Seeing clearly with Iolla

The Finnieston area in Glasgow's West End is such a cool hub of bars, restaurants and quirky little shops - So it was no surprise to see another trendy indie brand pop up there recently, in the form of Iolla. I've worn glasses pretty much full time since I left school, after ignoring my severely less than perfect eyesight to the point I was suffering from terrible tension headaches. I'm not one for contacts (think Rachel and the eyedrop scene from friends) and feel so creeped out at the thought of putting anything on my eyeballs! I'm sure for regular contact wearers it's an absolute breeze, but for me it is out of the question. Plus, with so many awesome styles and colours you can choose from in glasses these days (no offence to Harry P style NHS glasses from the late 90's...) we really are spoiled for choice! Your choice of frame and colour can totally compliment your own sense of style, allowing your glasses to become a fashion statement as well as a necessary daily item for folk like me with not so great eyesight.

You'll find most clothing designers these days have their own eyewear range. I've been a sucker for some expensive frames in the past, and as much as I love them, the pressure is on if you lose them, scratch the lense, sit on them (I've been there with all three, god damn it) Plus, sometimes you might want a few different pairs so you can chop and change your style, right? For me, this is where Iolla comes in perfectly. I booked an appointment online, went in a couple of days later to try out some frames, and a week after that I had my glasses. All for £65! For an new stylish brand like this you would expect to pay a lot more, as in the past I have paid 3 x this for a pair of frames, and that's not even including my lenses with prescription. All of the eyewear at Iolla is designed and manufactured in Glasgow, and they pride themselves on quality at an affordable price. Just what I like to hear, and seeing is believing!

I felt like a judge on the Xfactor whittling my top 5 choices down to the winning pair, which is these Arrol frames in Blue Havana. What do you think? I have taken my specs on a proper road test before posting this review (as you can see my visit was pre-haircut!) and I can genuinely tell you, never will I spend £120+ on a pair of frames again when I can get this quality for half of the price. You can't really tell from the photos, but my frames are a sort of transparent brown with teal flecks through them. They suit my eye colour really well, and Iolla took the time to properly tweak the frames and fit them to my face. So no more sliding down my nose, sore spots behind my ears where the legs press against my head, or eyelashes hitting against the lens. Such simple little changes which makes wearing them really comfortable, to the point I forgot I've had them on a few times and have went hunting around the house... only for them to be on my face, doh!

If you're in Glasgow I definitely recommend popping by the showroom to have a gander at the frames they have on offer (I'm especially looking at my bestie Leah with this one, we are gonna break your Raybans addiction!)  The staff are super helpful and extremely knowlegeable when it comes to what shapes and colours will suit your face. I'm also a bad one for using the side of my dress or jumper to clean my glasses, and they gave me into trouble for that! If you haven't used a proper glasses cloth to clean your lenses in a while then do it. I promise that the world will seem in HD all of a sudden. My boyfriend really likes them too, he thinks the style and colour suit me down to a T. So, it turns out boys DO make passes at girls with glasses!