Matalan Click & Collect

Matalan have recently launched a new service - Matalan Click & Collect - which aims to take the hassle out of waiting on on deliveries, by letting you collect your parcel from your local store (and not have to waste hours sitting about waiting on the postie!).

They asked me to try out the service & report back, so here's how I got on...

I've been eyeing up a few bits & pieces from their homeware section for a wee while now (seriously, look at these jars! & these ones! Love!), but was won over by clothes (and justified it by saying - it's spring! I need a new wardrobe!).

I ordered a navy cardigan*, cream lace dress* & denim shirt* and opted to pick them up from one of the Edinburgh stores. It was super easy to navigate around their site & check out (I've actually never bought anything online from them before, just in store), and it told that I'd get an email letting me know when I could pick up my items... which would be within three days. So far, so good!

Ahh - is it really obnoxious to have myself as my phone wallpaper? I promise I don't normally!

The very next day I got a text telling me that my order was ready to collect, so on my next free day I nipped into the store, showed the confirmation email on my phone (no need to worry about printing things out) & collected my parcel. Super easy, and no ridiculous drive to a delivery office that only opens during working hours!

The only danger with Click & Collect is that as soon I was in store I thought - oh, I might as well have a wee wander round the shop & try things on... wouldn't hurt (etc) - and ended up buying two new dresses! (This jersey dress in two different fabrics). I would have actually bought a third one in the same cut (which is super flattering on me!), but they didn't have my size in store... perhaps that's one for my next online order!

Overall, this was a super easy (& fun!) experience. I hate hate hate missing parcels... and it's great to have another option for ordering online (especially when it's so speedy). Thanks Matalan!

Disclaimer: I was gifted credit to use on items of my choice from Matalan. All opinions my own! (It really was super quick). 

French bulldog inspired wishlist

Craig & I are looking at getting a dog sometime soon (fingers crossed this year!), and I have the awesome job of researching breeds to see what type will fit best into our lifestyle & live happily alongside Riley. We'd wanted to get a rescue dog (Riley was a rescue cat), but most advice recommends getting a young dog so they can grow up alongside the cat without terrorising it... which opens up the wonderful world of puppies!

I never used to be a fan of small dogs, but keep finding myself coming back to french bulldogs - I can't resist their squishy little faces! I also didn't realise the whole world of french bulldog inspired items out there... look at this lot!

Top row

Marc by Marc Jacobs flat shoes | Wooden necklace | Letterpress Card

Bottom row

Gold charm necklace | Léon jumper | Chevron iPhone case

I don't know how work-appropriate the shoes are, but they are super cute! I want it all please.

Anyway, it would be criminal to publish this post without any photos of the dogs themselves, so here we go....

Photos from Love Maegan's french bulldog pinterest board

AWWWWWHHH. Hiya pups!

Illustrated Blogger #1: A Rosie Outlook

Welcome to a brand new feature - Illustrated Bloggers! Each month I'll be introducing you to one of my favourite bloggers & telling you why they are brilliant. I'm also going to (gulp!) paint their portrait... fingers crossed you know who it's meant to be!

First up, it's this lovely lady...

Who is she?  Rosie from A Rosie Outlook

What's her site about? A UK lifestyle & fashion blog

Why is she brilliant? 

• Rosie's blog is a snapshot into her life - full of adventures, photos of the seaside & good advice.
• I absolutely adore the way she writes, it's just like reading letters from an old friend. 
• A Rosie Outlook covers a huge range of topics: DIYs, recipes, wishlists, outfit posts & lovely photos. Perfect for reading with a big cup of tea!
• Rosie has the most adorable schnoodle dog called Bodhi, who makes regular appearances on her blog.  I'm a total sucker for a cute pup face. 
• Her hair is the perfect shade of just-lilac, I have proper hair envy!

THE LEATHER SATCHEL CO

For the last year I have been pining over satchels - in particular, a brown leather, keep forever kind of satchel. To try & satisfy my cravings, I kept buying cheap bags from high street shops that fell apart or got unstitched and ratty very quickly, but still found it hard to justify spending anything over £50+ on a bag.

So it was VERY exciting (and lovely and thoughtful), when my very generous parents bought me one for my Christmas present (all of my christmas hints must have worked!). Thanks mum & dad!

There are loads of satchel makers out there, but I knew I wanted to use The Leather Satchel Co - a satchel maker who has been in business since the 1960s (so they know their stuff!). They hand-craft each satchel to your exact requirements & each one comes with a 5 year craftsmanship guarantee .

As I'm planning to use this bag for a very long time, I thought it made sense to get it exactly as I wanted it!

So I ordered a 14" satchel in London tan leather (it looks quite orangey in some of these photos, but it's a really rich chestnut brown). I got them to add a briefcase handle and change the traditional straps to magnetic fasteners (much easier to get in and out, but still looks lovely!). Also, because I couldn't resist, I asked for my name to be blind embossed across the front. Super indulgent, yes, but I love it!

It took less than two weeks from ordering to delivery, which is pretty good considering it's all made by hand!  Currently the leather is quite stiff, but it'll age really well & the leather will soften up. I LOVE IT. 

The size fits my laptop perfectly & is big enough to fit in an A4 pad (just! If you wanted to carry a folder you'd be better sizing up). My only issue is that I'm used to having a wee zip pocket for my keys & phone, and it's a bit weird just throwing them into the bag (there is a big front pocket, but I feel weird about putting keys in there). Still, that's a small gripe - I think I just need to get something zippy to hold my valuables. 

Satchels start at £80+ when ordering directly from the workshop, but you can also buy them from ASOS & amazon (good when they have sales on!). 

Kiehl's, Edinburgh

Last week I was invited to visit Kiehl's flagship UK store (the largest one in Europe!) for a skincare consultation and a chat about the brand. The store sits in the very swish Assembly Rooms on Edinburgh's George St - a street that's well known for high-end brands and designer items.

I'd popped into Kiehl's before but scurried off before actually speaking to anyone (it looked too expensive for me!) so I was pretty excited to have a proper look & see what they had to say.

Kiehl's was founded as a New York apothecary in 1851. The founder (John Kiehl) passed the business to his apprentice (Irvine Morse), who handed it down through his family for the next 150ish years. I really loved hearing the history of the company - they have a big scrapbook in store that you can look through, and photos of the owners are up all over the walls. Over the years the business moved from traditional pharmaceuticals to skin care lines, with each family member adding items & developing the product ranges (for example, one daughter was a big fan of dressage, so she created horse care products!).

In 2000 the company partnered with L'Oréal in a bid to grow the brand's presence - but under the strict conditions that Kiehl's values were upheld, and that the generous sampling policy would be kept in place.

The Edinburgh store carries bath, body, skin & hair care products, plus specialised ranges for men, babies & athletes. There's a big treatment bar in the middle of the shop, a coffee bar & a men's barber area... Boots this is not. It's a seriously beautiful shop to look at.

For my consulatation, Cheree (the store's supervisor), did two tests - a hydration test (to check how much water was in my skin), and an oil test (to check how much - you guessed it - oil was in my skin). You can actually do the hydration test at home - just push your cheeks in an upwards direction & look for little lines (like crepe paper). If you see them it means your skin is dehydrated & you need to drink more water!

For the oil test she placed two tabs (that looked a little like blotting paper) onto my forehead and cheek to check the oil content of my skin. My forehead measured normal, and my cheeks were a little bit dry, but overall my skin was balanced (which is good. Hooray!). We then chatted through my usual face, body and hair care routine (which is to say, mega lazy and non-existent) and Cheree gathered up loads of samples to show me.

They offer free consultations & samples to EVERYONE and I'd really recommend going in and having a chat if you have a spare 20 minutes! I had been expecting a pushy hard-sell (as you'd get with some of the other high-end brands), but instead it was really relaxed & chatty - they want you to take away samples & then come back when you're won over by the products, rather than push you for a quick buck.

The products are fairly pricey (think £15.50 for a 75ml moisturiser), but they are designed to last for AGES - they recommend using pea-sized amounts of each product at a time, as a little is designed to go a very long way!

As a little treat, Kiehl's are offering a 10% discount to anyone who quotes Ever So Juliet in the Edinburgh store. This discount will run through February, so there's plenty of time to pop in for some samples & a chat, then buy the products you love a few weeks later!

I'll keep you updated on how I'm getting on with the samples I'm trying... so far so good though (I'm actually remembering to use the cleanser each night, which is already a big improvement for a make up wipe addict!).

Kiehl's is based in the ground floor of the Assembly Rooms, 54 George St, Edinburgh.