Today’s post brings my first Pandora review in a while with a look at the new Shimmer murano collection, which has come out with the Spring & Summer releases this year! I fell in love with these as soon as I first saw the stock images, and have snapped up three of the five colours that have come out so far :D
I do have one more Pre-Autumn 2016 review to do, as I recently picked up the cute little Koala bear while on my travels last week – so that one will be coming out before the launch of the Autumn collection on the 1st of September. :D
Anyway – all that aside, please read on some close-up shots and shimmer styling inspiration! <3
Pandora Shimmer Muranos Review
The Shimmer murano collection made its debut this year, offering faceted glass beads in vivid colours, overlaid with a pretty glittery sparkle. It’s kind of a revamped version of the original faceted murano glass collection, with a few more subtle colours. :D Currently, you can purchase pink, purple, red, teal and ‘frosty mint’ shades of the muranos, with a dark purple version due out for Autumn 2016!
So far, I’ve opted for the more pastel shades – pink, purple and mint!
Of all of these, I think the Purple Shimmer murano is my favourite. I’ve wanted a pastel purple for such a long time, and this lovely bead really delivers. It’s a soft colour while still being vibrant and striking, and the depth of the colour makes the shimmer stand out beautifully!
The Pink Shimmer murano, on the other hand, is a pretty, frosty candy-floss pink. The sparkles blend into the colour more, and they don’t stand out as much as they do with the Purple Shimmer murano. This is not necessarily a bad thing, however, as the sparkles still give the soft colour extra delicacy and texture.
Last but not least, we have the Frosty Mint murano, which is very pale indeed when compared to the other two. It’s very hard to photograph as I have to work with a white background, but my Frosty Mint murano does have quite a bit of minty shimmer in it, with a dusting of pink sparkles on top! It’s a gorgeous effect, one that comes out when you expose it to sunlight or a florescent light (but sadly too subtle for my camera to pick up!).
Stylings
My first styling involves all my new Pandora muranos for 2016, with the exception of the Wild Hearts murano (although that probably wouldn’t have looked out of place, if I had added it!). Pandora’s glass has come on in such leaps and bounds that I think a bracelet focusing on their murano beads works is rather a beautiful thing these days.
I’ve also included a couple of photos of how I actually wear my pink & purple shimmer muranos! This is my classic silver bracelet, which pairs the shimmer muranos with the classic Lavender Candy-Stripe murano – it’s surprising how easily these newer glass beads blend with the older glass and classic-style silver charms.
I love how pretty and casual this kind of ‘traditional’ Pandora bracelet is, with its eclectic mix of silver animals and trinkets – I like to wear it on a dress-down kind of day, with summery shorts or jeans and a jumper, something like that!
I haven’t decided yet how I’m going to wear my Frosty Mint shimmer murano – I’m thinking of doing something a bit different and putting it with two of the Rapunzel Signature Colour muranos from the Disney collection, but am not sure just yet! I have a few ‘bought on a whim’ beads that are sitting on charm bars, waiting to be homed, haha – the dangers of impulse buying!
Conclusion
I consider these beads to have a healthy mix of ‘new’ and ‘old’ Pandora styling in them – they offer nice, solid blocks of colour and aren’t too fussy, but the shimmer gives them a bit of interest. As you can see from my bracelet design above, they really don’t look out of place with older glass and classic silver beads.
I’d love to see some new colours in this Shimmer collection – a shimmery black would have been amazing for Halloween (although the dark purple for Autumn 2016 would also do in a pinch!) and an actual shimmery light green would also be gorgeous, and wonderful for spring.
The Pandora Shimmer muranos are $50 USD or £35 each. If you’re in the UK, you can buy these muranos along with the rest of Pandora’s collections from authorised retailer John Greed.
Have you purchased any of the Shimmer muranos? What shades would you like to see in the future?
:-) I’m not such a great fan of Muranos, however I really like how you styled them.
And I have to say that the rest of the summer collection is beautiful.
Have a very HAPPY evening :-)
I love murano glass! They are probably my favourite kind of beads, so I always get really excited when they release new ones haha.
But I do get why people find the texture or bright colour not to their taste. Glad there’s lots you like from the rest of the collection anyhow. Have a lovely evening and thanks for commenting :)
Hi Ellie, thanks for that lovely review! I only have, for the moment, the mint murano, because in Spring I bought the Aurora and Rapunzel ones, but they are in my wish list, because pink is my favorite color and I like to combine it with purple. I loved your first styling, it looks gorgeous with all that muranos. It’s curious, when I started using Pandora I didn’t like them a lot, and now I can’t imagine my bracelets without them. I’m using the frosty mint murano in the light blue leather bracelet, with the tropical seahorse, the oceanic starfish and the seashell with starfish, that’s the start of my summer bracelet. Thank you for all the beautiful ideas. I can’t wait for your next review!
Hi Priscilla! Ah, and these would be so lovely with the Aurora and Rapunzel Disney muranos as well. I hope you do get them at some point, as they would look great!
Haha, glad to hear you’re a murano convert! I have always really liked them, and I can’t imagine my bracelets without them either. Any attempts to design a murano-less bracelet have inevitably ended with failure.
Your Frosty Mint murano bracelet sounds gorgeous! I should have tried mine on the blue leather bracelet, that might have brought out the mint a little more. I will have to have a play around and see where it ends up eventually!
Thanks for your lovely comment Priscilla! <3
I am not really a fan of muranos either due to their size but if they made the petite facets with shimmering colors, I would LOVE them.
So would I!!!!!!!
:D
That would be great! The Petite Facets are such a great alternative for people who aren’t so keen on the size of muranos. :D
I love your classic silver bracelet. There are so many animal classic charms i like these days that I’m pondering with the idea of a all Silver animal bracelet, with some beautiful muranos. If i decide to start this project, its going to be my 6th bracelet. Three of my bangles are still empty of charms. Ive have been upgrading them to proper bracelets. Too many charms that i want to add. Perhaps a mini bangle design will be better choice.
Thank you! <3 It's essentially a homage to all Pandora's earlier designs, the ones I first fell in love with when I browsed through my Pandora catalogues back in 2012. :)
Ah, I often have the same problem! So many projects, but not enough time/funds to do them all. A silver animal bracelet would be wonderful, though!
Omg the beautiful essence charms got an early release today and I got to see them in person today but can’t buy them till the end of this week week till I get paid and omg they are so beautiful I’m getting 3 of the new ones out of the new 6 that had just come out & at the end of the month I’m gonna go with the gold creativity bead only cause the 3 new ones really popped out with the gold creativity bead it’s just too bad it’s 14k gold but if it looks that stunning with these new ones that’s my main concern & it does look amazing with the 3 that I picked & I got to try them all on my bracelet to see how it would look like & they look amazing so I decided to put the 3 that I wanted on hold & I can’t wait to pick them up this week
I love them so much that I wish I can show pictures of them on here
Aw I’m so glad to hear that they didn’t disappoint in person! I can’t wait to see them for myself. Which three did you go for?
I can’t wait to see them! I recently got a gift card for my birthday, and I’m eager to use it, but I have to stay strong and wait another month until the “spend and save” promo.
On a side note: Ellie, have you seen the list of upcoming retired charms? I saw it posted on FB–I think it was on Pamdora’s Angels–and couldn’t believe all the amount of beautiful charms retiring that are retiring, including many that were out recently!
Sorry about that last sentence. I typed it in a rush!
I’m I went for freedom, generosity & compassion but have to pick them up Friday till I get money I’m so excited
Hi Ellie i really like how you designed your bracelet with the lavender candy stripe murano. It’s really nice. I love Muranos and i only have the shimmering red for the time being. ?the frosty mint looks great and right now i’m into a bracelet with clear cz and the purple muranos.a pity can’t buy them.all.thanks for your posts and comments look forward to your next one.?
Hi Christelle, thanks – I’m so pleased to hear that you like it. The Red Shimmer murano is lovely, another one where the sparkles really stand out. I’m sure you’ll pick up some of the other colours along the way! ^^
Thank you for your lovely comment! :)
so, is there going to be an essence promotion this month?
Yep, starts on the 18th :)
I adore your photos! You have really shown what beauties the Shimmer Muranos are!
Thanks so much Sarah! That is so nice to hear from you, with your gorgeous photos :D
Hi Ellie,
Thanks for the shimmer muranos review and stylings. I do like all colors in these beautiful muranos and they are on my list for future purchase. I agree, a black shimmer would be stunning. Thinking of using the Frosty Mint for a Christmas bracelet.
Hope you are having a nice day.
Hi Emily! The Frosty Mint murano would be great for a Christmas bracelet, especially if you want to add a more delicate dash of green to a design. I’m looking forward to seeing if Pandora do decide to go with any more colours for this murano collection. It would be nice if they did!
I’m having a lovely day, thanks, although it’s almost over. I spent this evening baking a cake to take over to my mum, as it’s her birthday tomorrow, so it’s been fun! ^^ Hope you’re having a nice day too, and thanks for taking the time to comment!
Happy Birthday to your mother. You’re a good daughter baking a birthday cake. Don’t guess you’ve had any luck convincing your mum to start a Pandora bracelet?
BTW, Ellie…I just read the news under Autumn updates that the colored CZ barrel bracelets may be delayed or cancelled. What a disappointment! Say it ain’t so. Fingers crossed it’s only a delay.
Hello Ellie,
I am also a huge fan of the shimmer murano.especially the pink, the teal and frosty mint.
I’ve already have the pink shimmer murano and definitely want to get the teal and the frosty mint.
I matched my pink shimmer murano with the butterfly pink murano, the daisy silver charm, the openwork primerose silver and the dragonfly openwork charm with some butterfly and daisy dangles… I think these bracelet is representative of the spring… The teal shimmer i want to get will go on my Caribbean bracelet with the teal glass murano, the turtle, the palm tree dangle and the suitcase charm…. The theme is the holidays on a Caribbean beach…. I am not sure for the frosty mint shimmer murano yet, but my first idea is to put it on a new bracelet I want to begin on the winter theme.
Hi Valerie! Mm, the teal is the other one from the set that really tempted me! Luckily for my wallet, I don’t have anywhere to put one right now so I’ve held off on that. ^^
Ah, that sounds so beautiful! I love all those pretty pinks together – and I especially love pale pink and a little clear CZ together, so that sounds wonderful. The Frosty Mint murano is definitely a great one for winter, and I’d love to hear what you decide to put with it, if you do go with that idea!
Hi Ellie,
Sorry if this is off topic, but I’m a bit confused regarding the pandora fall spend and save event.
If a customer picks out $550US worth of merchandise, you get to take it home for $225? Pandora is selling merchandise at half price? Business wise they were better off giving you 5 bracelets, which probably cost maybe $10 or so apiece to make. I guess I will not really understand or believe it until I see it!
Anyway, I’m hoping to get the essence charms and the gold bangle, as well as the pandora rose bangle. Maybe the purple shimmer murano as well!
It’s my understanding with a $550 spend you would save $225, so you would end up spending $325. Sure beats no savings at all!
Ellie has posted this on the Promotions page. If you spend $150 USD, you take $50 off; spend $350 USD and save $125; and spend $550 USD and save $225.
Hi Lisa! I don’t really get the mentality of moving away from the bracelet promos either. You’d think they’d profit a lot from people coming back to buy charms to fill all those free bracelets! But I do think that there’s something nice in having that freedom to choose anything you like with the spend & save!
Oooh that will be such a fun haul to come home with you! I often take part in the US/Canadian promos, as they’re better than the UK ones most of the time, but I do miss the fun of walking into the shop and picking everything out for myself ^^
Hi Ellie I love these murano and are so pretty colours I love them all.i think the mint one would look lovely on the summer leather bracelet,you made me laugh about some charms on your charm bar I have quite a few too I love them all but they don’t fit anywhere at the mo sometimes I switch them around with my leather bracelets too.
Hi Nicola! I love them all too :D and they’re all so versatile.
Haha, I keep impulse buying charms and then not having anywhere to put them! My latest acquisition is the adorable Mother’s Day cupcake, which I have NO idea how I’m going to use! I’m sure I’ll think of something. Switching them around the leather bracelets is a good idea :D
Hi Ellie,
Since last week, I am on holidays and visiting my family in the south of France. I could not resist and pay a visit to the local Pandora store :—) I don’t know if it was a good or a bad idea but I did not came back with noting ;-)
I bought 2 Frosty mint murano and a teal shimmer murano. And I think I made a bargain….
A few weeks ago in Belgium, the price of all the shimmer muranos was raise from 39 EUR to 45 EUR. I found it a bit harsh…. and I decided to wait before buying those muranos, at least I have a proper idea of what to do with them, especially the frosty mint. It was a good call.
In France the price is still at 39 EUR so I could not help myself and seize the opportunity to save some money :-)
Now I will add my teal shimmer murano to my Tropical Summer bracelet…. and the 2 frosty mint will be the beginning of the new and fourth bracelet, definitely on winter theme.
I have already seen this frosty mint murano in person but when I see it again yesterday there was no doubt I will buy one or two. The color is really so delicate and glowing just enough to light up the bracelet. I think the color will be perfectly show the blue/white color of the snow under the sunshine of an icy winter morning.
Now, I can’t wait to start the new bracelet on the winter theme :-) and wait impatiently the for the winter collection to go out.
Hi Valerie! Oh what good timing, getting the muranos from France at the lower price… it’s disappointing that the price has gone up so much. It seems to be happening everywhere :(
But you picked some beautiful pieces! And you describe the colour of the Frosty Mint so poetically – love the idea of it representing sunshine on an icy morning. That’s perfect. The Frosty Mint will be making an appearance on a few wintry bracelet designs I think!
Hi dear. Love your arrangement for the bracelet. Especially the one with retired panda and duck charm. I adore that arrangement. Is there any chance that you can send me a pic of the full arrangement pls pls?