Lens review: ICK Garnet Red

You there, hi!

And here I am again, chugging out another lens review. It's the ICK Garnet Red today and after the letdown of their green counterparts I lowered my expectations a bit. But I still had high hopes as I had checked up other reviews on these red ones ages ago and been really impressed by how good they looked even on dark eyes. So here's to hoping!

Let's do this!

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 15.0 mm

Water content: 42%

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

My main reason to get these was cosplay. Red lenses that have at least a semi-realistic design aren't that common and so I really had to try these! The design makes me think it's a really versatile lens as this kind of 'burst' design often can be used for costuming as well as almost anything else.

One lens in.

The red color is beautiful! It's a medium deep red, really lovely and surprisingly natural for being a red lens. Of course red lenses will never be natural but these give me that "if red was a natural color this could be it" feeling. I really like them, all my fears of these being too dark instantly vanished into thin air! It's such a rich color and the streaks of the design really draws the gaze in.

This is definitely a big lens, it gives quite a dolly appearance but without overdoing it. Because of being red it of course doesn't blend all that well but there is some slight fading towards the center at least, so it's not a super blunt and clashing edge where the lens meets your iris at the pupil hole.

Lens photos below!

All photos taken by yours truly during a July evening with a mostly 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 natural room light.

Indoors yellow room light.

Flash photo.

Unlit corridor, really shitty natural light in the distance.

Facing a window, not sun side.

Outdoors, back against the light. (facing the wall)

Outdoors, facing the light while standing under a shadow.

Outdoors, facing the sun.

Comfort is nice, I have no complaints except that perhaps they might be a bit drying? Otherwise really thin, comfy and invisible to wear. I don't feel that I'm wearing lenses and that's always a good thing as I have rather sensitive eyes. Estimated wearing time I'd say is around the 4-5 hour mark for me, which is above average considering how very dry my eyes are naturally. 

I would recommend these, in particular if you enjoy red lenses. They show up well enough even from a distance so I'd say that they are worth considering if you need slightly darker red lenses for costuming purposes! Of course these are a rad addition to any bolder and more bold fashion styles like anything gothic, dark or even punk and some j-fashion styles. There's a lot of versatility to these because of how the red shade is not a crazy, villain red but more of a sophisticated red. Me like.

Distance photo~

Want to see the ICK Garnet lenses in other colors?
I have done some more: Violet, Green

Short summary:

Color: 8/10
Deep, medium dark red with a lot of potential.

Design: 7/10

Lovely, semi-realistic design that is full of depth and allure.

Opacity: 7/10

Really nice color coverage, my eyes are clearly red but it looks alive and not "painted over".

Enlargement: 8/10

Definitely on the bigger side but not gonna break anything.

Comfort: 7/10

Looks to be really thin and comfy. Estimated 4-5 hours of wear on super dry eyes.

Naturalness: 2/10

Size and color raises red flags. But for a red it's not the most unrealistic red, at least?

Thank for reading my blog, cheers!

Shiro Samurai out.