Charlotte & Co

Posted by dulwichmum on Tue 4 October 2011

Name of product: Charlotte & Co

Price: Silk Cotton Night T – £39/Lavender Pillow Spray – £9 for 50 mls

The blurb: Charlotte Semler, the co-founder of the lingerie company Myla, left London in 2005 with her husband and their baby twins, and moved from London to the Cotswolds. The following year, she started the Charlotte & Co mail-order business, which sells loungewear, nightwear and lingerie

Silk Cotton Night T – “Silk & cotton blend luxury bedtime basics. Perfect for those with sensitive skin. Chuck away your grubby old t-shirts and snuggle up in our luxe alternative Silk cotton Night T. Simply perfect, don’t accept inferior quality from other brands who use a less silk rich blend of fibres. 87cm long. 60% Silk, 40% Cotton”

And

Lavender Pillow Spray – “Sleep therapy in a bottle. Formulated with soothing lavender to calm and relax you. Just spray on pillows and breathe deeply before snuggling up for a wonderful night’s rest. Can also be used as a room spray. Made in UK. Not tested on animals”

First impressions: Beautifully presented, exactly as described – a luxurious, silky soft, generously proportioned, long, night T shirt in a nice chocolate brown silk bag. The pillow spray smells pleasant and will, no doubt, enhance my sleep! With the dark evenings drawing in and Winter on its way, I love to stock up on goodies for night time, I adore my bed – don’t you?

This is silk nightware for me, not for him (and I will keep the bottle of pillow spray to hand on my bedside cabinet to spritz James in case of any mis-understandings). I am actually rather pleased by the simplicity of this suprisingly elegant night shirt – when Charlotte invited me to do this review, I was initially rather alarmed. I once accidentally encountered Myla near Sloane Square, a few years ago, and was traumatised by the spanking paddles! My family is complete…

Ease of Use: I do not think that this night shirt was intended for glamour, but it skims my fabulous tight, gym honed bod in the most complimentary way and the texture of the luxurious knitted fabric ensures it still feels quite pampering and indulgent against my skin. I instantly love it! Having taken my time over this review, to ensure that it does not disintegrate in the laundry, I am buying myself another 3!

Pros: This garment is beautifully made, it has been laundered 5 times and the fabric is as perfect as the day it arrived – silky soft, smooth and completely free from any sign of pilling. Wow! Top marks Charlotte. I am popping online to inspect the rest of your range

Cons: The care instructions included with the night shirt are to machine wash delicates at 30 degrees in specific gentle detergent – like Persil Silk & Wool or Woolite. As a busy working mother who employs a psychotic Bulgarian housekeeper, this sounds like an impossible challenge. If Albina finds anything too much trouble, chances are that she will just leave the iron on it too long before tossing it into the recycling… I have to admit, I was apprehensive when I read the fussy care instructions, but don’t let them put you off

I can promise you, Albina doesn’t bother with Woolite, but to be fair, she subdivides colours and launders everything at 30 degrees. The Night T has survived her rough and tumble laundry routine admirably. I am very impressed. Just don’t mix the colours and this will survive forever!

I have used the pillow spray regularly too and I still have two thirds of a bottle (my man can’t resist me!)

Value for money: I think this garment is good value for money, especially as I will wear it all Winter, enjoying the fabric every time I put it on. It hasn’t aged at all! The pillow spray is a lovely gift – or even a self-gift, I love self-gifting, don’t you?

Dulwichmum verdict:

Stockists: Online at Charlotte & Co

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 Polaroid Sunglasses

Posted by dulwichmum on Tue 26 July 2011

Name of product: Polaroid Sunglasses

Price: From £25 for a kids pair. My son tselected a style called “Dude”, retailing at £25.00, my daughter chose “Show Off” (well she is my baby!) at £27.00. I tried a new style called Passion for £79.00 – large lenses in an elegant ebony colour, completely on trend!

The blurb: “When it comes to sun protection, these sunglasses help you start as you mean to go on

Introduce sunglasses to children at an early age, and they can look forward to a life-time of protection from harmful UV rays. It’s a range that gives kids all the benefits of Polaroid polarized lenses in a selection of hard-wearing frames. And, when making a fashion statement is important, our sunglasses won’t let you down. Choose Polaroid kids sunglasses”

First impressions: To be completely honest with you, these are the only sunglasses I will wear myself and they are certainly the only sunglasses I will allow my children to wear. Once you have tried on a pair of Polariod sunglasses, you will completely understand what makes me say this. The difference that these lenses makes is simply stunning, but it is difficult to explain.

This range of sunglasses, in super styles, includes children’s ranges, suitable from the age of 1!

For the little ones, it will protect their little eyes from harmful sun rays, but for me, not only that, but they stop me from accentuating my fine lines! They are incredibly soothing, far superior to any of my designer sunglases. The designs are simply fabulous too, there is really no reason to opt for a brand that is pure fashion, that would be simply irresponsible (purrs)

Ease of Use: The Polariod Sunglasses website is super. My children simply selected the models they wanted and they were here in 48 hours!

Pros: I feel that these glasses have taken the sting out of summer for my eyes! My children love wearing the funky, hard wearing styles and I get no arguments off them when I insist they don sunglasses. If only getting them to wear sun hats was this easy! There is a no quibble guarantee on the Polaroid Sunglasses website and postage and packing is free

Cons: They are not cheap. I don’t actually see this as a negative as I am incredibly high end… but I am insisting that my poppets are responsible with their glasses and pay attention to where they put them and how the glasses are stored (the glasses have their own hard cases and polishing cloth just like my grown up pair!). It is important that the poppets realise that caring for their glasses is their responsibility and I will not be happy if they lose them. I don’t really see this as a con actually, this is a lesson for life

Having said all of that, these glasses are not expensive either, just check out the styles, you will spend far more than this for similar styles that do not have the super Polaroid lenses

Value for money:. Well sweeties, you get what you pay for and these glasses are not just fashion accessories (although they look amazing and my poppets adore theirs). I see these as an essential summer purchase, just like sun block!

Dulwichmum verdict:

Stockists: PolaroidSunglasses.co.uk

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