I love delicate jewelry.  It’s timeless and classic.  Trends of chunky, clunky jewelry may go in and out, but a dainty linked chain accenting your neck or decorating your wrist is so elegant.

Speaking of trends, one trend I have found in recent years is that it’s really hard to find solid gold jewelry.  Most stores and designers only carry gold plated charms and trinkets at best, and some only “gold tone” jewelry, because they feel it’s necessary to keep costs down and create pieces that look like they are worth their weight, when they are actually cheap replicas of what we really want of value.

I would rather invest in something that’s of quality and not a faux showpiece.  That way, I can accessorize with pieces that last a lifetime.

I had the opportunity to select pieces from the Delicate Raymond Jewelry collection that I felt represented me.  It was so easy to do as jewelry designer Michelle Zimmerman has anchored fan bases in New York, L.A., and around the world with her versatile, beautiful, and fashionable pieces in a moderate price range.  She uses the authentic sustainable metals silver and gold, melded with semi-precious stones. Celebrity clientele include Miley Cyrus, Mischa Barton, Carrie Underwood, Tori Spelling, and the list goes on.

Personally, I love the look of exquisite gold jewelry and how it works well with my skin tone.  Even if you’re more of a silver person, you will be pleased with the selection of unique, wearable artistic baubles offered at Delicate Raymond’s online boutique.  You can customize chain length and crystal preference on most pieces.

Layering bracelets is something that always gets my attention, and it’s very on trend, so I selected two pieces, one plain with delicate gold beads (Beaded Chain Bracelet), and the other (Petal Bracelet) showcases some onyx crystals.   I really love the look together.  It’s very feminine and, as the name conveys, delicate.

 
Then, my favorite piece, has to be the tiny gold star pendant on a beautifully crafted thin chain.  This is Delicate Raymond's Mini Star Necklace.  The “star” of this necklace is the shimmering gold star itself.  I love how it reflects light.  The Delicate Raymond trademark of two tiny lotus pearls (which are a signature on every piece of jewelry) before the clasp, completes the unique look.

The star reminds me that I am reaching for the stars every day – we all are.

These were my personal choices, but Delicate Raymond offers so many different looks that you can easily find one or more pieces that represent yourself or someone you love.

And their packaging is so cute!  Look at the little bundle of brilliance that arrived!  I love the circular containers that showcase the sparkly treasures inside!   Included is also a personalized handwritten note.  The little things matter.

All of you sparkle and shine, so Delicate Raymond is giving away this beautiful gold filled, beaded, 7” Daisy bracelet with onyx Swarovski crystals, so you can glimmer and shimmer, or gift it to someone who needs a little glitter in their life.

AND, get 30% off your Delicate Raymond Jewelry order when you enter coupon code 30LIR upon checkout!  What a great holiday gift idea, and at a discount, too!  Happy Giftmas!  DON'T FORGET TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY BELOW!

Two grandmother’s got the idea for creating a candy that didn’t wreak havoc on your teeth.  You know, kids love candy, and well, not so much the cavities.  And some adults have a sweet tooth, too, so they wanted to come up with something full of flavor that had appeal to all ages.

They knew about Xylitol and how it didn’t damage your teeth and also how it was diabetic friendly.  They incorporated that with zingy flavor and voila! Ice Chips Candy was born!  (Oh, and it’s corn, sugar, soy, wheat, gluten and dairy free - and vegan!  Whew!  That's a mouthful! (of delicious sweets)

Back to the grannies (Charlotte and Bev):  As they came up with delicious flavors and worked on the development of their tasty treats, they didn’t know how they were going to create molds to make uniform looking pieces of candy.  You know – typically when you buy candy they are all shaped the same like round spheres, or discs, etc. 

Well, sometimes necessity is the mother of invention, and in this case, they smashed their sheets of candy into irregular pieces and the “Ice Chips” concept was born.  The pieces look irregular, and just like pieces of ice if you chiseled them with an ice pick – and that’s ok!  Every piece is unique in shape and size, which gives you the option to select a bigger or smaller piece, depending on your craving.

Every tin of Ice Chips Candy contains bite size breakage of sweet delicacies that satisfy your sweets cravings.  Each piece is naturally unique.

Their idea was daringly different enough to capture the attention of the show Shark Tank, when they needed additional investment to grow their business; and in turn their exposure on the show served its purpose to introduce more people to their product, too, after they partnered with Mark Cuban and Barbara Corcoran.

So, I got to sink my teeth into their gift pack of goodness and here’s my take on each flavor.  Oh – did I mention there’s an identical gift pack up for grabs if you enter the contest at the bottom of this blog?  There is!

Real Lemon

This was my favorite flavor, and my daughter concurs.  It’s crunchy – like a peanut brittle – chewable but this is a cool, lemon flavor.  I find the most satisfying way to enjoy this candy is to crunch down on it rather than suck on it in your mouth.  The lemon flavor is refreshing and smooth – like a lemon sorbet.  There is nothing artificial tasting about it, even though sugar is not an ingredient.  The method of breaking the less than ¼ inch thick sheet candy apart by smashing it is inadvertently brilliant as it’s not tooth-breaking hard, and every has a different shape and size, allowing for you to enjoy a small or larger piece depending upon your preference.

Real Candy Peppermint

This definitely tastes like candy canes, but a little stronger.  It’s refreshing and in my opinion freshens breath better than Tic Tacs, Altoids, or peppermint flavored gum.  I like how it dissolves quickly and you can still feel the minty sensation on the back of your throat, so you don’t have to worry about breathing dragon breath wondering if it worked.  But don’t get me wrong, it’s not a breath freshener exclusively.  This candy is for your pure enjoyment of peppermint.  It’s like the adult version of a candy cane in stealth mode, without the stickiness or sugar side effects.
 
Juicy Berry Mix

While you might logically assume that the lemon and candy peppermint flavors would be white in color, I was surprised when the Juicy Berry Mix was also white in color, as well.   This one has a bursting-with-berries flavor and has a slight sour aftertaste instead of pure sweetness, through and through.

Root Beer Float

This candy helps you distinguish the difference between root beer candy and root beer float candy.  Root Beer Float ice chips are actually the color of a root beer float – that bubbly dark brown root beer soda with sugary edges of vanilla ice cream.  The “float” is present in the taste as you don’t get a smoother sampling of the soda flavored candy slightly sweetened with a hint of vanilla ice cream goodness than with this bite size bit of heaven.

Cinnamon

My dad would love these – he always went for the cinnamon flavored gum.  If you like red hots, but don’t feel like burning your tongue, this sweet but authentic cinnamon flavored candy is for you.

Classic Licorice

Ok, I have to be honest. I’m the girl who leaves the black jelly beans at the bottom of the bag.  I’m not a fan of black licorice flavored anything.  But I had my friend who is a black licorice connoisseur of sorts, try this flavor (I did, too, but we’re going to leave my 2 biased cents out of this.) and she reported back that if black licorice is your thing, this is a great way to enjoy the flavor without that gummy, stickiness of jelly beans or licorice.  It’s a more sophisticated way to sample the sweet treat and get your fix.

Now, go below and try to win your own variety pack of Ice Chips Candy right now!  Happy Giftmas!

Like Ice Chips Candy on Facebook
Visit Ice Chips Candy’s website icechipscandy.com 
Follow @IceChips_Candy on Twitter

I vant to introduce you to YourNovel.com (Yes, I’m writing in my vampire voice for a reason – keep reading!)

Personalized books that aren’t just boring books – but romance novels that kick up the heat – is YourNovel.com’s specialty.  While they offer many categories to select from, ranging from Beach Cruises to Outdoors to Holiday themed choices, I could not pass up the idea submerging myself, literally, into a sexy vampire story, complete with my name in it, my hair color, favorite fragrance, and the ability to design my own man!  (Hah!  If we could only design our own men in real life!)  But if you’re looking for something seasonal, you might want to check out Season’s Greetings Season’s Love or The Magic Snow Globes – which allow you to do the same kind of self-submersion into the book, but with a holiday twist.

Their concept of designing a personalized romance novel has been featured on The View, The Rachel Ray Show and The Today Show just to mention a few, so you know that this is the real deal for something special.

Their website makes it very easy to enter all of your personalized information so you can make the story revolve around you, and any person you want – real or fictional, an old flame or even a celebrity crush.  The book can be personalized with a photo or left with its original cover; and you can select from paperback, hard cover, or ebook options.  Then, you can decide if you want a “wild” or “mild” version for how much – ahem – “romance” you want sprinkled throughout. (Most people go for wild; I did too!)

I chose the steamy version.  By page 8, things already took a pretty hot turn in the novel.  The author wastes no time.  It conveys the idea of sexuality and sensuality, but nothing rawly pornographic –which frankly, is a bigger turn on for most people.

While you supply some personalized information, you have to remember the story is fictional, as well, and will not mirror certain real aspects of your life and of those who you characterize in this book.  The easy-to-fill-in form prompts you to enter your name, names of others, descriptions, and an assortment of details that will allow you to become the characters in the story that weaves a tale of adventure and passion at the same time. 

I really like how as you type in your name and other required information for the story, that each entry blank displays the information you enter below each box so you can see if it makes grammatical sense before you submit it, so it will work seamlessly when the book is published.  Yes – they send it to you hot off the presses.  They print it on demand and ship it out in less than a week.

Hmmm, you might be wondering who I picked as my leading male in my book.  If you know me, you know I’ll keep you guessing!  I actually made up a fictional character since I knew I was going public with parts in print!

Suffice it to say, the story did not disappoint and I was easily able to envision the characters I created, along with myself in the scenes throughout the novel. 

The plot kept shifting forward at an easy-to-read pace that I found enjoyable in a relaxing way.  The last thing I want to do is sit down and read a book before bed that’s going to tax my brain and this fit the bill.

So, guess what?  YourNovel.com is GIVING AWAY a $50 gift card towards YOUR selection of ANY personalized novel of your choice.  The winner will be sent a code from YourNovel.com to use.  This is so  much fun to do and is a great gift for yourself or someone you know who could use a virtual vacation by appearing in print.

AND, YourNovel.com is offering 25% off if you use the coupon code LadyinRed25% until December 19th.

Be sure to get some entries to try to win a novel you put YOUR personal touch on below!

Follow @YourNovelCom on Twitter
Like YourNovel.com on Facebook
Visit their website YourNovel.com to scan the titles and create your own book

French perfume.  Doesn’t that just symbolize and resonate elegance, sexiness, and timeless classic beauty?  How can a few effervescent drops of a scent invoke a cultural sensuality that signifies desire?  A fragrance can affect your mood and evoke desired responses in those around you.  This is the allure of pure parfum.

I sit down to write this as I use up the last few drops of my very favorite Acorelle parfum – Douceur de Rose (or Silky Rose as translated into the American version of this scent).

I’m actually contemplating the next time I can seek out a larger bottle which I can reach for easily, every time I want to smell like the gentle scent of roses, lingering lightly on my skin.

As much as I have certain favorite fragrances, I do change which ones I wear, depending on my mood, or sometimes I just want to smell different from day to day.  Acorelle designed these natural and organic perfumes to be worn with the intent of changing your mood accordingly.  Each scent falls into a category of energizing, harmonizing, or de-stressing.  The idea is that fragrances can affect your own senses and bring about a desired response.  They are extracts of emotion harvested from 200 all-natural flowers and plants.

Since they are pure fragrances, without any synthetic scent compounds, artificial preservatives, parabens or phthalates, even those who are prone to headaches or allergic reactions are able to wear these perfumes.

Giving perfume can sometimes be difficult as a gift, but what makes Acorelle perfumes different is that you can think of the person whom you have in mind, and decide what they would most like to feel as a result of aromatherapy.  You can give the give of relaxation, energy or harmony in a bottle.

These tiny vials in this trial set, that Acorelle is giving away to one lucky TheLadyinRedBlog reader, come with atomizers make application easy.  Since the fragrances are infused with natural, essential oils, a small amount is all you need to enjoy the scent.  It applies cleanly without any oily residue, and dries quickly so you don’t need to worry about it getting on your clothing when getting dressed afterwards.

One vial will last for 2-3 days if you spray on a light mist twice per day.  I know this, because I tried every fragrance so I was able to pick out my favorites and tell you my thoughts on each.

One of the best things about this sample set of small vials of exquisite parfums is that you have the ability to select a fragrance at your fingertips depending upon your mood and preference on a given day.  It also makes it easy to select a favorite fragrance (or two) so you can later purchase a full size bottle with the confidence that you’ll enjoy it to the very last drop.   (I don’t know how many times I think I like a scent in a store, buy a bottle, and then I’m disappointed with how it wears throughout the day and wonder what I’m going to do with the rest.)

To find out which Acorelle fragrance is most likely to invoke your emotion of choice using its natural aromatherapy powers, you can take a look at my first scent-sual impressions of each below.  After all, who can’t use some energy, harmony, or less stress in their lives? 

And afterwards, before you leave to go shop for your favorite at Whole Foods or online, don’t forget to enter the contest below because you may be the lucky one who gets to treat themselves to a trial set.  Happy Giftmas!

Douceur de Rose (Silky Rose):  harmonizing
Since I had such a positive experience with the first floral fragrance, I jumped right into Douceur de Rose (Silky Rose) which I’ve already told you is my favorite.  It’s rose mixed with geranium, lychee, freesia and raspberry, so that’s why I wasn’t overwhelmed with a total rose takeover and the scent gradually enveloped me with a gentle floral-powder like sensation.  You won’t smell like you jumped into a rose garden; but you will smell like a prettier, lighter version of rose petals that gently graced your skin.
 
While you would expect this to have an intense rose oil fragrance it's more floral than just plain rose and slightly more subtle.  I find it’s more of a clean-showered scent rather than a true floral.  It’s great for when you don’t want people to know that you’re wearing a perfume but you want them intrigued why you smell better than soap and clean laundry mixed.  As for Douceur de Rose - it's my favorite. As the fragrance wore on throughout the day it definitely provided an olfactory soothing sense.  I enjoyed smelling it on my own skin.  I did not have to reapply it either.  It was long lasting.  It's definitely my favorite fragrance in the collection. 
 
Jardin des Thés (Tea Garden): energizing
I figured since my deadlines weren’t going anywhere the next step was to energize so I reached for Jardin des Thés.   There were definite citrus and slight spice notes; this was not calming or soothing.  The words energizing and stimulating come to mind as it awakens your senses.  If you like a light, citrus scent then this is for you.  The effects are invigorating right out of the vial.

Rêve de Lotus (Lotus Dream):  relaxing
This is a sweet floral fragrance, sweeter than Douceur de Rose.  I like it – perhaps because I’m partial to florals; but this fragrance is much lighter.  If you like a barely detectable hint of flowers on your skin, you’ll enjoy this one.  As you would imagine, when you are dreaming, you are in a calm state of mind, which Rêve de Lotus soothingly delivers.

Patchouli Essentiel (Pure Patchouli):  fulfilling
This is not straight, strong patchouli oil.  Actually, I don’t find it that close to a classic patchouli fragrance at all It’s lighter and has a bit of a floral scent to it, rather than spice.  I’d call it a beginner’s patchouli.

Absolu Tiaré:  balancing
This fragrance is the cleanest of the scents.  Truly, it smells as if you just walked into a house that had just been cleaned.  It’s not a harsh, chemical smell, but rather a gentle clean smell. 

Fleur de Vanille (Vanilla Blossom):comforting
Fleur de Vanille is a very subtle scent.  There is just a hint of vanilla; it's not your typical vanilla fragrance that reminds you of cookies baking.  If you like very subtle fragrances this is for you.  It’s a barely noticeable waft of vanilla and since it’s all natural, it doesn’t smell a think like those horrific artificial vanilla-scented candles and lotions from other brands.

Infusion de Néroli (Citrus Infusion):soothing
The name of this fragrance confused me a little as I picked up notes that were very woodsy, but clean.   The base notes of sage and cedar were definitely prevalent. Maybe it’s just my sense of smell that wasn’t able to really tune in the citrus in this scent.  Infusion de Néroli is stronger than most of the collection and is the longest lasting.

Terre de Cèdre (Land of Cedar):  encouraging
This parfum is nice and I found it instantly soothing.   It’s supposed to evoke encouragement, which to me, reminds me of baby powder mixed with light floral scents.  The scent is not overpowering and gentle as the day goes on.

Visit www.acorelle.com for more information
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