Lens review: Sweety Twinkle Eye Gray

Hello everyone~

Let's start this new year with a circle lens review – the Sweety Twinkle Eye Gray! These lenses I bought literal years ago and well, totally forgot about them. The packaging doesn't even show the expiry date on the outside so it just didn't occur to me that so much time had passed. Yes I have massive time blindness lol. Sadly it seems that these lenses have been discontinued but oh well, I will still review them for posterity and our collective memory haha. I mean it's a nice lens and maybe there's something similar out there.

Let's gooo!

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 14.5 mm

Water content: 40%

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

As far as I'm aware the Sweety brand is Uniqso's own line of lenses and not found anywhere else. This is my first time trying this brand although I think a lot of designs have come and went since I bought these lenses.

These lenses are not very typical, as in they're not really colored in the usual sense of the word – I mean it says 'gray' in the name but that's not the color of the lens itself, which is black, but rather the color of those sparkly stars. So in a way I'd like to say that this is an enhancing, dollyfying lens rather than a standard colored lens. Needless to say these don't make your eyes gray, they make your eyes black with silvery and glittery sparkles.

One lens in.

In terms of the design itself there's this slightly twisting burst design with streaks running towards the pupil, giving a somewhat intense gaze. There's a moderate size increase which is in line with the expectations for a dolly and cute lens. The black is very black, although it does very softly fade towards the center for a less jarring look. And yes, those glittery stars are really reflective and shiny!

Lens photos ahead!
All photos taken by me during a wintry morning with a clear sky. All close-up photos are free from color filters etc and that's so that the colors would appear as true to real life as possible.

Indoors, natural room light.

Indoors, white room light.

Flash photo.

Bathroom light.

Facing a window indoors, not sun side. (it turned blue)

Outdoors, back against the sun. (facing wall)

Outdoors, facing the sun while under a shadow.

Outdoors, facing sun directly.

Due to my expiration oopsie mentioned at the beginning I only wore these lenses enough to take the photos for this review and then I immediately discarded them, despite them being comfortable. I really recommend against wearing expired lenses, even if they've been sealed all that time – it's an uneccessary risk and especially when you put it in perspective, also known as that you'd be risking your vision for saving like 20 dollars. So to all poor cosplayers and fashionistas out there reading this – don't wear old lenses to an event even if they seem fine. It's much better to just buy a new pair.

With that said I didn't test comfort and thus I can't grade it accurately. What I can say though is that for the roughly 10 minutes I wore these lenses they seemed thin and generally comfortable, nothing out of the ordinary. I didn't feel them in my eyes and my rough estimate would be that they would have been fairly comfy for an outing, if they had been fresh for wear.

Overall the Sweety Twinkle Eye Grays are a nice lens, shame they don't exist in the market anymore. It has a fairly unique design with the glittering stars and would have been a nice complement for anyone who's into lolita and other sweet and/or girly alt fashion looks. I might not be the best person to model these but hey, I'm an all-eater when it comes to trying circle lenses and I like reviewing all kinds of designs and colors – the more unique and fun the better! 

Distance photo~

Short summary:

Color: 5/10
It's a bit hard to grade color because of the fact it's not a gray lens per se but instead a black lens with essentially gray highlights. It's nice for what it is and does and.. yeah, the black is very black at least lol.

Design: 7/10

It's sweet and has a soft-looking appeal despite how much black is in the design. Lenses look cute and lively, not dreary and dark!

Opacity: 7/10

The black parts towards the edges are very opaque but there's quite a lot of your real eye color showing through the center. If you don't think of these as a color-changing lens the opacity is good.

Enlargement: 5/10

There's a modest size enlargement, further magnified by the illusion the blackness creates.

Comfort: 6/10

Appeared to be of ordinary comfort for the brief time I wore them. Thin and didn't really feel them.

Naturalness: 3/10

Can't really call these natural, too big and extra for that. Maybe if you have very dark and large eyes would they be passable but not otherwise.

Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more reviews coming up!

Shiro Samurai out~

[Sponsored] Lens review: EyeCandys Bunnie Jelly Blue

Hello there!

It's time to showcase the third and final pair of the colored contact lenses that EyeCandys sent me for reviewing purposes earlier! The lenses I'm showing today is the EyeCandys Bunnie Jelly Blue, a small yet wonderful blue lens!

The lenses that I'm reviewing in this blog post were sponsored by EyeCandys, meaning that I did not pay for the product(s) myself. This does, however, not affect my honesty in any way. Everything written in this review is my genuine opinion; I don't ever compromise my true thoughts, feelings nor experiences dealing with any shop. My integrity can't be bought.

Discount code 10SAMURAI gives 10% off your order (two pairs minimum) at EyeCandys!

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 14.2 mm

Water content: 40%

Life span: 3 months

Firstly, this review is made possible thanks to a collaboration with the online circle lens store EyeCandys which I have already reviewed, in detail, over at my first review here – if you want more information about the shop itself then make sure to click the highlighted link when you're done reading this review. ;) 

Just like with the two other pairs I reviewed these lenses also came individually packaged in cute girly cardboard boxes, there's even bunnies on them to match the name of the series! I'm positive that the singular packaging is to make it easier for people who have different prescriptions in each eye to order lenses – which isn't all that uncommon. I wear plano lenses for convenience, even though I technically have a prescription (I just put on glasses when needed at events, especially because lenses can't correct my other vision defect so I need my glasses anyway lol). 

Due to the matte surface of the blisters it was difficult to photograph the unopened lenses and so I took a photo of the them in a lens case, to better show how they look when not worn. They actually look surprisingly dark like this and, not gonna lie, kinda boring. I usually don't take lens case photos but sometimes it's necessary. The Bunnie series is different from the Doe series I reviewed earlier, although the size and other specifics are mostly identical (base curve, water content etc) across both series.

I wasn't sure what to expect from these lenses before putting them in. I was a bit cautious not to bump up my expectations but I really liked how these looked on the stock photos and uhh, I guess I was hoping for a similar effect in reality? But I've learned not to assume that the stock photos will always be true to life and, especially, if the model's eye color is totally different from your own – which it almost always is for me, when buying circle lenses, due to almost all sites being based in Asia and thus having dark eyed models.

One lens in.

Inserting the lenses was easy enough and, when I looked in the mirror, I was surprised by how vibrant and beautiful the color really was! It's quite the contrast when compared to how natural and earthly the Doe Blues and Browns were – this is definitely more of a cosplay-friendly lens, especially for serious and/or male characters where you don't really want big lenses. Honestly, this is easily my favorite of the three EyeCandys lenses I've tried so far – the design is so dreamy with just the right amount of color pop to be alluring but not cartoony. I do see why they're called Jelly Blue because yes, the gradients in the aqua blue shade really does remind me of jellies. xD So yeah, this isn't a single color lens but one with a lot of depth – it creates this amazing dewy, or should I perhaps say glassy, effect? It's so luminous and ethereal however you put it, I love it a lot. ;_; An absolutely amazing blue lens, definitely up there among my favorites.. and I don't say that lightly. 

As I mentioned above these don't really come with a very noticeable enlargement effect, at least not on my eyes; it's very discreet for being a circle lens. There is a soft, somewhat fuzzy limbal ring that's a notch darker than the main color of the lens but it's definitely not black nor dolly, which means it's not necessarily the best choice for big-eyed kawaii manga characters. The diameter on the packaging is stated as 14.2 mm but the printed area of the lens is smaller than that; you can actually see the empty space on the outer edges of the lens if you look closely, it's not printed all the way out (similarly to Neo Vision's lenses) and yeah, the true graphic diameter is actually 13.3 mm. This is either a good thing or a disappointing thing, entirely depending on your personal preferences and needs. I happen to like both big and small lenses and, as a cosplayer, I have a need for both depending on what character I'm doing. :)

Oh, I also want to mention that despite the bright color these blend surprisingly well with my real eyes! I have naturally a light grayish blue eye color and these transition so well into my eyes, it's not as jarring as one would expect. It's also worth pointing out that these lenses have a smaller pupil hole than your typical circle lens (meaning that the colored areas reach closer to your pupil), which helps with the blending and overall 'naturalness' but it also comes with a slightly increased likelihood of experiencing minor vision blur and/or colored corners at the edges of your vision. Personally it's a trade I'd always take since, when wearing colored contacts, I prefer the lenses to hide my eye color as much as possible to create a better illusion anyway (that's the point lol). So even if these, theoretically, could blur my vision it's so minor I didn't notice anything.

Lens photos ahead!
All photos taken by me during a wintry morning with a clear sky. All close-up photos are free from color filters etc and that's so that the colors would appear as true to real life as possible.

Indoors, natural room light.

Indoors, yellowish room light.

Flash photo.

Bathroom light.

Facing a window indoors, not sun side.

Outdoors, back against the sun.

Outdoors, facing the sun.

Comfort is good, the lenses are thin and they don't feel scratchy or anything when worn. I can safely say that the comfort is better than average for me, even when I put these on early in the morning when my eyes are at their worst I have insomnia issues and really dry eyes naturally on top of that they don't make me uncomfortable. In fact it felt like these lenses helped my tired eyes recover and get more awake, if that makes sense haha? They feel softly hydrating and seem to retain moisture reliably.
I don't know if I'm tripping or not but I felt like these were a bit easier to tell apart the 'right' and 'wrong' sides when compared to the Doe series but I'd still say to pay attention to the curvature because yeah, both sides of the lens look identical so relying on color differences won't be of any help.

In case someone is wondering I want to mention that yes, due to these lenses having a pattern that makes spinning detectable that yes, they do spin when worn. Well, all lenses do but my point is that you can see it on these. But even if they aren't aligned correctly it won't make you look embarrassingly cross-eyed like when wearing those infamous crazy cat eye styled contacts lol. I did notice while taking these review photos though that the lens on my weaker eye (I have one so-called "lazy eye") ended up spinning a lot more than the one on my normal eye, which is typical for me with all contacts that have a pattern/style where it can be seen. But even if the lenses were not symmetrically in my eyes it wasn't a jarring look or that obvious on a quick glance. I wouldn't say that it's worth the stress to fret about (people won't notice, trust!), just think of this as a footnote or a heads up if you have an eye condition like me where the risk of spinning is increased. If you're being photographed from a distance no one will be able to tell anyway so you can rest easy knowing that you can wear these to an anime convention without staring into a pocket mirror self-consciously all day. :'D

Overall, to wrap things up, I'd say that this is a truly beautiful lens that makes your eyes look like colored pristine marbles! The color is a very versatile yet bold aqua blue that's fit for both cosplay and more casual outings – the color payoff exceeded my expectations and it's such a treat on light eyes. I'm almost certain these would be gorgeous even on dark eyes, although obviously I can only speak based on my own experiences. The Bunnie Jelly Blues are a fresh, compelling lens that's balancing so perfectly between being a costuming lens and a natural lens at the same time.

I went for a loosely Castlevania inspired look this time, although of course these would work just as well for a wide range of fictional characters ranging from video games to high fantasy and Japanese popular culture. I just wanted to go for a vampire theme to play with that deliciously natural yet unnatural aspect! Fuck I adore these lenses, really wish they came in more colors. This is one of those lenses that can look very different depending on the light conditions you are in; that's probably why I felt a bit like I had chameleon eyes lol.

Distance photo!

Short summary:

Color: 8/10
Absolutely ethereal bright blue color, so dreamy and appealing with a layer of depth that tickles the imagination.

Design: 9/10

It's somehow deceptively simple and full of wonder at the same time. Sophisticated and elegant yet lively.

Opacity: 8/10

Very opaque yet it somehow avoids looking costume-y and fake. Great blending on light eyes probably helps mitigate a blocky look.

Enlargement: 2/10

There's a very slight size increase but it stays in the subtle range. 

Comfort: 8/10

Thin and by all regards a comfy lens. Doesn't aggravate sensitive and/or dry eyes and can be worn for several hours.

Naturalness: 5/10

Few lenses are as versatile as these can be, you really can't go wrong here regardless of if you want a daily or a fancy/costuming lens.

Thank you for reading and I hope you felt inspired~
Thank you so much, EyeCandys! ♡

Shiro Samurai out~

[Sponsored] Lens review: EyeCandys Doe Golden Brown

Welcome in to my blog!

I will be reviewing another pair of colored contact lenses that EyeCandys kindly sent me for reviewing purposes today. This is the second of the three planned reviews and, with that said, the lens I will showcase in this post is the EyeCandys Doe Golden Brown!

The lenses that I'm reviewing in this blog post were sponsored by EyeCandys, meaning that I did not pay for the product(s) myself. This does, however, not affect my honesty in any way. Everything written in this review is my genuine opinion; I don't ever compromise my true thoughts, feelings nor experiences dealing with any shop. My integrity can't be bought.

Discount code 10SAMURAI gives 10% off your order (two pairs minimum) at EyeCandys!

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 14.2 mm

Water content: 40%

Life span: 3 months

This is part of a collaboration with the online circle lens store EyeCandys which I have reviewed more in detail over at my previous review here, please click the link if you wish to read my true experiences dealing with the store itself (impressions, customer service, shipping times etc). ^^ 

These lenses came individually packaged in those small cutesy cardboard boxes that are very summery and sweet in style! I'm pretty sure the singular packaging is to make it easier for people to order who have different prescriptions in each eye, which is rather common – I am one of them lol, but my vision defect is minor enough that I can wear plano lenses for cosplay purposes just fine. It's easier to just put my glasses on if I need to, aka when I have to see far during a concert, panel or such.
But if you need prescription lenses most of EyeCandys assortment goes up to -8.00, which is nice!

I had to take a photo of the lenses in a lens case because it was impossible to get a good shot of the lenses in their blisters due to the blisters having a matte finish, making it hard to distinguish the pattern and style of the lens; I don't usually take lens case photos but in this case it was necessary to be able to show what the lenses look like when they're not worn. :) 

One lens in.

I put one lens in (always soak your lenses in all-purpose lens solution for about 8 hours before wearing them for the first time!) and just like with the Doe Blues I wore before these can be a bit hard to differentiate between the 'wrong' and 'right' side due to both sides of the lens being identical and the curvature difference being really slight! Just make sure to pay attention, even if you're an avid contact lens wearer like me, because even I had to do a double-take haha. You won't immediately ruin your eyes if you accidentally put the lenses on upside-down but it's always important to be careful with insertion and remember, if a lens ever feels uncomfortable in any way (scratchy, rough etc) always remove it and examine it for any damage or dirt! This is general advice that applies to all lenses – always be vigilant about your eye safety.

The graphic diameter is stated as 12.5 mm on the store which I personally feel is a lot more accurate, in regards to the effect, than the higher diameter marked on the packaging. I'm pretty sure that the reason for the differing values is because yeah, the lens might be 14.2 mm in total diameter but the actual printed, graphic area of the lens is only 12.5 mm and the rest is the empty space at the outer edges of the lens – you actually see this on other lens brands that have smaller-than-average circle lenses as well, Neo (aka Neo Vision) immediately comes to mind!

This is a small, beautifully natural-looking lens. The color shows up as a delicate goldish toffee shade on my light gray-blue eyes and the effect is lovely yet intriguing. I honestly like these a lot more than the blue counterpart – these make my eye color noticeably different yet it doesn't cross any uncanny borders, it's just so natural and pleasing; even the blending effect is top-notch! Because yes, the color transition is so smooth and inconspicuous – there's no hard lines or jarring changes. I could totally pass these off as my real eyes if the other person didn't know what my real eye color actually is. xD It's just so down-to-earth and refined! These also have that same extremely subtle oceanic ripples design (to mimic the patterning of a real iris) that the Doe Blues had but, not gonna lie, I feel that in the Golden Browns it's somehow slightly more visible?
Even the limbal ring is thin, fuzzy and soft – it's of a darker brown shade that compliments the main color really well. It does not provide a dolly or 'anime' look in any way, but it also clearly ain't designed for that anyway.

Lens photos ahead!
All photos taken by me during a morning with a clear sky. All close-up photos are free from color filters and such and that's so that the colors would appear as close to real life as possible.

Indoors, natural room light.

Indoors, yellow room light.

Flash photo.

Bathroom light.

Facing a window indoors, not sun side.

Outdoors, back against the sun. (facing wall)

Outdoors, facing the sun.

Outdoors, facing the sun while under a shadow.

Comfort is basically identical to the Doe Blue lenses, which isn't a surprise considering that both are from the same series. These lenses are made of MPC polymer, a new bio-inspired material that has different characteristics than the commonly used silicone hydrogel – I'm not implying here that one material is strictly superior nor inferior, but I do appreciate lenses that retain moisture due to having naturally very dry and sensitive eyes. I've worn and reviewed over a couple hundred colored contacts to date so I've had my fair share of both good and less good comfort – and with that said I feel like there's something different with how this new material, that EyeCandys lenses are made of, keep your eyes hydrated and comfortable (especially for the first hours). In fact, the second I put these lenses into my newly woken up eyes there was this figurative wave of refreshment, almost as if I had put eyedrops in, except I hadn't; it literally felt like a hydration booster! I usually don't like to embellish or gush but I often lowkey dread putting on lenses early in the morning because odds are that it will exacerbate my already existing eye discomfort so yeah, these lenses actually made my morning more comfortable – not less. The (re)hydration effect isn't like peppermint in your eyes lol but it's certainly distinct and I had a genuine "woah!" reaction. So yeah, if you're like me and struggle with dry eyes and insomnia you might want to give EyeCandys line of lenses a try, especially if you're looking for casual lenses.

All in all this is a great choice for those who want natural lenses, something hidden yet visible. It's a very sophisticated, toned down design meant to enhance your look and natural beauty. The soft golden brown color exudes a sense of calm and warmth, great for enhancing daily looks. Of course you can wear these for costuming too but as I said before, they don't really suit most anime and manga characters due to the naturalness and yeah, lack of vibrancy and impact. You could use them for western media cosplays (especially realistic video games like Red Dead Redemption) with better success – but you could just as well use this kind of natural lenses for historical costumes, tv-shows and series. For this review I did a very loosely wuxia inspired look because I'm hyped about the Where Winds Meet game finally releasing~

Distance photo!

Want to see these lenses in another color? I got one here: Blue

Short summary:

Color: 6/10
Soft and earthly honeyed caramel brown, looks especially alluring in outdoor sunlight!

Design: 5/10

A realistic super delicate design with a rippling ocean effect. Simple yet graceful.

Opacity: 6/10

Changes my eye color yes, but also blends really well. Retains what I'd call "natural transparency".

Enlargement: 1/10

It's hardly enlarging on my eyes at least. Limbal ring is also thin and soft, avoids a dolly look.

Comfort: 9/10

Thin and keeps eyes hydrated well. Very comfortable to wear on dry, sensitive eyes for several hours. The slightly smaller pupil hole might lead to minor vision corner blur (barely noticeable in my opinion).

Naturalness: 10/10

Easily one of the most believable lenses I've worn; I could easily fool someone not accustomed to colored lenses into thinking my eyes are naturally brown lol.

Thank you for reading, more reviews coming soon!
Thank you, EyeCandys! ♡

Shiro Samurai out~

Lens review: G&G Ifax Brown

Hello in the house!

There's gonna be a streak of circle lens reviews coming up and this is the second one in tow! I will be reviewing the G&G Ifax Brown lenses, a classic big and brown circle lens.

Let's go!

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 14.0 mm

Water content: 38%

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

This is a very typical circle lens design in my opinion – it feels like I've seen dozens of lenses with designs similar to this one yet I can't name a single one from the top of my head. :'D It's just so generic but I don't mean that in a bad way, it's just that this is that kind of design that feels soooo familiar.

It's not a hyper opaque lens, in fact I feel like the color looks more translucent than on your average circle lens. Like I can tell it's brown but in the vials it appears to be so lightly pigmented! 

One lens in.

Once worn they do make my eyes look darker. And bigger. The black limbal ring is frankly quite massive and yeah, it's very bold and thick – which results in a doll-like look. When I look in the mirror with these lenses on I can tell that they make my eye color dark but it's not like a true brown, if that makes sense? I guess it kinda looks like there would be a brown overlay or filter on top of my real eye color? xD It looks pretty nonetheless and there's definitely that illusion of big, captivating eyes!

The lens has this kind of burst effect or I guess a lowkey flowerish design with black streaks running towards the center. As with most circle lenses the pupil hole is large and a decent chunk of your real eye color will thus show through in the middle. I get the feeling that this lens is probably meant for dark-eyed individuals but it looks pretty good on light eyes too.

Lens photos ahead!
All photos taken by me during a morning with a semi-clear sky. All close-up photos are free from color filters and such and that's so that the colors would appear as close to real life as possible.

Indoors, natural room light.

Indoors, yellow room light.

Flash photo.

Bathroom light.

Facing a window indoors, not sun side.

Outdoors, back against the sun. (facing wall)

Outdoors, facing the sun.

Outdoors, facing the sun's direction while under a shadow.

I feel like the comfort is definitely above average – in fact, I wore these twice to an anime convention for a full day in costume (roughly 8 hours) with almost no trouble, save for some very occasional dryness that eventually went away. It should be noted here that I have naturally sensitive eyes very much prone to drying so yeah, anything that I can comfortably wear past a couple hours is already a win in my book. My experiences with G&G lenses (also known as Dueba and/or Barbie) overall is that they're almost always exceptionally comfortable to wear. 

Summa summarum I'd say that this is a solid staple brown lens to pick for a wide variety of purposes – it's versatile enough to be great for everything from cosplay and lolita fashion to casual outings and parties. It might not be like a super distinct or intense brown color, on light eyes at least, but the effect it creates is very sufficient for any dark-eyed anime characters or fashion looks. It's soft and bold at the same time and you can't really go wrong with these lenses – unless you absolutely can't stand the black inner rim that lines the lens and is kinda clashy on light eyes. Yeah, it doesn't blend well at all so, if that's a pet peeve of yours, then you might want to pick something else lol.

Distance photo!

I did wear these lenses for my captain Ukitake cosplay from Bleach earlier this year, you can see how they look from a greater distance in this photoshoot post. ^^

Short summary:

Color: 6/10
A rather translucent brown lens, very mild in color but it does make my eyes look dark.
Design: 6/10
Simple and timeless design. This is one of those classic styles or at least a variation of them.
Opacity: 5/10
The actual brown color is rather sparse. Majority of the effect comes from the black rim and details.
Enlargement: 5/10
There is a notable enlargement effect but it isn't overdone. Limbal ring gives an illusion of a bigger size than it actually is.
Comfort: 8/10
Solid comfort all in all, wearable for a full event day. I don't really feel them and they're thin too.

Naturalness: 3/10
Can't really call these natural due to how thick the black rim is, it's way too dolly to pass despite how soft the brown is.

Stay tuned for more lens reviews, there's more to come!
Shiro Samurai out~