One of my favorite parts of being a modified human being is my stretched earlobes. I have tiny lobes, so the process to get to where I'm at took a lot of patience and slow, sustained stretching. It was super tempting to try to get to a large size as quickly as possible... But that's really unhealthy for your lobes. Sometimes we take for granted that there's an art to stretching, and many different kinds of plugs to choose from at that. Should I use a single flare plug to stretch? What is a double flare plug all about? How are they different from one another? We blog for EVERYBODY, including the piercing noobs - that's why this week, our blog was called Stretched Ears: A Beginner's Guide to Inserting Plugs. Hopefully this helps clear some piercing-related confusion around this beautiful mod.

I'd like to take a second to draw your attention to some of our custom-curated collections above. First, our matte body jewelry collection, full of peaches, maroons, teals, blues, blacks, and just about any combo of colors you can think of. Matte finish stuff is right up my alley (pun intended) - it's a sophisticated-looking finish that can exist without being a true statement piece. Looking for matte plugs? How about matte belly button ring packs? Matte eyebrow rings? We've got them all - check it out! While the summer heat is still beating down on us, I'd also like to direct you to the mermaid body jewelry collection. Y'all know I love mermaid-y stuff (hence the blue-green hair), and this collection is the embodiment of what I love so much about the aesthetic. My absolute favorite pieces in this collection are the ones that look like iridescent mermaid scales, and we've got them in tongue rings, plugs, belly rings, and just about everything else. Get yourself some underwater themed stuff to really set off that mermaid look. Finally, camping or otherwise, if you're spending a lot of time out in the sun, be sure to snag some of our wonderful Christopher David Vitamin C serum. It's great for 1.) protecting your skin from the sun, 2.) protecting your skin's natural brilliance, and 3.) smoothing and soothing your skin. Try it out, we know you'll love it!

Please, please, please, don't stop sending in your questions/comments/concerns/compliments to DearAlley@bodycandy.com. I love answering questions from our Body Candy family. Is something bugging you? Is someone bullying you? Have you been wanting to know what piercing you should get? I'm game to weigh in on just about everything! Don't be shy, send in a friendly lil' email and maybe I'll pick you! Dear Alley goes up every Saturday.

Last call on our July monthly clubs... If you're getting the Tea emails, you're DEFINITELY invited to join our exclusive monthly club crew. What is our monthly club? It's a group of pierced/modified/amazing Body Candy Babes who love repping the brand and wearing amazing jewelry. Every club member will receive three (3) body jewelry classics every month, right to their door. The best part - no matter what your mod, we've got something for you! We have belly button rings; septum rings; cartilage studs; nose rings; industrial bars; nipple rings; tongue rings; and even T-shirts and vitamin c clubs... Check it out now!

Love,
- Alley 

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