[Sponsored] Lens review: EOS Bubble Blue

Hullo hullo ~

It's time for yet another lens review! This time immah be talking about an ultra bright blue pair called EOS Bubble Blue. ヽ(・ω・)ﾉ
Psst, these lenses can also be identified by their code number thingy, which is WM-101 for the EOS Bubble series.

I've been wanting to try these lenses for pretty long and then, one day, my lovely sponsor LensVillage gave me an opportunity to try 'em... and of course I was game on! o/

This review is all 100% my honest opinion, even though this pair of lenses was sponsored. I really value being honest to all my readers.

You can use my discount code "SAMURAI15" to get 15% OFF on your purchase from LensVillage!

Base curve: 8.8 mm
Diameter: 14.8 mm

Water content: 38%

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

Note: My lenses came in TheDollyEye's vials, but the manufacturer is still EOS. TheDollyEye is just a rebranding label. Some big circle lens producers like EOS, Vassen etc sometimes do this. It doesn't mean that you received the wrong lenses or fakes.

I had seen reviews of these lenses before I got them myself and yeah, I was aware that they'd be super vivid and that's totally why I wanted them!

So yeah, as per usual I put the lenses to soak for 8+ hours before wearing them and, heck, need I say that I was eager to try 'em on??

One lens in.
My real eye color is blue-gray (mostly blue) with a slight greenish tint.

I popped the lenses into my eyes no problem and once they were in I didn't even feel that I had contacts on! Eff yeah, I love comfy lenses!

They stayed super comfortable for the total 5 hours that I wore them, with only some minor feeling of dryness which occurred around the 1,5 hour mark.

Lens photos incoming!
All photos taken by me during an October afternoon with a semi-clear sky! There's no color filters or such on the close-up photos and that's so that the colors would be as true to real life as possible.

Facing window. (not sun side)

Flash photo indoors.

Bathroom light.

Indoors, natural light.

Indoors, natural light.

Indoors, lamps on.

Indoors, back against the window.

Super bright light. I'm standing very close to a window indoors.

These lenses definitely give me the vibes that they're meant for more "out there" type of looks. The blue color is bright enough to deserve the "IN YOUR FACE" stamp, lol. Personally I really dig the effect it gives; I'm a fan of vibrant lenses – lenses that gives your eyes the look of some fantasy character. ♡

The only downside these lenses have (if you can call it that) is that the pupil hole is so big, which means that the majority of your real eye color will show in the middle. The EOS Bubble series basically just adds a rim of super vibrant color to the edges of your eyes. While I do like the effect some others don't find it as flattering, especially on light eyes because it gives a more "clashing" effect than what the same lenses would look like on dark eyes. (dark eyes would just make it look more "natural" because the pupil and the iris are closer in color)

All close-up photos below are taken outdoors while I'm standing on a balcony on the third floor, with the sun being hidden by clouds.

Facing the sun.

Same as above. Sideway glance.

Back against the sun.

Facing the sun, but with my head tilted up towards the sky/roof.

Half-way turned towards the sun.

Facing the sun. Cloudy.

These lenses are supposed to have a big diameter (14,8 mm) but they just don't seem that big for me. Not like I mind because I like lenses both big and small. But I do think that the main factor for why these don't look as big as other lenses of the same diameter is because the EOS Bubble series completely lacks a dark limbal ring. This feature almost always gives the illusion of bigger and more beautiful eyes so yeah, lenses without it tend to not give the "big eyes illusion" as well.

Personally I do like the design of the Bubble Blue just as it is; it has charm in it's simplicity and I like how the simple design itself, combined with the super bright color, makes the lenses look unnatural but in a magical and appealing way. Sometimes less is more ~

Lastly I have a batch of distance photos!

B-B-BONUS PHOTO!

I had no idea that I could do this kind of
"crazy hat maker" face... o_o xD

Seriously, if you like your blue lenses super-duper blue then the EOS Bubble Blue just might be one of your best choices! ;) These are a good pick for cosplayers and anyone who isn't afraid of donning lenses that are sure to make you stand out!

Use my discount code "SAMURAI15" to get 15% OFF on your purchase from LensVillage!

Short summary:

Color: 10/10
Super bright and vivid cyan blue shade that really pops out! The color is awesome, period.

Design: 7/10

Very simple design with no dark limbal ring. The inner edges fade out towards the pupil, for a slight blending effect.

Opacity: 10/10

Disregarding the big pupil hole the blue color itself is as opaque as it gets.

Enlargement: 5/10

Even though an 14.8 mm diameter is considered bigger than average (at least for me) these don't look very enlarging. I think the lack of a limbal ring is a big factor for why these don't pull off the "big eye illusion" as well as lenses that have the dark rim do.

Comfort: 8/10

Surprisingly comfortable. As soon as I popped them in I didn't feel them. Before the 2-hour mark I felt some slight dryness but that went away. I wore the lenses for 5 hours with no issues.

Naturalness: 0/10

Realistic... where? :D It's a rad lens for rad people! Forget these if you want something natural.

Thanks for reading! I hope you found this review helpful! ^_^

Thanks to my sponsor, LensVillage! ♡

Lens review: I.Fairy Hanabi Green

Hello peeps!

It's circle lens review time again! C:
Remember how I earlier this year reviewed the Hanabi Blue and fell in love with them? Yes – ever since then I've been wanting to have the green pair really bad! The cravings got even bigger after my awesome friend FankiKitsune bought and reviewed the Hanabi Green on his cosplay blog. *_* I had to try them myself too!
Yep, so this review is totally about the I.Fairy Hanabi Green lenses, occasionally also known as Vassen Hanabi Green! Let's go!

Yes, I received a different vial for each lens; I assume this is mainly because
one lens comes with prescription and the other is plano and thus of
different production batches. The expiry dates are years apart too, lol.

Always remember to check for the authenticity stickers – I.Fairy lenses
have those too!

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 16.2 mm

Water content: 55%

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

The first time I wore these lenses they were super comfortable, just like the blue ones. I popped them in and for maybe one minute my eyes were a bit watery but after that the following 8+ hours I had no issues; these lenses didn't sting, blur my vision or anything – they were really comfortable all around. I wore them for a full day at an art/comic exhibition and had no issues with dryness, like I've had with a lot of my other lenses lately. The comfort really is top-notch, at least for me.

One lens in.

These lenses look pretty damn big, but they don't eat up my eyes to the point that it looks downright freaky. I still think that these could be wearable for more "daily looks", if that makes sense haha.

Lens photos incoming!
All photos taken by me during an October afternoon with a semi-clear sky! There's no color filters or such on the close-up photos and that's so that the colors would be as true to real life as possible.

Indoors in the living room, standing close to the window.

Indoors, natural room light. (lamps off)

Indoors, room light. (lamps on)

Bathroom light.

Flash photo.

The green color is really great; it still shows up nicely and definitely looks green, even from a shorter distance. Personally I really adore green circle lenses and these are definitely one of my favorite green pairs I've had so far! ♡ I think they would work great for cosplay and most likely some J-fashion styles too ~

All close-up photos below are taken outdoors while I'm standing on a balcony on the third floor, with a setting sun.

Facing the sun directly.

Mostly turned away from the sun.

Half-way turned away from the sun.

Turned away from the sun.

The design has this kind of swirl towards the pupil hole and the lenses sport a rather thick black limbal ring, which gives an illusion of bigger eyes and also looks anime.

These lenses have a kinda big pupil hole, which means that your real eye color will show in the middle – personally I have no problems with this but I know that some people dislike the look it gives, especially if you have light eyes. I think it's good that the pupil hole isn't super narrow because it makes it so that you don't see colored corners when you move your gaze fast or that you get, err, a kind of "tunnel vision" sight. I prefer having my sight as unobstructed as possible so yeah, I say yay for roomy pupil holes on circle lenses – even if it means that my real eye color is visible in the center.

I do think though that some lenses with really big pupil holes usually look better on those with naturally dark brown eyes because, err, then it just looks like the brown iris blends with the black pupil and looks much more natural (aka you can't tell where one ends and the other begins) because there isn't a visible "color clash" as there is on light-eyed people, where the lens meets the iris. I'm sorry if my explanation is clumsy, I don't know how to explain it cleverly. OTL I hope it's understandable lol.

Lastly I have the distance photo! ~

If you're interested in checking out other colors of the Hanabi series I'd recommend you to take a look at my other reviews! ^.^ Reviews here: Blue, Gold

Bonus!
Comparison photo of Hanabi Blue (left) and Hanabi Green (right).

In short I'd just like to mention, once more, that these are a good choice for cosplayers looking to do some green-eyed characters! These lenses give the "anime eye" look, at least according to me – big eyes, defined black rim and with a color that pops! All my yes!

Short summary:

Color: 9/10
A very lovely medium-light green shade. It's vivid and definitely shows up as a true green, which is awesome.

Design: 8/10

Cool swirl design combined with a thick black limbal ring – yessssh!

Opacity: 9/10

Seems to be really covering, without looking overly fake/costume-y.

Enlargement: 8/10

These are big... but they don't feel huuuuge.

Comfort: 9/10

Really comfortable. I could wear them for 8+ hours with no discomfort.

Naturalness: 1/10

The print and color brightness is anything but natural. These are best for sizzlin' fabulousness!

That's all for this round! Ciao ~ ^u^
Shiro Samurai out.

Samurai Deeper Kyo's Hotaru cosplay progress part.1

What's up everyone?

I've started working on my next cosplay – Hotaru from Samurai Deeper Kyo!
I've been wanting to cosplay him ever since I first read the manga back in mid-late 2012. He's just such an awesome character so that, even after all these years, my cosplay wants didn't fade a single bit. SDK is one of my favorite shounen mangas and I wish that more people knew and cosplayed from it...

Now that I'm back in school and I got to continue my sewing classes I decided that it was finally time to make this cosplay into reality!
To start I went to check what fabrics mom had available on the 5th September. I don't want to buy fabrics if mom has usable ones in the attic because hey, free fabrics! o/

This time I was lucky! I found all the fabrics I needed, save for white cotton for the main kimono's body. This means that the only fabric I will actually need to go buy is the white fabric – and probably some fabric paint. 

Most cosplayers that I see online cosplay Hotaru with red pants and red collars on his white kimono. Personally I always viewed these parts as some middle-ground between orange and red. I honestly think that it looks a bit boring/bland when it's all only red (even his inner shirt is red) – I wanted to have a bit more variation, aka color. Because of this I decided to use a flaming reddish orange fabric for his pants and collars and besides, on some official art these parts do have an orange touch to them.. so I don't think that I'm being horribly inaccurate either. Huhuhu ~

SDK Hotaru reference.

So yeah, I started out by making his headband. Super easy; I just took some red rib knit fabric, folded the width in half and sewed it together.

After that it was time for the inner shirt. I used red linen for it. Actually the whole cosplay I made in school, during my handicraft classes, because why the hell not?
I decided to make the shirt as a sleeveless very loose-fitting top. I wanted it to kinda "hang" in the front (because that's how I always imagined it) so we cut the front pattern's upper part into pieces and spread it out for extra width.

I apologize for the crummy cellphone-quality photos ahead; I didn't have my SLR camera with me in school during this project. Most photos show the colors reaaaaally wrong.

Shirt pattern making going on.

I first did a mock-up prototype out of some scrap fabric to check if the shirt's front worked – it did. I then cut out the front and back piece out of the linen fabric. After I had cut out the pieces I used the school's overlock machine to sew around all the edges (same purpose as zigzaging) and well, after that you don't use the overlock anymore. This is seemingly the professional/right way to do it, according to my teacher who has studied sewing in some proper school...

All the edges "zigzaged" with overlock.

Gotta love this thing, everything looks so neat!

With that done I sewed the shoulder and side seams closed, easy peasy. After that I noticed that because I had used a non-matching thread for the overlock the beige threads would show in the arm openings so, err, I had to hide that somehow. if you wonder why I simply didn't change for red overlock threads then that's because school's thread color choices are super limited... 
So yeah, I made some extra curved pieces (from my very last scrap pieces – talk about no fabric waste!) to sew onto the arm openings to hide the overlock seams. I have no idea what the proper name is for these. OTL

Sewing on the... things... whatever-they're-called.

I used the iron to get them to stay in place, aka on the shirt's inside. I put a wet rag on top of the spot that I wanted to iron and I then pinned the "flap" in place so that the seam would, after being ironed, be set on the inside. The iron I set to max heat (because linen) and then I just pressed it on the fabric and let it be still until the sizzling sound of the water/steam faded. After that was done I sewed them down at the shoulder and side seams (nowhere else, only two attachment points) so that they wouldn't flop over on the showing side and look ugly. I sewed exactly on top of the existing seams (on the right side) so that the seams holding the "curved arm pieces" would be close to invisible.

Ironed.

With that done I only had left to finish the hem and the collar. Nothing weird here – I just folded the edges in twice and sewed a straight stitch all around and then it was done.

Next up were the pants. My teacher didn't even bother to use a pattern for it, so I just scribbled some measures down and then she drew directly on the fabric and just cut the shit out. I'm not too sure how good of an idea this was because later on a lot of things ended up being different lengths; too long, too short, too narrow, not aligned etc.
Once again I started by using the overlock machine and sewing all around the edges on all pieces. Then, naturally, I sewed the crotch/butt seams. Next I put the side seams together and that's when I tried the pants on for the first time – just to notice that they barely went past my ass. It still worked but it was way too tight for comfort... and the meh part was that I had zero leftover fabric!
The pant legs were way too long – they were full length when they were supposed to only reach slightly below my knees. D: So yeah, I cut off like 30 cm from both legs and then, to get more width to the waist, I had to use the scrap fabric I had just gotten from the too-long-legs.

Pant legs shortened. (one piece spread out and put to the top)

I just cut up the side seams I had just done, to save time. I then cut the scrap pieces from the legs into triangles and sewed them to the sides of the pants.
Next up was sewing the waist; I left a gap so that I could thread the elastic ribbon through when done but oh boy did I rage on this. I basically just folded the top and sewed a straight stitch all around, leaving a hole for the elastic. Little did I know that doing this super simple task proved to be the most frustrating part of the whole pants. xD The fabric seriously was alive; it twisted and turned and made ugly bumps and folds all over and I had to pick up the seam ripper and undo the whole thing. I cursed the pants to the depths of hell lol.

Turned severed pant legs into triangles for extra width...

I had to do tacking stitches and iron the waist to get the fabric to lay still and well, it still managed to move around when sewing. Fuck you, fabric. Oh well, at least it turned out better than on my first run so I didn't rip it up again; it's still rather not-so-pretty on the inside (luckily it doesn't show on the outside) but whatever, no one's gonna see it except me so lolol.

Tacking threads on waist fold...

I hemmed the pant legs no problem and then I just ironed the seams open and my pants were done. Oh, and I had to cut off like 5 cm from each leg earlier because the front and back sides of the legs totally didn't match. >_> It was either cut the legs shorter or have the butt and crotch seams being horrrrrrrribly mismatched. By some miracle the pant legs were still, even after that forced shortening, a suitable length for Hotaru. What the heck man.

I'm not all that super pleased with the pants; I might redo them one beautiful day... if I can be bothered. But they'll suffice for now.

On the next Hotaru costume progress post I'll make both the inner and the outer kimono, the obi and possibly some of the other small details, like his ear decorations. See ya!

[Sponsored] Lens review: TheDollyEye Segoi-Pearl Prime Choco

Hello puppies ~

I have a circle lens review to share with you all today but first I just want to mention a couple things, okay? ^_^ This review is late for a few reasons, originally because the weather has been gray and rainy for weeks, but lately it's been getting better! I was waiting for the sun to show up, so that I could get better photos. Another reason it got delayed is because I caught the flu (I'm still sick and in bed while writing this).

But.

The main reason is because –once I wore the lenses– it became clear to me that I had received a different color than the one I was supposed to get. The lenses were actually supposed to be the TheDollyEye Segoi-Pearl Prime Gold but, based on the stock photos (because I couldn't find reviews), the lenses I got fit the Choco color much much more. I contacted LensVillage about this, sent some photos for proof and they assured me that the Segoi-Pearl Prime Gold had been dispatched to me, according to their data. I sent information about the lens vials and they contacted the manufacter for me, to clear this up. Today on the morning I finally received a reply: "[...] I was told that they have mistakenly sent the wrong product to us. Therefore, we didnt notice the mistake in between. So the Segoi-Pearl Prime lens on your hand is Choco, but not gold." – now that explains everything!

  Yes, so my review for you all today is gonna be all about the very interesting TheDollyEye Segoi-Pearl Prime Choco circle lenses!

This pair was sponsored by the wonderful LensVillage and I recommend them warmly to everyone! ♥ They are a big and established online circle lens store that sells genuine lenses! Shipping is also rather quick, customer service is great (as you can see above!) and they have a loooot of circle lenses to choose from. Go and check them out! ^o^

This review is 100% my honest opinion!

Feel free to use my discount code "SAMURAI15" to get 15% OFF on your purchase from LensVillage!

Notice how they have a reddish sheen to them!

This shows both lenses being "wrong" side out. Notice how they're paler on this side.

 Base curve: 8.6 mm

Diameter: 14.5 mm

Water content: 38%

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

When I first looked at these lenses for the very first time I was a bit confused – were they really gold? They didn't look as how I would expect golden lenses to look because they appeared darker and without much yellow or golden tones in them at all. At first I thought that maybe I got sent the Segoi-Pearl Prime Choco instead of gold, except that the possibility was so slim that it shouldn't even happen.  
Note: this was before I got it cleared that I actually had received the Choco lenses; at first I really thought that these were (more like: had to be) the Segoi-Pearl Prime Gold.

I looked at the lenses in the vials, with a puzzled expression on my face, for a while and I kept thinking that they sure do look reddish for some reason – until I held them up against the window so that the sun hit them. And that's when I saw it.

THESE LENSES HAVE FLIPPIN' GLITTER IN THEM. OMG!!

Yes, that slight red sheen that I was half-imagining earlier (and which confused me a lot before I knew the truth) was actually a sparkly metallic type of glitter, in the print of the lens, that was toned red. I've never seen lenses like this before.

I have no words for how cool and unique this is!! *_* I mean, just look at them!

Notice how the glitter only becomes easily visible when the light hits a certain way.

There's no mistaking! GLITTERY LENSES!!

When I saw that it wasn't just a trick of the light (or of my eyes) I was totally enticed by these lenses! OwO They're super cool and it made me so curious to try them on and see how it looks! I wondered if the glittery red would show up on my eyes when the sun hit, if if it would make my eyes look more "metallic". ;u; I was so excited!

The first time I wore these lenses I was a bit surprised by how big they were; for some reason I didn't think that they'd be this enlarging just by looking at the lenses in the vials. :O
When I got the first lens in it struck me instantly that these lenses don't look gold at all – they look much more like a very dark brownish red. In a way it was disappointing because I was hoping for them to really be gold, even though it was kinda obvious from the moment I saw them that they wouldn't be golden. Silly hopes!
Note: I'm still talking here from my first experiences, before this mix-up got solved.

One lens in.

I need to say though that these lenses literally make your eyes sparkle – the glitter shows up!!
So yeah, even though these lenses aren't the Gold I was supposed to get but actually the Choco, I still really love this pair. The color of the Segoi-Pearl Prime Choco is not a true brown at all, it's much more a dark brownish red, which is an unique color and well, combine that with the glittery effect and these lenses pack one hell of a punch in their favor! They are BLING BLING. (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧

Lens photos incoming!

All photos taken by me during an October evening with a clear sky!

There's no color filters or such and that's so that the colors would be as true to real life as possible.

Facing window in the apartment. (sun side)

Apartment room light, lamps off.

Apartment room light, lamps off.

Flash photo.

Bathroom light.

White corridor light.

Yellow corridor light.

Yellow light in the staircase.

Outdoors with my back against the sun.

Outdoors facing the sun.

Outdoors facing a corner of the building.

Outdoors on a balcony, facing the direction of the light but being partly turned away.

Indoors room light, lamps on.

The first time I wore these lenses they were comfortable from the moment I put them in. I barely felt them in my eyes, which is always a plus. At around 2,5 hours in they suddenly felt really dry and that's when I took them off; I'm sure though that with eyedrops I could easily have worn them longer. Otherwise I have nothing to complain about in terms of comfort – these lenses don't blur my vision, itch, move around or make my eyes watery etc. This is a nice pair and it's probably just me having sensitive/dry eyes because I couldn't wear them longer than those couple hours.

As per usual I have the distance photo to show in the end!
 

So yeah, these lenses are more of a dark red than a chocolate color, at least on light chameleon eyes like mine. My natural eye color, for those interested, is a light blue-gray with a greenish tint (can appear green in some lights) and a golden ring closest to the pupil. 
The main selling point of these lenses I'd say is the unique shimmer effect! *_* I would really recommend to try them if you ever feel like your life isn't complete before you've worn some literally sparkly circle lenses! 

I can't help but wonder if the other colors of the Segoi-Pearl Prime lenses also have glitter in the print; I might need to try... ~

Remember, discount code "SAMURAI15" cuts 15% OFF on your purchase from LensVillage!

Short summary:

Color: 6/10
A very dark and unique brownish red color.
Design: 6/10
The main design itself is a bit boring... but I give a bonus point for the glitter effect, hah!
Opacity: 8/10
These are a lot more opaque than I thought they would be when worn! (they looked kinda transparent in the vials)
Enlargement: 9/10
These are seriously huge. 
Comfort: 6/10
Comfort seems to be average. They are really comfortable but they dry out kinda fast for me.
Naturalness: 0/10
If you ever see someone with natural glitter in their huuuge irises I'd love to hear about it. :'D

That's all for this time! I hope you found this review helpful! o/

Thanks a ton, LensVillage! ♡