Lens review: Vassen Dolly Plus Red

Hello there!

As I promised earlier I would review the red lenses I used on the costest for Prussia and here it now is. This is a review for the Vassen Dolly Plus Red, a circle lens that used to be quite popular among cosplayers and I assume that such is the case even today.

Without further ramblings, let's do this!

 

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 14.5 mm

Water content: 42% 

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

 

This is a large and very colorful lens with an 'anime eye' design, hence its popularity for cosplay purposes and j-fashion in general. There's a distinct, black limbal ring that adds to the big eye effect and makes you appear rather youthful. This is one of those lenses that is very easy to like as it simply just looks so good on most people!

One lens in.

This is not a lens that you wear if you wanna look natural, that's for sure. You wouldn't pick a red lens for that in the first place, right? :D The red color is very obvious, it's not an insanely bright lens (not crazy lens levels) but still vibrant enough to show up even when viewed from a moderate distance. The color coverage is superb but be prepared that some of your real eye color will show through the pupil hole – as is the norm on bigger circle lenses.

Lens photos ahead! All photos taken by me during an October afternoon 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.

Bathroom light.

Flash photo.

Indoors, facing a window. (backyard, not sun side)

Indoors, unlit corridor with weak natural light in the distance.

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

Outdoors, facing the sun while standing under a shadow.

Outdoors, facing the sun. (it was about to get blocked by a roof)

As per usual these lenses were also part of that box of unopened lenses I had forgotten about. I found it after pretty much every single pair in there had expired so I'm only wearing each pair I review until I get the necessary photos taken and then I immediately discard them. That means I wear a lens for approximately 10-20 minutes and that's what my comfort grade will be solely based around – obviously it's not optimal so take it with a big pinch of salt. Also, please don't wear expired lenses for any prolonged time – it's potentially dangerous and just not worth it. Just don't.

What I can say about the comfort is that these lenses appeared to be really comfortable; I barely felt them in my eyes and they were thin and easy to insert. I did not experience red corners in my vision field nor blurring. I would say they were comfortable and if these lenses had been fresh I could likely have worn them for 4-5 hours (I have dry and sensitive eyes naturally) which is good in my book.

I would definitely recommend these lenses if you fancy red lenses in general or if you need this style and color for cosplaying. Also great for alternate fashion, goths and basically anything that you want to have red eyes for when dressing up. I think it's a really beautiful lens with a great color that's intense without being overwhelming or excessively fake-looking. You can't really go wrong with these, in my opinion.

Distance photo!

Yup, this was from the Prussia cosplay test as well.

Looking for reviews of Dolly Plus lenses in other colors?
I got you covered: Green, Blue, Violet, Brown, Gray

Short summary:

Color: 8/10
Vibrant, clear red color that simply looks great. Eye-catching.
Design: 8/10 
Simple 'manga style' lens with a big black rim. Dolly in style but very flattering on most people.

Opacity: 8/10 

Color coverage is very solid, no doubt that your eyes will look red with these.
Enlargement: 8/10
The black limbal ring adds to the illusion of big eyes but yeah, these are notably enlarging.

Comfort: 8/10 

Thin and I didn't really feel that I was wearing lenses. Easy to insert.
Naturalness: 2/10

Red lenses will never be natural for obvious reasons and these are too cartoony as well.

Thanks for reading, stay safe~

Shiro Samurai out.