Lens review: Chromaview Blue Manson

Hello friends!

I'll be reviewing a pair of crazy lenses called Chromaview Blue Manson, wiee! I'd wager that most people who are familiar with sfx lenses have at the very least seen photos of this classic long-standing design – yes, the namesake comes from rockstar Marilyn Manson's iconic looks. There's tons of different brands that produce 'Manson' lenses but the ones I'm showing y'all today are from Chromaview, a brand more prominent in the western market.

Let's go!

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 14 mm

Water content: 42%

Life span: 30 days

This is a really simple design consisting of a solid block of color and a thin black outer rim, nothing else. It's so minimal and yet it has an immense impact because of how unnatural and intense it ends up looking. Yes, the color payoff is crazy vibrant and whatever your real eye color is there will be no traces of it after you put these bad boys on!

One lens in.

As you can see on the photo above I have a light gray-blue eye color and it gets completely blocked out! It's only possible to catch slight glimpses of your natural color through the small pupil opening but it's not distracting at all from the overall effect and besides, one has got to see lol. Yes, the pupil hole is rather small (especially if you're used to wearing circle lenses) and that does mean that in some poorer light conditions you might experience some blurring in your field of vision, especially at the corners. If you're new to wearing special effect lenses then this might feel weird and trippy at first but don't worry, after some time your eyes will adjust!

There is some very minor enlargement effect for me but, honestly, it's not really noticeable once you have both lenses on. Of course the actual size increase will depend on the size of your eyes so yeah, there's some individual variety to factor in. But I doubt anyone would look alien with these on because they are considered small in the realm of colored contacts. Of course with this kind of bright Halloween-style lenses I recommend wearing eye makeup to really frame your eyes and make the lenses pop!

Lens photos below!

All photos are taken by yours truly during an afternoon with a clear sky. All close-ups are free from color filters and the like and that's so that the colors would appear as true to life as possible.

Indoors, natural room light.

Bathroom light.

Flash photo.

Facing window indoors, not sun side. (backyard view)

Unlit corridor, weak natural light in the distance.

Outdoors, back against sun. (facing wall)

Outdoors, facing sun.

You can see on the photos above that these lenses are unquestionably a screaming bright blue regardless of what light conditions I am in. There's no transparency whatsoever and yes, it looks extremely unrealistic but that's exactly the point with this type of lenses – if you want a hyper-pigmented, unapologetic neon blue that turns heads because of how bonkers colorful it is then look no further, you got it here. This is a great lens for costuming, carnival parties, punkrockers and literally anyone who breaks the mold of society and who doesn't give two shits about normalcy. If your vibe is being bold and extra then 'Manson' lenses are likely a good fit for you! This is of course also a solid choice for cosplay, depending on your preferences. :)

When it comes to comfort I'd say that the Blue Manson lenses get a pass, they're thin and generally comfortable to wear. I wore them at an event for about 7 hours before my eyes gassed, which is quite the feat for me because my eyes are very dry naturally. They did start to show signs of drying a couple or so hours in but almost all lenses do this for me because my eyes suck lol, so it isn't really anything out of the norm. I do want to mention though that I think I might have had one of the lenses being of a poorer batch because the right lens was always scratchy when I inserted it, and so I had to reinsert it a few times and clean it thoroughly between each try before it finally was wearable. The left lens was perfectly okay so I dunno, I inspected the right lens many times but I saw no defect on it so maybe just had bad luck with stubborn dirt or something.

Distance photo!

Short summary:

Color: 10/10
Absolutely insane neon bright blue, great for alternative fashion and costume parties.

Design: 7/10

Classic crazy lens design with a single bold color and thin black rim. Greatly visible from a distance!

Opacity: 10/10

100% coverage, no question. 

Enlargement: 3/10

There's a minor size boost but I'd say it's not jarring even if you'd only wear one lens.

Comfort: 6/10

Sufficiently good. Might be a bit more drying than some other lenses due to the low-ish water content (42%) but overall thin and decent to wear. Bring contact lens suitable eyedrops for prolonged wear at events etc, especially if you have naturally dry eyes.

Naturalness: 0/10

Hell nah, these are as crazy as they come and proudly so!

Are you interested in crazy lenses? Tell me about your favorites in the comments!

Shiro Samurai out~