My mother always told me, don't be afraid to splurge on glasses because they are the window through…read morewhich everybody sees your face....well, when custom glasses like Iolla's are only £65 a full set including lenses that means I just buy every single frame I fancy! Call me crazy, but I bought 4 pairs! And here was my mental justification: Tortoise shell grey and black frame: First pair I was drawn too and they looked HOT! Amber framed sunglasses: Always wanted amber frames, but they look stupid with my dark features.. pop in a sunglass lens and BOom I'm in love. Black mat frame: Well, I am a nerd, I work in a laboratory, wear a lab coat, and it might as well be part of the uniform. Green glasses: Honestly I wasn't a big fan of these, but the three people I was shopping with and the gentleman who owns the store insisted they looked amazing, so I gave into peer pressure. If you don't wear glasses, you are missing out, so go buy some custom shades with whatever frame you like. Last but not least, Iolla has a cute little coffee bar in the back to keep you fuelled while you try on every pair in the store!

Iolla is a new brand of prescription eyewear that aims to revolutionise the traditional optical…read moremarket. Glasses are designed and assembled in Scotland to provide higher-quality, better-looking eyewear at a fraction of the current price. £65 gets you fabulous frames, thin lenses and anti-glare and anti-scratch coating if your prescription is between certain parameters. I have a strong prescription and have a slight astigmatism and that was included, too! I popped in to the Iolla showroom on a Saturday with Baby Girl unannounced; I had an appointment scheduled later in the week but had some time to kill and was passing by. Stefan, one of Iolla's founders, was so patient and helpful. It will come to no surprise to anyone who knows me that I tried on just about every frame in the showroom. Iolla have a variety of frames, all named after famous Scots, to suit every face shape and come in multiple colours. I went back and forth between a few different frames but in the end decided to go for a pair that were the complete opposite to my glasses I've had for the past 2 years. I love my new Stevenson frames in light blue crystal! They really make my eyes pop and are just so far removed from my big black frames. I love that at only £65 you can have glasses that are truly a fashion choice and not just functional. In fact I loved my Iolla glasses so much I went back 2 weeks later for another pair! Can you believe in 22 years of wearing glasses I have never had prescription sunglasses? For me they were just an expense I couldn't justify so it meant always wearing contacts when it was sunny or using these gigantic sunglasses my Dad gave me that go over your existing glasses so you look like a glaucoma grandma! My Bruce sunglasses in plum are far more stylish and made sunglare worries on my morning commute a thing of the past. I honestly can't believe I went this long without prescription sunglasses! Iolla frames can be purchased online and shipped straight to your door or you can pop in to the showroom on Argyle Street in Glasgow if you like to try on your frames before you buy. I love supporting local businesses and it's even more amazing when the local business service and product is better value for money than the corporate conglomerates!

The Best people I've ever seen when I need a new glasses. I…read moream so sorry for that late reputation. Don't know if u guys still remember me, I am the guy who wanted a glasses frame in 2020, maybe Sep or Oct,from China with bad English.(I guess my English is worse after leaving Scotland) It's been a long time since I came back to China but I too so long time to write that now. Still remember that stuff was from Japan or Italy, so I was waited so excited in those days. I said I would write a positive reputation that day with a such great weather. I am so sorry to write all of these so late again, if there is a time, I will come to see you guys and drink a beer together :)

Great service and lovely personnel. Plenty of frame choices as well. An all round lovely experience!read more

Black & Lizars have been tending my eyes for many years, and one of the main reaons that I like…read morethem is that they seem to be quite innovative, and always have the latest special machines for looking at the back of your eyeballs or whatever it is that those machines do. I find the opticians themselves really good, very competent as far as I can tell, and I'm confident that my eye health is being taken care of here. The assistants in this shop are a bit variable. Some are great, and some of them are utterly hopeless. I must have waited about ten minutes once to get some contact solution because the girl couldn't work out which key opened the cabinet. I've not seen her again though so maybe they have a really effective staff management protocol too. I get my contact lenses from here and you can have them delivered to you, or pick them up in the shop. You get solution too as part of the deal. It's probably not the cheapest deal I could find but as I'm happy with the care I'm getting, that's OK with me. One thing they could improve on is their range of spectacle frames. I have an unusually tiny head, and last time I got my specs renewed, I had to get a child's pair. They actually fit OK, but do get a bit tight after a full day of wearing them, so I just never wear them. More recently, when I wanted a pair of dark glasses, I went to Specsavers to get frames, and I would probably do that again rather than trying on every pair in the shop in Black & Lizars. If you have a normal sized head you'll probably be fine though as they seem to have some lovely designs.

My family first started using Black and Lizars up in Aberdeen about 15 years ago. Starting when my…read morebrother got his first pair of specs aged 3. After returning to the UK we were shocked to find they still had our records! So when I needed my eyes tested I chose to continue using them. My last test was only last April which means I wasn't due another free NHS test for another year. The staff were great in explaining this to me, but said if I felt my eye sight had detonated they would put it through as a supplementary test. I went in on Wednesday to book and was able to get a test the next day. The optician was great. I explained how I felt my eyes were worsening and she went through the test. She was lovely and more than willing to switch between lenses when sometimes the changes didn't seem apparent. She gave me my new slightly worse prescription and said it would take a week to change the existing lenses on my current frames. I'm toying with getting more grown up frames. Aka not hot pink and the selection was great. I said I'd probably return with my Mum in tow as I need an honest opinion on glasses.

I had broken my glasses and needed the arm repaired. The optician with very eager to help and was…read moresuccessful making them wearable again. He refused payment even though I hadn't bought the glasses there. A very positive experience!

I popped in here for my bi yearly eye test and pretty much all went well with the examination, very…read morepleasent and quick even when i was a wimp with the puff of air test!! So i had to go for the picking of the glasses. Settled on a style i liked and then looked at the price expecting to have a heart attack....£25 quid you say, for frames you say!! Fantastic. The lady helping myself was named Rachel and she was quite happy for me having picked a nice style and didnt try the pushy sales technique which was a refreshing change. Offered me a variety of options which i ended up taking and have never looked back so to speak and talked me through everything in a consistent and patient manner whilst also leaving to make a child feel better about the place and high fiving her!! All in all a very nice place for glasses without forcing the big sell on you :)

I have been coming here for about 9 years now, since I found in uni that I was struggling to see…read morethe screens in my lectures. I thought, right enough of this squinting it's time to get my eyes tested. My mum and dad have been going to Churchills for many years and couldn't recommend them enough. Since going I've never looked back, only forward with fab cool glasses for my short sightedness. Every member of staff is delightful and my opitican is lovely. They also send you a wee text to remind you of your appointment, which I think is a nice touch. The main floor is the shop and the examination room is located in the basement and has perfect sized rooms for the examinations. They take their time with you and my optician always explains exactly what she is doing and why, which I really appreciate. They like to make sure I'm eye disease free as I have family history through my dad being registered blind. Fortunately I have a very weak prescription, then comes the fun part of picking out new glasses. I say the kinda of look I like and they help you select the different styles they have. They also leave you to it, if you just want time browse on your own too. I eventually found a style I liked. Unfortunately though I do find most glasses pretty expensive because the majority are designer. I'm not bothered whether it has a designer name or not, just what pair that suits me best. They also helped me claim on my glasses as I'm claiming Working Tax Credits and therefore can complete a HC1 form which allows you help with part of the payment (also includes dental treatment). So they kept aside the glasses I chose and gave me the form, which I completed and had the certificate sent back out to me allowing me to make my purchase. I had no problem when I went back in to get them ordered in my prescription. They gave an estimated time when they would be available but said they would also text me if they came in quicker, which they did. I sent them a text to confirm when I would be in to collect which they acknowledged. A very efficient service with a good selection of stock, which they get updated quite frequently. Well that's me for another couple of years and then they'll send me out a reminder letter when I'm next due in. Done, dusted and bespectacled! Oh, please note, they also do contact lenses.

Good service, lovely frames. Helpful staff. Worth a visit. In my experience, stay with the…read moreindependent small companies, the service is better.

I visited i2i for an eye test having been recommended by a friend. The optician was very thorough…read moreand had all the latest equipment. The sales staff were very knowledgeable and not pushy. I ordered some Tom Ford glasses with super clear lenses. All in all a Greta experience. Thanks

I felt the staff were not knowledgeable on their own products, I asked a few simple questions about…read morevarious frames and no one seemed to know very much! I also felt staff were pushy on upgrading my frames or buying a second pair! Put me off coming back, I suspect the good reviews are from staff to be honest if this is how they treat customers

I sent in my Nikon D750 for a shutter replacement. They had run out of replacement shutters, but…read morestill took the camera and quoted £248+VAT for the service, including return delivery (verified in advance over the phone). I posted in the camera for about £7-8 insured delivery from memory. I then waited over 4 months for the service, and they charged an extra £15 for delivery. Disappointing, especially after (a) specifically asking for an all-in quotation and (b) waiting over a third of a year for the service to be completed with what should surely be a standard item they should always have in stock

Not only should children stay clear of my cherished DSLR but so should my Mum…read more.. Upon arriving at my Dad's birthday dinner, I realised my mum had decided to bring my camera along and had also accidentally smashed the screen into pieces on the way. Needless to say I wasn't in a celebratory mood and felt like shedding some tears into my minestrone starter and to be fair I'm sure Mags (the culprit) did too. Since I work in town this place was the most convenient so I set off on lunch to find out the damage to my camera and my... no actually Mags' purse. The staff were great. My camera was taken through the back and two minutes later I was told the LCD screen looked fine, it was just the glass protector that was ruined and would I mind if they removed it then and there. Feeling like a bit of a drama queen from the night before, but also like doing a dance at the same time, I agreed. Another two minutes went by and my camera was handed back to me looking good as new and I was told I'd be able to buy a glass protector online and reattach it myself. Although a short and sweet service the staff couldn't have been more helpful. Having been in the business for over 40 years I would definitely trust them with my camera should anything happen again. But since Mags is only allowed to use a disposable camera for the foreseeable future, it shouldn't. Love you really Mum :)

As I do, you probably always go to the place you know, so that would be Optical Express or…read moreSpecsavers when it comes to it. This is probably through the massive amount of advertising both of these do. But wait, lets have another thought...what if these corporate monsters that are simply franchised all over the place are not necessarily the best? Perhaps not, this is a question that would and will enter your head if you went to Brown Jack's for your next pair of lenses. Its gourmet lenses, although price is not one of the benefits here. Specs might just be pretty expensive a necessity because the only place I have seen them cheaper is Tesco Opticians.

From the owner: Jack Brown Eyecare was founded at our Wester Hailes practice in Edinburgh, with the objective of…read moreproviding the highest standards of eyecare at a fair price. The business has grown to three practices, relying on word of mouth recommendations, rather than extensive advertising or so called "free" products or services. Ongoing education and training is part of the professional life of our staff, and while frame styles and lenses are important, a professional eye examination is critical. Our spectacle range includes frames available for free with NHS vouchers to the latest in designer frames and our professional staff can offer advice on which best suits your needs. Our spectacle workshop at our Elder Street practice in Edinburgh will scan your frames for the perfect lens fit, and we can undertake repairs on all kinds of spectacles.