A LETTER FROM A READER
AT 59, MY GRANDDAUGHTER TOLD ME MY TOILETRY BAG WAS THE UGLIEST THING IN THE HOUSE.
I have never written anything like this before, and I want to say at the start that I am not a writer and I am not in the habit of telling other women how to run their homes.
But four different people asked me about my toiletry bag, of all things, when they came round a fortnight ago, and I have now explained it enough times that it seemed easier to write it down properly.
It started when my granddaughter came to stay and pulled a face at the toiletry bag beside the bathroom sink.
Nan, why is your toiletry bag the ugliest thing in the house?
She was not wrong. A faded beige toiletry bag, going grey around the zip, that I had been shoving into a drawer whenever anyone visited for the best part of ten years.
I did not choose that, not really. Nobody decides to buy something ugly. You buy the cheap plastic one meaning to replace it, and then ten years go by.
HOW IT HAPPENS
A toiletry bag is the last thing anyone thinks of as nice. It is a place for your toiletries, not a thing you choose to like.
So the shops sell us plain nylon pouches and dull toiletry bags, all of them the colour of a hospital corridor, and we buy them without a second thought and then quietly resent them beside the bathroom sink.
And because it is only a toiletry bag, you never get round to doing anything about it. It is always the next thing on a list that never comes up.
WHAT I HAD WRONG
Here is the bit I got most wrong. I thought a toiletry bag had to be plain nylon to be practical. Lightweight, easy to pack, does the job.
It turns out a quilted fabric one does all of that and is lovely as well. It stands up on its own even when it is empty, the fabric wipes clean, and it folds flat when you do not need it. It simply happens to have a picture on it instead of being the colour of nothing.
Practical and pretty were not a choice of one. I had just never been offered the pretty version. That took me until 59 to find out.
See The Toiletry Bags CollectionMINE IS THE ELOISE – SHINY DRAGONFLY
It's from Helen & Rose Auckland, a small New Zealand shop that's spent the last thirteen years quietly making the ordinary things in our homes a bit lovelier.
Mine is the Eloise – Shiny Dragonfly, a quilted toiletry bag with a blue dragonfly surrounded by golden leaves and swirling patterns against deep navy fabric. They do plenty of designs, though, from flowers to little animals, which I will come back to.
It is properly made. The quilting gives it a soft, textured finish, and the zip keeps my toiletries together when I pack it for a trip. The blue dragonfly and golden detailing make it look lovely enough to leave out beside the bathroom sink.
And it comes in three sizes, so there is one for a few everyday essentials and one with more room for your toiletries when you go away.
WHAT HAPPENED WHEN PEOPLE CAME ROUND
It now lives out in the open, beside the bathroom sink, where the old one would never have been allowed to sit.
Four different people asked me about it a fortnight ago. My friend Marion, who does not notice things, asked where I had got it. And my granddaughter, who started all this, has decided the dragonfly is hers and checks on it whenever she visits.
Nobody has ever asked me about a toiletry bag in my life. Now it is the first thing they mention.
THREE THINGS I HAVE LEARNED SINCE
It keeps my everyday essentials together. My toothbrush, skincare and little bits of make-up all have a place, instead of being scattered across the bathroom shelf. Zip it up, and it is ready to pop into my travel bag when I go away.
Two. It is easy to pack. When I go away to visit my daughter, it slips into my travel bag and keeps my toiletries together, ready to lift out when I arrive.
Three. A lovely one gets used. The odd thing is my toiletries actually go in it now, because it is not something you want to look away from. The old one just sat in a drawer while everything collected beside the sink.
ABOUT THE PRICE
I want to be straightforward about this, because it was the thing that made me suspicious.
The Eloise – Shiny Dragonfly starts at $59.95 NZD. It was $120 NZD.
My first thought was that it was a lot for a toiletry bag, until I worked out I had spent nearly that over the years replacing cheap, worn-out ones
It's from Helen & Rose Auckland, a small New Zealand shop that's spent the last thirteen years quietly making the ordinary things in our homes a bit lovelier. They are a small boutique selling directly, and the shop is closing there's still stock across every design for now, but once it's gone, it won't be restocked.
I did what I imagine you are doing now and went and read the reviews before I ordered. Just over 1500 of them, sitting at 4.7 stars. Not the suspiciously perfect five you see on some websites, which if I am honest made me trust it rather more. Real people, mixed opinions, mostly very good.
Then I ordered a smaller one for my handbag as well.
See The Toiletry Bags CollectionWHAT I WOULD TELL YOU IF WE WERE FRIENDS
If you and I were sat in the garden and you asked me, this is what I would say.
Have a look at the toiletry bag in your bathroom. If it is plain, and worn, and you hide it when people come, you have simply never been offered a nicer one, and now you have.
It is a small thing. But the small ugly things in a house wear on you more than you notice, and this is a cheap and cheerful one to put right.
Two practical things. The sale is on now, and the most popular designs sell out first, being made to order. And there are dozens to choose from, so there will be one that is properly you.
The old one went out and I have not missed it once.
Diane
ELOISE - QUILTED TOILETRY BAG - SHINY DRAGONFLY
$120 NZD $59.95 NZD
- Soft quilted fabric with a coastal scene stitched right round
- Wipes clean and folds flat to store
- Three sizes, from small to family size
- Dozens of designs in the collection
- Free New Zealand Delivery
Moving Sale on now. Once these designs sell out, they're gone for good.