Ogle & Obsess: Valentine's Day Diamond-Encrusted Cadeaux!

Ooh la la!  As you can see, I'm excited about the upcoming Jour D'Amour!  Well, to wet the gift-receiving appetite of my girly readers, I've curated a lovely list of gifts that I (or many other girls, for that matter) wouldn't mind receiving.

We all know diamonds are one of many best friends of girls (my best friends also include dark chocolates, flowers delivered to the office, red velvet with cream cheese frosting, stuffed animals, and home cooked meals that require me to use my hands).  Don't worry random boys that stumble onto my site, none of these bear any resemblance to an engagement ring (in appearance or cost!) so, breathe easy...but they are still quite costly...

One more disclaimer is that I will never recommend that someone gift heart-shaped diamonds for Valentine's Day (or for any occasion, for that matter) and I will also never recommend "love" engraved jewelry.  It's so cheesy!  There are so many excellent jewelry designers out there.  Not to say that "love" or "amour" jewelry can't be cute and have lots of meaning, but on Valentine's Day, it's so cliche.  Let's hope our men can be a little more original (and will dig deep into their pockets for these...!).

Let's start with the earlobes.  They are such a wonderful canvas for bling.

These Julieri studs are gorgeous- a pretty mix of black and white diamonds against rose gold.  These are making me so giddy...so obsessed.

If something a little more dramatic is your taste, then these occasion earrings by Jude Frances are probably going to drive you nuts.  The touch of coral is such a nice burst of color.

Necklaces are probably my favorite thing to obsess about and there are plenty of diamond adorned options out there.  Like these...!

Zoe Chicco is a brand that I love because of how dainty and delicate the designs are.  This rose necklace is the perfect amount of romance for Valentine's Day without being a cheesy heart necklace.

For something that's a little more personal but not just your average initial necklace, Mauri Pioppo does these cute ones called "Love Letter" that have a small diamond in the center to mark the initial.

Moving down to the wrists, I'm going to continue to Ogle the Cartier Love Bracelet, but if that doesn't happen, these next few bracelets are pretty awesome, too.

If you're looking to decorate your wrists, there are some dressy and casual options to suggested to your beau.  Let's start with this more casual Scosha bracelet.

If you want something a little more decadent and sweet, this Finn bracelet makes me want to fall out of my chair.  So delicate!

If you're getting nervous about the pieces I posted above, let me warn you, below this line is RINGS.  Yes, a RINGS.  Calm down!  I already said no engagement rings, but I HAD to post these because they're pretty and I like showing you pretty things.


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This one is from Jordan Scott. I'm in love with turquoise right now and this ring is beautiful and not too over-the-top.  It has simple diamond and yellow gold accents around the turquoise stone.  It has kind of a Loree Rodkin feel, but it's a little less medieval and a much cheaper.  Also, maxandchloe.com has a Valentine's Day promo going on right now that will get you an extra 20% off (code: VDAY20MC).

If you liked the Jordan Scott ring and you're into the Loree Rodkin jewelry style, Hari Jewels has a pretty version as well.  Not turquoise, so it's not for me, but hey, that doesn't mean that it's not for you!

Here's hoping you get something a little sparkly on the designated day of love!  If these all look a little expensive, it's because they are.  Don't fret!  A more affordable Valentine's Day list is coming your way- stay tuned.

Ogle Intensely: Fausto Puglisi, colorful shock to my system!

It all started when I was on pinterest and I saw this:

This is so much color (almost color overload) considering my normal wardrobe which consists mostly of black, white, grey, and more black...maybe an occasion pink or red.  BUT THIS DRESS, oh my goodness, it's so full of color and life and FLUORO (read: fluorescent)!  And now I can't find this dress on any sites to buy!  Not that I could afford it right now, but it would give me something to work towards!

A little further digging into this designer and I was able to find out that this Italian designer is a serial color splasher.  It's everywhere in his dresses!  I've had a really hard time finding sites online that carry this brand- Luisaviaroma and Farfetch being a couple of them.  The usage of color blocking here is certainly inspiring and I've definitely seen a few dresses out there by other designers that do a good color block as well (don't worry, a post about that is coming soon), but none as halting as this dress.

After a brief trip to Bloomingdale's yesterday, I'm almost scared to continue talking up and promoting the fluoro colors for the spring, because they're freaking EVERYWHERE.  I doubt the fact that they're everywhere will stop me from getting a pair of lime green jeans, though.  Get ready, World!

  

Obsess: Aussie Only: Karla Spetic

I know, I know, I know...I said I'm done with cut outs.  But THEN, I saw this dress.

How lovely is this?  This dress is by designer Karla Spetic.  I love how the cuts are in unique places, right near the armpits.  A little reminiscent of the cool cut outs that Cushnie et Ochs had, but Karla Spetic's designs follow a more demure, modern, and clean cut sentiment.  I like that the cut outs aren't your run-of-the-mill midsection revealers!  There are a few other pieces on her online shop that I was DYING over:

Amazing skirt.  Oh and I LOVE these shoes.  They're a little bit like a thinner version of the Pierre Hardy ones from Spring 2011.

Aaahh this top!  Don't even get me started about how I feel about color blocking.  I'm going to be all over this ish in the spring. 

I love this whole look, but I mostly love how it's bringing back the short sleeve button-up.  Frankly speaking, it's hardly a sleeve, but I'm not really going to get technical about it because I just love it.  

To my dismay, I haven't found a US stockist for this brand.  Can someone (Net-A-Porter, ShopBop, Ssense, ANYONE) please start to stock it??  That lime green, those pants, the cut outs.  I want to touch.