For thousands of years women (and men) have enjoyed adorning themselves with artful decoration in the form of jewelry. Whether it was made from wood, wool, metal or stone the purpose was the same – to enhance or create a desired appearance. Regardless of if you are looking for jewelry to compliment a formal outfit or for daily wear you want the jewelry you choose to draw attention to your best features or possibly camouflage less desirable areas. Your choice of jewelry style will subtly affect others perceptions, so what guidelines are there to help you select the most flattering jewelry? CHOOSING A NECKLACE Are you tall? Average? Petite? Your choice of necklace can minimize or emphasize your size. If you want to create or emphasize a taller appearance choose longer necklaces and V shapes. A necklace that falls past the bustline but above the waist will elongate while a choker style or shorter U shaped necklace resting on the breast bone will shorten your appearance. The size of your necklace should also be considered. Fuller figures can compliment their proportions with larger, chunkier pieces that would overwhelm an individual with a smaller frame. CHOOSING EARRINGS Face shape is important when selecting earrings. Face shapes are generally grouped as: oval, rectangle, round, heart and square. Individuals with an oval face shape can wear any style while other people should look for styles that contrast their face shape. Selecting a hoop or button style for a round face would only emphasize the round shape. Square or long shapes will de-emphasize a round face. The same is true with other face shapes; a long, rectangular face should stay away from long, dangling earrings and choose smaller studs instead. Square faces need the softness of round or hoop earrings and heart shaped faces are complimented with triangular shapes with a wide base that contrasts a narrow chin. CHOOSING BRACELETS AND RINGS Are you animated with your hands when talking? Then take as much consideration to the jewelry there as near your face. Similar guidelines should be followed with bracelets and rings as with necklace choice. Women of average build and height will find a wide bracelet most complimentary. Petite women should look for more delicate pieces and tall or full figured women should layer several small or wide bracelets, avoiding very delicate pieces that can look lost. When selecting rings make sure that the setting doesn’t cover your knuckle which not only will cause fingers to look short but can interfere with movement and comfort. Shorter fingers benefit from oval settings while longer fingers look best with wide bands or simple, round settings. CHOOSING WHAT YOU LOVE While these guidelines may influence the type of jewelry you select you can be sure that there are many, many choices for all tastes and occasions regardless of your shape or size. Above all you should select jewelry you love to wear. Jewelry lasts a lifetime and should always feel good to wear, so ultimately make a decision based on what makes you FEEL wonderful
Join the Internet Shopping Bandwagon
Are you ready to join? The Internet shopping bandwagon, that is. Shopping online has become increasingly popular over the last few years, with new and improved safety measures, specialty shops and giant retailers like Overstock.com; all designed to entice shoppers.
In fact, VeriSign (the leading provider of security for web sites on the Internet) suggests e-commerce data from the holiday season in 2004 totaled 8.8 billion dollars in online purchases (based on an analysis of online sales volume processed through VeriSign payment services, which comprises more than 35% of North America’s e-commerce and represents in excess of 120,000 online retailers).
Additionally, e-commerce transactions are estimated to be close to 168 billion dollars for the year 2005. In fact, in the year 2010 it is projected online sales could top the 315 billion dollar mark (Forrester Research 2005). One may ask, why such an increase?
Many factors can explain such increases. Improved security measures, ease of use and convenience are just a few of these factors. Let’s explore these factors.
Security Measures- Despite all the fears of identity theft, online transactions account for less than 4% of identity theft. There are numerous software programs available (some for free) that the user can download to protect themselves from viruses and spyware. Worried about spyware? Download a free spyware program at www.safer-networking.com (called SpyBot Search & Destroy). Additionally, look for the locked padlock in the toolbar and make sure the http changes to https in your browser. The “s” indicates that the web site is a secure site and adheres to the industry standard for security values Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). Therefore, your personal information is encrypted and stays private during transmission over the Internet. Always delete sensitive information when exiting any website and do not give your credit card number to anyone requesting it in an email (phishing scams). Follow these simple steps a safe online shopping experience.
Ease of use- We have all seen the banner advertisements, just click on them and they take you to the web site advertised. Email advertising is growing in popularity as well and includes a link to click on to take the user to the site after they read the text ad. There are some unique and catchy names of web sites that are easy to remember. Have a favorite web site or shopping site? Just bookmark it and add it to your collection of favorites!
Convenience- Ever wait in long lines during the holiday season? What a time saver online shopping has become! No lines to wait in, no parking hassles, no traffic, no gas expense, no crowds and your merchandise can be shipped right to your door! Or, if you prefer, you can have your purchases gift wrapped and delivered to another address. All you do is sit at your computer with your shopping list and get done in a few hours what may taken you several days and trips to the mall to accomplish!
There are many more advantages to shopping online (we have just covered a few) as well as some disadvantages, but carefully weighed out; the smart shopper will discover a happy medium between the two and e-commerce will continue to grow and be a force in the economy for years to come.
Feng Shui – Indoor Waterfountains
Much has been said about how some feng shui products are the must-have tools to enhance the ‘chi’ of the indoor and outdoor environment.
But is it correct? Is it appropriate that one has to purchase a certain tool to facilitate the free flow of ‘chi’ for the benefits of all?
If the question is presented to those who make a living by selling these tools to those who are desperately in need of help, the answer will definitely be a loud and clear ‘yes.’
But the truth of the matter is: “It all depends.”
For example, a lot of indoor water fountains have been sold recently to those who believe that by putting these indoor water fountains in a certain position, they will help bring forth prosperity.
As a professional feng shui practitioner for over 25 years, I can confirm that this belief is of much validity, and that when located correctly – that is, positioned to the right direction – these indoor water fountains can help facilitate the increase of income to a large extent. Sounds too amazing, doesn’t it?
But it is true that when the ‘water’ element among the ‘five elements’ in the Chinese philosophy is well positioned, it will be able to stir up more ‘water’ chi which will result in bringing forth more prosperity. That’s why all along Chinese history, water has been considered as the symbol of money.
Hence the fondness of these water fountains all through history by the architects who might have subconsciously tuned into the attractiveness of employing them to bring forth richness.
However, not all feng shui tools are created equal. There is more hype than truth when it comes to hanging a flute onto the side of the beam on the ceiling to ward off the downward pressure of the beam itself. This invalid belief has been made up by those who only want to sell more flutes to begin with! And it doesn’t have anything to do with off-setting the so-called ‘negative influences’ from the beam itself either. Nevertheless, the flutes have been sold by the truckloads in these recent years.
The same is true of the belief that the diagonal corner from the entrance is considered the ‘money corner’ and thus it is never to be opened as a window, lest the good money ‘chi’ will run away. This is another typical abuse of creative thinking applied onto the feng shui philosophy. If this concept were valid, then all those nicely designed houses would end up leading their owners onto the road of poverty!
A little learning is dangerous – this is true in many facets of life.
Feng shui is the only system in the world that enables those who are in the know to have very deep insights about the environment as well as those who dwell in it. It is a very valid system for analyzing the well-being of the inhabitants at all levels. When used correctly, it can be a good tool to trace back what happened in the past, as well as predict what will happen in the future. It is the most amazing system that is beyond anyone’s imagination.
With the right feng shui tool, yes, one’s well being can definitely be improved to a large extent – it’s just a matter of whether or not the right thing is done at the right time in the right place!
Best regards
Tonie
Exotic Gift Idea
