How to prevent your costume jewelery from changing colour

You walk past a store and the most beautiful piece of jewellery gleams at you. Your eyes gleam right back, its love at first sight. You walk into the store, as if in trance, you know without a shadow of doubt that this beautiful piece of (maybe cheap)jewellery belongs in your collection. So you proceed to buy it, against your better judgement and then you rock it everyday for the next month.

Fast forward three months later and the once gleaming jewellery is not the same anymore, its once glittering silver base is now a cross between brass and rust.

The average female can relate to the above scenario and nothing can be more upsetting. The pain of losing a treasured piece of jewellery to the elements. But there's good news ladies, this can be prevented - and remedied.

Check out these easy steps to prevent your jewellery from changing colour and also how you can clean stained jewellery.

Coat jewellery with nail hardener to protect its base and store said jewellery in a plastic bag or wrap in tissue and store in an air tight container. The idea is to prevent air from getting to it as this is what reacts with the jewellery and causes it to change colour.
Avoid wearing jewellery on your bare skin especially when its hot, sweat coupled with friction on the skin usually reacts with the jewellery causing it to wear and change colour.

To get rid of brassy look:

Soak jewellery in a bowl of warm water, salt and baking powder. Clean off with clean cloth.
Get silver polish (for silver jewellery) and with a cloth, polish the jewellery.
Toothpaste: Squeeze a small amount of toothpaste on a cloth or cotton wool and polish the affected areas.