorful styles. You may never put on a pair of plain old studs again!

What Are Gauge Earrings?

Most professional ear piercings are done with 18 gauge or 20 gauge needles. Any earring or stud with a larger diameter than this is considered a heavier gauge. Though it seems counterintuitive, the larger the number, the smaller the piercing, so a 10 gauge earring is much larger in diameter than an 18 gauge earring. That’s just the way jewelers have set things up, so make sure your piercer understands what you are looking for if you are just starting out with a large diameter piercing.

While some piercings may stretch over time, especially if you have worn heavy earrings in the past, the standard size is not sufficient for some people who are interested in following the big gauge piercing style. Some people can stretch their existing piercings so they can wear heavier or larger gauge earrings without damaging their ear lobes.

This is accomplished under the direction of a qualified piercing specialist, who will guide you through the gradual process and show you the proper tools. A taper or one size larger earring might be the tool of choice. Always go slowly; you will probably need to wait at least a month between each step to allow your lobes time to heal.

Purposely stretching your piercings is a far better plan than allowing them to stretch naturally by wearing heavy earrings. You end up with a more aesthetically pleasing piercing and can then wear larger gauge earrings without damaging your lobes. Keep your piercing clean at all times, and follow the directions of a professional for best results.

Stud Earrings: Easy Style on a Budget

For fuss-free jewelry choices, always go for stud earrings. Put them on and forget about them for as long as you like, whether that is a day or two or several weeks. If you invest in high-quality metals that will not tarnish and choose finely cut gemstones or genuine diamonds, your earrings will continue to look new with absolutely no fuss on your part.

One thing to watch for if you wear your stud earrings long-term is developing a metal allergy. Keep an eye on your piercings and if they become tender, red or swollen, remove your earrings immediately and wash the piercing with mild hand soap and warm water. Don’t use rubbing alcohol or peroxide unless the piercing is new or has become infected.

Women with multiple ear piercings especially benefit from the versatility and ease of stud earrings. Change out the pair at the bottom as often as you like and leave the others completely alone. It can be a pain in the neck (literally) to bother with earrings on a frequent basis, especially if you have long fingernails. Stud earrings eliminate all that bother.

To keep your earrings clean, rinse thoroughly with clear water every time you wash your hair. Most of the gunk that builds up on earrings comes from hair products, and a deliberate rinse will eliminate most of that.

Men, of course, typically wear a stud earring. Men’s stud earrings are generally a gemstone solitaire in a simple setting; these studs are simple to wear and always look good, no matter the occasion or wardrobe selection.

Common Materials Used to Create Natural Earrings

Go “green” even with your jewelry by choosing natural materials for your earrings. There is nothing wrong with the usual gold, white gold, or silver combined with gemstones, but natural materials celebrate the environment and display your desire to be as green as possible.

Natural earrings are frequently handcrafted, making them even greener. If you want to really go for broke, gather your own natural materials and take them to an artist to have them transformed into earrings you will be proud to wear.

Examples of materials that make excellent earrings are tiny shells, antique glass beads, properly preserved leaves, and even pebbles from the beach if they are big enough to drill through without damage. Feathers, acorns, and even petrified shark teeth have all been put into use to create natural earrings.

Wooden beads are perhaps the most common of all natural materials used to make earrings. These beads come in a huge variety of colors and shapes, are extremely economical, and are incredibly easy to work with. A great project for a young girl and her mother or grandmother would be turning an earring kit into a matched set of earrings both creators can wear.

Look around for inspiration. Whatever you love about nature can be replicated or actually used to make natural earrings. If you love flowers, find earrings that reflect that love. Shopping for natural earrings is easy and fun, and you never know where your search will lead to.

Invest Wisely with Designer Earrings

Every woman deserves a few pairs of unique designer earrings. They may seem more expensive than run-of-the-mill, off-the-rack earrings, but the long-term investment in your jewelry collection is worth a few pennies more. You will love to wear your designer earrings and feel very special when you do.

Designer earrings are created in small numbers, sometimes exclusively for one person. Each pair is exquisitely designed with the highest craftsmanship to ensure that you are getting a unique pair of earrings that will inspire pride from you and awe from your friends. Materials used in designer earrings are often higher quality than what you will find in regular earrings, setting them apart on so many levels.

Gemstones of various colors are often used to create designer earrings. Stunning, deep red rubies or clear yellow topaz designer earrings give you a special pair you can wear with your most exclusive outfits.

A great outfit deserves great accessories, so as you shop for designer earrings, keep your high-end wardrobe in mind. Or, create an outfit that suits a great pair of earrings – there is nothing wrong with that! You have to start somewhere, right?

To find inspiration while shopping for designer earrings, look around at what Hollywood actresses or other public figures are choosing to wear. Even politicians can inspire you to choose a similar look. If those women are wearing spectacular earrings in their high-profile lives, you can indulge yourself a little even if you rarely make it onto the front cover of a tabloid magazine.

Discovering The Versatility of Men’s Earrings

Gone are the days when people considered men’s earrings to be a fashion no-no. Good riddance to bad fashion advice! Men are choosing to wear earrings more and more, and daring men even choose to adorn both of their ears with beautiful jewels. Little by little, men are discovering that accessorizing with jewelry is a good thing.

While many young men get their first ear piercings from the point of an ice pick or needle at home, this is not recommended. Since there is no longer the need to be embarrassed, men can visit professionals and get their ears pierced in a healthy, safe environment. Professionals use sterile needles and provide you with hypoallergenic starter studs. They will also help you through the first weeks when your ears may be mildly swollen and the risk of infection is greatest.

Coordinating men’s earrings with other jewelry is a great way to develop a complete, stylish look. If you have diamonds on your watch, put diamonds in your ears. If you have gemstones in your rings, choose the same gemstones for your earrings.

The color and type of metal you choose for your earring or earrings is important as well. If most of your jewelry is gold you should choose yellow metal. Make sure the posts and the settings are hypoallergenic so you never experience the discomfort of a breakout.

Your best bet if you choose to wear only one earring is to find a friend to share the other one with, since earrings are typically sold in pairs. Shop a little further and you will find jewelry stores with fabulous designer men’s earrings – only one to a set!

Cubic Zirconia Earrings That Look Like the “Real” Thing

Come on, who has hundreds of extra dollars lying around nowadays to buy diamond earrings? Despite the government and retailers begging us to spend money on extravagant luxuries, we know better. That doesn’t keep us from wanting beautiful things, especially fine jewelry that makes us feel elegant and happy.

Enter the fine jewelry that employs gorgeous, glimmering cubic zirconia. Even professionals and experts sometimes have trouble telling the difference between high-end cubic zirconia and diamonds dug out of the ground from halfway around the world. Hollywood jewelry designers create replicas of spectacular earrings using cubic zirconia, and the paparazzi following the starlets can’t tell the difference either!

In fact, the only reliable way to tell the difference between cubic zirconia earrings and diamond earrings is to examine them with a magnifying glass. The synthetic stone is optically flawless, meaning it is perfect. How often does a perfect competitor get such a bad reputation?

It is almost as difficult to manufacture a synthetic diamond as it is for the real thing to be created, though it doesn’t take nearly as long for the cubic zirconia – only a few hours in most cases. Specialized equipment is necessary, and the process involves exceedingly complex chemistry.

After being heated to more than 4,982 degrees Fahrenheit, the zirconium dioxide crystallizes into individual crystals of varying sizes. It is estimated that more than 50 million carats of cubic zirconia are manufactured worldwide each year, and some of those flawless white gemstones are sure to end up in your newest cubic zirconia earrings.

Coordinating the Right Gemstone Earrings with Your Wardrobe

Jewelers love to talk about all the precious and semi-precious gemstones that are available for you to purchase. Not everyone knows the subtle color differences between such stones as topaz and sapphire, garnet and carnelian, and so on. Clear your mind and read the following descriptions so you can more easily coordinate your gemstone earrings with various outfits in your wardrobe:

• Translucent white is associated with purity and protection. Gemstones: diamonds, cubic zirconia, quartz

• Opaque white symbolizes peace, the moon, and freshness. Gemstones: opal, pearl, moonstone

• Pink is associated with soothing anger, friendship, compassion, and relaxation. Gemstones: rose quartz, coral, tourmaline, sapphire

• Red is associated with strength, energy and enthusiasm, health and passion. Gemstones: ruby, garnet

• Orange is associated with flamboyance, energy and warmth. Gemstones: carnelian, jasper, chalcedony

• Yellow is associated with optimism, confidence, and sunshine. Gemstones: topaz, amber, citrine

• Brown is grounding, stabilizing, and calming. Gemstones: tiger eye, smoky quartz, citrine, jasper

• Green is associated with money, prosperity, health and growth. Gemstones: emerald, peridot, turquoise, malachite, jade, alexandrite

• Blue symbolizes independence, truth, devotion, and sincerity. Gemstones: turquoise, sapphire, lapis lazuli, aquamarine, alexandrite

• Purple is refreshing and calming, and associated with royalty. Gemstones: amethyst, tanzanite, alexandrite

• Black is mysterious, but not necessarily negative. Gemstones: obsidian, hematite, pyrite, onyx

Keep in mind that several stones come in different colors, so you must decide which shade you prefer when you go shopping. Also, some stones change colors in different lights – these make very fascinating gemstone earrings, and should definitely be considered!

Clip-On Earrings: Style without the Commitment

Put away the needles, pour the peroxide on your hair, and keep your ear lobes in one piece. You don’t need your ears pierced to enjoy all the style and fashion of some of the most beautiful earrings available. Try clip-on earrings instead of poking holes in your body.

Clip-on earrings are much higher quality than they used to be because the clips actually stay put once you have applied them to your ear lobes. Even heavy, gemstone-encrusted chandelier earrings stay in place! The broad clips prevent pinching as well, making these earrings absolutely comfortable to wear all day long.

Active women especially appreciate clip-on earrings because you can quickly and easily remove them before your workout or a long swim in the pool. No more fumbling with those small earring backs that are harder to find than a contact lens if you happen to drop them on the floor. Clip-on earrings are the answer to your prayers.

Once you have committed to having your ears pierced, you either have to wear earrings all the time or never again. When you choose clip-on earrings instead, you can decide on a daily basis if you would like to wear earrings or not. This makes getting dressed in the morning a breeze, and prepping for sleep is as easy as tossing your clip-on earrings in your jewelry box and crawling in.

With all the styles of clip-on earrings available, you are sure to find many you love. Experiment with many colors and materials, and keep your wardrobe in mind as you shop. Good luck, and enjoy keeping your earlobes in one piece!

Break Out of a Jewelry Rut with These Unique Earrings

Unique earrings are just within your reach if you take a look at some of the unusual styles, materials and colors available.

Vintage earrings: These are either newly-created styles based on past popular styles, or the originals. Vintage earrings have an appeal that has stood the test of time, and you can wear them with confidence.

Titanium earrings: Made of one of the most beautiful metals available, titanium earrings have a unique shine and glimmer that enhances your own natural beauty. Set with gemstones or simply featuring the titanium, these unique earrings compliment a great work wardrobe or fancy gowns for evenings out.

Waterfall earrings: These earrings are a definite fashion statement! Flowing four inches or more from your ear lobe, strands of gems sway gently each time you move your head. What a gorgeous accessory!

Chandelier earrings: “Stunning” and “elegant” are two words that come to mind when other people see you wearing a pair of chandelier earrings. Crusted with jewels and dropping dramatically from your ears toward your shoulders, these earrings do remind you of crystal chandeliers gracing the foyers of royal mansions.

Designer earrings: Always unique, designer earrings show off the careful craftsmanship and artistry of those who know how to combine materials to create gorgeous earrings. You will feel proud to wear these exquisite earrings for any occasion.

No need to add “more of the same” to your jewelry collection! Look into these unique earrings and you are sure to find some trendy pieces you will love to wear without the boredom.