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Moving from conspicuous to conscious consumption and doing reviews along the way.  Find plenty of unsponsored reviews of Quince, Everlane, Grana, and Cuyana on the site!  I'm working towards a minimal waste lifestyle, and oh yea I love bags >.<

The Scrooge of Valentine's {Giveaway closed}

Bah Humbug!  I cannot think of a better term to describe Valentine's day (since "humbug" means something designed to mislead).  To me Valentine's Day is a 'holiday' made by the marketers to mislead people to buying more useless things (and they tell you it's in the name of love).  Bah humbug!  As if you already didn't buy enough stuff during the holidays.

Does this come off especially Scrooge-y?  Maybe I didn't get enough Valentine cards when I was younger >.< lol.  Well I think I've only celebrated 2 Valentines days with my husband, after which I told him how I really feel about Feb 14th, to which he was more than happy not to have to buy me anything or do anything special for this bogus day.  So there will be no gift guides of heart-shaped items coming from me (ever). 

But I bring this all up because recently I've had a bit of a change of heart (or maybe I've seen the ghost of Valentine's Future, lol).  I still don't think you should buy anything for Valentine's Day but it wouldn't hurt to do things that show love.  Yes, lets celebrate by expressing love and kindness to our significant others, friends, family, and your fellow woman/man.  And yes, we should probably be doing this as many days as we can, and not just one day per year.  But why not make a special effort for today?

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So today I want to show my love to you, my readers, who not only read my words here but also give me advice and more ideas (and generally enrich my life through your comments here and/or on Insta).  And I'm going to express my love by giving away a diamond ring (ok well pave diamonds to be exact).  This dainty band was purchased at Fighting Eel in Hawaii and is part of their ROLA jewelry line.  This band is 14K rose gold and a size 6.  If you don't want to wear it, I'm sure you can pawn it (it retailed for $280).  This giveaway is not sponsored or affiliated with Fighting Eel.  The giveaway is open internationally and will end at 2/20 at midnight PST.  Winner will be announced 2/21!  Just enter the form below and please only one entry per person.

Unsponsored VRAI (formerly known as Vrai & Oro) Review {Updated January 2021}

 

I don't talk a lot about my jewelry obsessions here on the blog, but I luckily come from a long line of jewelry lovers (some of my most prized possessions were handed down to me by my grandmother).  Recently, after discarding a bunch of my fashion jewelry during my move into the Airstream, I've decided to no longer purchase cheap mixed metal or gold plated jewelry.  Cheap jewelry is pretty much an equivalent to fast fashion for me since I only wear them once or twice.  I find that I'm not good at putting on (or taking off) jewelry every day.  If I'm going to wear something, it has to be something I can wear 24/7 (as in during showers, swimming, or manual labor with the Airstreams), which means the only pieces I really wear are the ones that are solid gold.  So when I stumbled upon VRAI (formerly known as Vrai & Oro), I was interested.  Vrai & Oro is trying to do what Everlane does for clothes: make things ethically, with transparency and simplicity.  

 

Now they don't tell us exactly how much it costs them to make their jewelry but it does seem that there is a minimal mark-up to their jewelry as they claim.  For example their diamond bezel necklace (with a 0.1 carat diamond) goes for $260 (in 2021 it is now $325) while Tiffany's diamond solitare (0.08 carat) goes for $800 (in 2021 it is now $950).  Having owned both, the only real difference I would say is that the chain from Vrai & Oro is slightly daintier (ie has less total gold in it).  I also ordered Vrai & Oro's vertical bar necklace (no longer sold) and their diamond bezel bracelet.  I'm a huge fan of their simple styling and the quality of their products.  So if you're interested in quality solid gold jewelry (in white, yellow or rose gold) then definitely give Vrai a shot (plus they have a 30-day return policy if you're not satisfied).  And as usual this is a completely unsponsored review! {January 2021 update: And they now have a VRAI promo referral link which will give you $75 off your first purchase (and I would also get $75 off so thanks for tempting me to buy more of their stuff lol—this Tetrad ring is calling my name).}

P.S. If you're interested in something on their site that's sold out, click on the link to leave your email to notify you when the product is back in stock.  I've noticed that they will offer the item first to those on that waitlist before they show that the item is in stock (ie I was able to purchase the vertical bar necklace even though it said it was out of stock on the website).

P.P.S Another bonus of buying solid gold as opposed to gold-filled is that you can always sell off your real gold jewelry if you want/need to lol (though for not nearly the same price for what you bought it for).

P.P.P.S Also I purchased their thick band ring (no longer sold) and their baguette diamond bezel ring.  I love both rings but especially the thick band ring which is wide but actually quite thin and lightweight.  The diamond baguette ring is cute and dainty but there's no actual sparkle to the diamond due to the cut (some people may prefer that though).  But I also find the setting to have quite sharp corners and you have to be careful not to scratch yourself with the ring when wearing it (I've already done that twice).

{January 2021 Update: It’s been over 4 years since I’ve written this post so I thought I would update it with thier new name (now only VRAI), their new prices (which of course went up in 4 years), the updated names of their products, and some new links. I’ve also since added affiliate links but have not changed any opinions of their products or their brand. Since this post I purchased a pave ring about 2 years ago (also no longer sold) and that’s actually the only Vrai piece left in my collection (the rest I was able to sell quite easily on eBay). I also want to add the Vrai now only use sustainable man-made diamonds thus reducing their need to mine the earth for their raw materials and their carbon footprint. Of course there’s some controversy over these “synthetic” diamonds but I think it’s a step in the right direction. Also just because they’re man-made it doesn’t make their jewelry cheap.}

Please note that this portion of the post contains affiliate links that could result in my earning a small commission - at no extra cost to you - if you click and make a purchase. Thank you for your support!