Stash: Painter's Charm (Palette)

Surprisingly enough, I haven't been able to locate this charm yet on some of the more mainstream websites like Juicy's own, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom's, or Revolve. So far it looks like you're going to have to resort to Sak's or Bloomingdale's to pick this one up online (for the time being).

Now down to business! I love the palette half of this charm, for the most part. The only thing that disappoints me is the color selection of the crystals they used to represent the paint. Why so pastel and dull, Juicy? We have light pink, light green, dark blue, light purple, and light yellow. The pink and purple are very close in color, as are the green and yellow. The blue however gives a startling contrast to the color scheme and leaves a rather uneven feeling to the whole thing. The overcast weather gives my photos a darker hue; all of the colors are much brighter in person.

The brush is a cute touch, but not to scale. There is a great amount of detail on the head of the brush; the subtle lines definitely suggest it's full of big and fluffy bristles.

On the reverse side of the palette you'll find the words "paint yourself in couture" printed in old-fashioned letters. If you're picking this up in person you should be sure to check this area out carefully, as Juicy often doesn't do even prints when it comes to letters on charms or tags. Mine is missing color from the top half of the "f", for instance.

Although the palette charm is thin it has significant weight, and feels like the whole thing is made out of metal. This is a refreshing change from some of the disappointing plastic charms from earlier this year (such as the mouse and cheese or the 3-tier cake).

Price: 48.00
Box: Silver/Pink
Code: YJRU3464

P.S. Just today and tomorrow left before a winner is picked for the candy cane charm!

Stash: Polar Bear

Well, so much for my resolve to go back to posting daily! I wish you all a belated Happy Thanksgiving (if you were celebrating), and thank you for sticking in there with my erratic schedule. Fortunately for me -- and you -- a sweet little package from Shirley & Company landed in my mailbox this week.

This is hands down the charm I was most excited about. Don't get me wrong.. the LE holiday releases are sparkly and pretty. But none of them were grabbing me the way that past holiday charms had (like the nutcracker, reindeer, or original gingerbread house). Until this little guy ambled on up.

I love animals and if you've ever had the fortune to watch a polar bear up close you already know what magnificent creatures they are. Their strength is massive; I saw two play-fight at the San Diego Zoo a few summers ago and I might as well have been watching boulders slam into one another. Despite their untamed nature, polar bears are often represented as cute and cuddly. This charm is no exception. First of all, look at the face. The eyes are a deep rich black and I think Juicy made the right decision to use paint rather than crystals. It makes them look far more realstic, same goes for the nose. They didn't skimp on the crystals all together, though; check out the legs! This bear has got some fancy footwork going on.. perhaps they are to be interpreted as pieces of ice? Either way they don't overwhelm the bear entirely and really add to the festive feeling. The pads on the paws may be the best detail of all, though. Little golden hearts! Can you imagine how cute those footprints would be?

I have zero complaints about this one. It's really heavy but that's a good thing for me this time around, as I think it conveys how sturdy this charm is.

I love that this was a winter release; sure you think of cold climates when you think of polar bears, but I'm also reminded of the Coca Cola bear this time of year. Find it at a discount if you can but don't hesitate too long -- this is definitely one of those charms that will be hard to secure at reasonable prices once it's off shelves. It's one of the most realistic animal charms that they've done in quite some time, which will really make it stand out in your collection.

Price: 48.00
Box: Silver/Pink
Code: YJRU3427

P.S. Don't forget that the contest to win the Candy Cane charm ends in 4 days on 12/1. Every comment you leave (from this post forward) counts as one entry!

Limited Edition: TeePee

I am loving that Juicy is pumping out more of the charms that open up to reveal a little scene on the inside. Granted, they could switch it up a bit and give the Yorkie something else to do other than warm his paws over a fire. But as long as stuff this cute keeps coming along I'm not complaining.

Instead of talking about my favorite thing last I'm going to do it first. I LOVE the little printed buffalo on the outside of the teepee. 100% totally enamored with this detail. It could be my affinity for tiny animals that makes this stand out to me, but come on! They're adorable. The rest of the teepee decorations are kind of bland - the jagged red stripe along the bottom, the Juicy crown logo, and the zipper. There is a tiny hole on the front that allows you to see inside the teepee; this is such an adorable idea but would have come off just a little better if the fire inside didn't immediately block your view of everything else.

It seems that they kept the best stuff out of immediate view on this charm. Here you can spot our little Yorkie hanging out on a carpet in full headdress gear with a fire going. The fire doesn't come across quite as well as it did in the igloo -- it looks more like a container of french fries to me. But the little sticks of wood give it enough character to pull it off. And of course you should be sure not to skip out on taking a peek at the bottom. I love the little double entendre that they slipped in there.

This charm hasn't exactly been hard to find since it hit shelves, but you are pretty much guaranteed that once they're gone they're gone. Same as the igloo and gingerbread houses; a year from now this could be pretty hard to track down for a reasonable price. I'm also surprised to see that this charm, with all of its detail, came out to be $6 less than the LE Present which I consider to be much simpler. I'm dying to know how Juicy prices their charms.

LE Tag Year: 2009
Price: 52.00
Box: Gold/Pink
Code: YJRU3181

Limited Edition: Present

I know, I know. It's not even Thanksgiving yet. But every year Christmas starts earlier and earlier, as Juicy released their Holiday charms well before Halloween had even made its appearance.

So I present you with.. the present!! Haha. I really love almost everything about this charm. I was excited to see Juicy release a new style, especially since they've really been upping the number of re-releases. The red box is cheery and festive, and of course it's countered with a green "ribbon" around the box. Juicy is printed down the bottom of the ribbon, and Couture along the right side. It opens up to reveal -- nothing?? Oh, except for a clever note to Santa printed on the side. And then we have the standard logo stamped on the bottom.

The one thing I don't love? The bow. The dual bows seem like they're competing for attention and overshadow the rest of the piece. Juicy really could have made this stand out more by having only one bow; either silver or gold. Not to mention that rumors of a pearl bow were floating around before the charm was actually released and I'd really had my heart set on that. Oh well! I hold out hope that Juicy will get the bright idea to do charms in series, like Hallmark does their ornaments. They could come out with a new present every year and I'd get it even if it were ugly because that's what you do when you're too in-the-box to not collect all the pieces of a set.

LE Tag Year: 2009
Price: 58.00
Box: Gold/Pink
Code: YJRU3318

Limited Edition: Candy Cane (2007)

Leave it to me to find a great deal on this Christmases-past charm over the summer, only to see it re-released (albeit in silver) this winter. I'm not too upset about it, though; this was my second LE 2007 Candy Cane as I had gotten one when they first came out. Why do I need/have two, you ask? I'll tell you in just a bit.

First let's talk about this charm. It's pretty perfect, save for the fact that the crystals are pink and not red. Would it have been better done in red? Possibly.. I mean the red and the white stripes are what makes candy canes so iconic. Red and white striped anything will usually remind people of candy canes, even if they're not shaped as such. But that's about my only complaint with this charm because I think the rest of it is perfect. The white enamel is smooth and makes for a great contrast against the chunky pink crystal stripes. The silver and crystal bow is a gorgeous little detail. It doesn't overwhelm the candy cane and adds an extra dimension of presentation to it, as if someone has wrapped this candy cane up just for you.

This charm was pretty hard to find at a decent price before it was revealed that it was being re-released in silver this season. The OCD part of me wants the candy cane in silver but I have resisted it thus far because they really are exactly the same except for the plating color and tag. Still, I think the gold is just a little bit shinier than the silver anyway. ;)

Now the good news. My amazing-summer-find Candy Cane was purchased just for Charm Candy! I'm giving it away and you have all of November to enter to win. Every comment you leave (from this post forward) will count as one entry. On December 1st a winner will be randomly selected, via the same method as last time. I know that seems like a long time away, but this gives everyone time to increase their odds and will be a nice little holiday surprise in the mail for someone by the time the deadline rolls around. Also, I'm hoping it will force me to return to my 1-a-day posting system I had going earlier this year. So comment away -- this is open to everyone (unless you're in Greece or Italy :[ .. mail mysteriously vanishes in that area too often)!

LE Tag Year: 2007
Price: 48.00
Box: Gold/Pink
Code: YJRU1459

Diversion: Betsey Johnson Duck Necklace

I have returned! And with a little something special for today.

I've said it before and I'll say it many times more -- I love rubber duckies. When Nordstrom's holiday catalog appeared in my mailbox I found it stuffed with a whole Snow Bunny line from Betsey Johnson that I was swooning for as soon as I saw it. So when I went to check out the pieces online I found this little guy! Why, oh why Betsey Johnson, are there not more duck pieces??

Look at him. Or her? I'm not sure, but I have a tendency to make all animals male at first sight. Anyway, I have included two different sets of pictures because it's really rainy and overcast today which is my kind of weather, but makes for lousy pictures. The first two were taken with flash and you can really see how vibrant the colors are. The other three are natural light and may wash him out, but bring the details into better focus.

The classic yellow color on this one is perfect. It's bright and cheery and is accentuated quite nicely by the gold and orange detail on the wings. Be sure to click on the second picture to enlarge it so you can really get a sense of how amazing the blue eyes are. Perfectly clear ocean blue crystals really bring the face to life, in addition to the gold and orange beak. Topping off the head is a cute silver crown that is adorned with very small fuchsia crystals and orange hearts. But my favorite detail of all? The pearl necklace. At first glance it really looks like your standard little addition of pearls but when I was going through my photos I noticed small fibers on the back of the duck. At first I figured it was dust or an errant cat hair but then I realized that the pearls are actually on their own string and are tied in the back. That's right. The duck is wearing it's own pearl necklace. That kind of detail isn't something you see very often; usually these things are solidly attached in some way or another. This is both good and bad; good because it's just such a sweet finishing touch (to me) and bad because it increases the potential for the little pearls to pop off, and the string lends itself to fraying (hence the fibers). You can see the knot in the last picture.

I adore this ducky necklace. It's double stranded, all gold colored, and the second strand holds just a single crystal that doesn't overwhelm the charm. In fact I was so enamored with this that I totally forgot about the Snow Bunny line! Another bonus for this necklace is the price -- you really can't beat that these days.

Price: 35.00
Found at: Nordstrom.com (direct link to product page)