Lens review: Neo Ring Black

Eey ~

I'm gonna be honest, I'm not 100% sure what the name of these lenses is but I'm gonna go by Neo Ring Black as that's what my order confirmation says. Their identification number or whatnot is N019. I bought these from Honeycolor a long time ago and I can't seem to find them anymore, at least not the yearly version. ^^"

Oh well, let's do this review anyway!

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 14.2 mm

Water content: 45%

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

It's really rare that I review a black lens, haha. There's not that many to begin with and I think black lenses in general are meant to be like an "enhancing lens" for dark eyes. With that said they tend to look really, shall we say, intense, on light eyes? :D Like the effect is cool and a bit creepy at the same time. I personally dig it but it's not for everyone.

One lens in.

The color fades nicely towards the center and yeah, it's definitely black. It's really dark and eye-catching and really draws attention to your suddenly super-dark rimmed eyes. In a way I guess it can be called dolly but yeah, I'd say it borders more on the supernatural territory than on the cute one, lol. It's an interesting lens nonetheless and fun to play around with – I can definitely think up some funky outfits to wear these with!

 

The size increase is there but Neo lenses tend to stay within moderate range so it's not particularly big in any way. The colored part of the lens is focused on the area around the edges, which leaves my natural eye color fully visible at the center – it 'clashes' as the contrast is really huge going from very light to full-on black, despite the smooth blending trying to ease it.

Lens photos ahead!
All photos taken by me during an afternoon with a semi-clear sky with the sun super low on the horizon line (fuck you polar night :D). 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.

Natural room light indoors.

Yellow room light indoors.

Facing window. (shadow side)

Flash photo.

Outdoors, back against sun. (facing wall)

Outdoors, facing sun. (last rays of sunset)

Outdoors, facing the sun while it's blocked by a roof.

Outdoors, standing under the shadow of a storage building.

These lenses are thin, invisible to wear and overall quite nice actually. Sometimes they feel a bit dryish but most lenses do that to me nowadays so it's hard to tell when it's the lens and when it's just my eyes being dry and crappy, lmao. I expect to be able to wear these for around 3-5 hours, which is on the better half of good as I have really dry and sensitive peepers. 

All in all black lenses are interesting on light eyes because of the effect they bring in play. Some will love it and others will think it's way too unnatural but I personally am some sort of fascinated. It's a nice lens and especially cool for visual styles, dark styles and why not cosplay too? Goths, emos and the like might get a kick out of these and basically anyone who is curious about rocking eyes with massive black edges. Thankfully the fading effect mitigates the worst 'clash' effect and thus I think these are likable even on non-dark eyes. :)

Distance photo!

Short summary:

Color: 8/10
I wish the color reached a bit further in but it's black and that's about all you can ask for.
Design: 7/10
Streaky fade effect with super-dark edges. Looks pretty cool and keeps the worst 'clash' effect away.
Opacity: 6/10
The further outwards the more opaque. Color gets weaker and fades more towards the pupil hole.
Enlargement: 3/10 

Quite small, although the blackness really fools you into believing otherwise.
Comfort: 7/10 
Invisible to wear, thin and overall pleasant. A bit dryish sometimes but I can still expect to be able to wear these for 3-5 hours on super dry eyes.

Naturalness: 2/10

Highly unnatural on light eyes but it would sound differently if I had brown eyes.

Thanks for reading!

Shiro Samurai out.

Blog 7-year birthday!

*drumrolls*

Happy birthday to blooog, happy birthday to blooooog, happy birthday to---,

...

... nah, fuck this. I'm horrible at singing.

Today is happy birthday day for my cosplay blog, clocking in at 7 years of existence! Yes, I totally forgot to post on the 6th birthday and some previous years too but oh well, shit happens. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
As per usual I'm happy to still be around and be relevant, even though my blog has been really circle lens heavy lately, which might not be to every reader's liking. ^^" It's just that I have a shitlot of lenses that I need to review as I bought a lot back some years ago and didn't do reviews often enough back then so now the pile caught up on me, lol. I can almost say with certainty already now that next year will be circle lens heavy too and after that it will subside and become more cosplay focused again!
To be honest I wish I worked more on cosplays but school is eating up what little energy I have (and honestly I don't want to look at a sewing machine once I get home as that's what my class room is filled with, lmao) and so it's been a kinda unproductive year.

I know that cosplay blogging is past its prime at least in my home countries but screw that, I always loved blogging so I'm not going anywhere! I just really enjoy documenting everything I do carefully and then returning to look back at it years later – bonus points along the way if my ramblings help a fellow cosplayer out or inspire someone to check out a new convention etc! I mainly blog for myself but I of course appreciate every single reader and visitor that I've had over the years, thank you for visiting my blog! ♥ Oh and a thank you to all my sponsors over the years too, it's been a blast to work with you all!

I sadly don't have any giveaway for this birthday post but I think you guys can live without one for this time, right? Riiiight? :D No? ;_;

I don't have so much more to say, I wanted to keep this short and save the wordy treasure chest for the yearly summary instead, on which I'll bring up some things I've had in my mind – if I remember by then, lol. It'll be up before you know it anyway so stay perked for that!

Yo-ho and thanks for all the years together!

~ Shiro Samurai

Lens review: EOS Dolly Eye Green

Hi guys!

I'm pretty excited about bringing you all this review of a really popular lens, the EOS Dolly Eye Greens! I feel so nostalgic saying this but back when I first got into using circle lenses in 2013, thanks to cosplay, I already then saw the Dolly Eye lenses recommended everywhere. It was one of the very first lenses I knew by name and pretty much every cosplayer had tried them at some point, lol. I'm not sure if their fame is still holding up but nevertheless it's a really great cosplay lens!

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 14.2 mm

Water content: 38~42%

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

This is without a doubt a cosplay lens no shit Sherlock – the tiny pupil hole (in circle lens standards, that is), the super opacity, the vibrant color, the anime-like print with a thick limbal ring... everything just screams cosplay! Another extra good thing with the EOS Dolly Eye lenses is that they're quite small actually, which means that they're really versatile in the sense that they can be used for both male and female characters equally.

One lens in.

So what we have at hand is a super opaque and cartoony lens. It's impossible to miss and really stands out, which totally means that it's highly unnatural too. The design itself is really simple but that's a good thing as such a classic, keep-it-generic print works for so many characters! Yep, I constantly refer to cosplay because come on, I'm a cosplayer and these used to be the number one cosplay lens when I started out and probably still are in people's minds. xD 

The green is really intense and highly pigmented. It's not radioactive but it's damn noticeable and shows even from greater distances – yep, it's great for cosplay photoshoots even when you aren't limiting yourself to close-ups just to have your lenses show, lolol. 

The black limbal ring adds a dolly touch and brings the 'anime eye' effect together. These also have such an impeccable opacity that they rival crazy lenses! The Dolly Eye lenses are sure to completely cover your real eye color, whatever it might be.

Lens photos below!

All photos taken by me during a November afternoon with a semi-clear sky with the sun super low on the horizon and blocked by a roof (fuck you polar night :D). 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.

Facing window. (shadow side)

Flash photo.

Outdoors, back against sun. (facing wall)

Outdoors, facing (setting) sun.

Outdoors, facing the sun while it's blocked by a rooftop.

Outdoors, standing behind a building's shadow.

These lenses are thin and invisible to wear, a pleasure. I can see me wearing these for 4-6 hours at a time, which is better than average when taken into account that my eyes have gotten more dry and douchy over the years. The thing to keep in mind though is that because of the notably smaller pupil hole there is a very real possibility of blurred vision in poorer light conditions along with seeing green corners whenever you move your eyes. Happens to me but I don't mind, that's a typical payoff of a great, vibrantly colored costuming lens. 

If you've ever wondered what the fuss is with popular lenses then the EOS Dolly Eye lenses do earn their mark – they stand up and shine even today when there's considerably more options to choose from in the market than back when they first started making word in the cosplay community. These lenses have everything: a great green color, versatile size, perfect coverage, good comfort, anime look and a small pupil hole to hide your real eye color from showing too much in the center and ruining the effect. Honestly, seriously consider getting the Dolly Eye Greens for your green-eyed cosplays if you haven't already, they'll definitely show up!

Distance photos!

Wanna see more Dolly Eye lens reviews?
I thought so, check these out: Pink

Short summary:

Color: 10/10 

Awesome medium to darkish green that's a definite win.

Design: 7/10 

Highly cosplay-friendly simple yet really cartoony design.

Opacity: 10/10 

Perfect color coverage and it's not even a crazy lens!

Enlargement: 3/10 

Far from as dolly as one might think because of the name. Should be "EOS Cosplay Eye" instead, lmao.

Comfort: 7/10 

Thin and invisible to wear, estimated 4-6 hours on super dry eyes. Warning for obvious green corners in vision field and perhaps blurry sight in poorer lights.

Naturalness: 2/10 

Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnope.

Thank you so much for reading my blog! Have you ever tried EOS Dolly Eye lenses? :)

Shiro Samurai out.

Lens review: Vassen Diamond Red

Hello~

Eeyup, I'm gonna review another Vassen Diamond lens – and this time it's the Vassen Diamond Red! These are really similar to their green versions in all ways except for being, well, another color. I'm always excited to review red lenses as I'm so fascinated by red eyes, haha. I'm drawn to unnatural colors, the weirder the better!

Let's do this!

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 14.5 mm

Water content: 42% 

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

I'm gonna have to admit that the combination of a sparkly, really fabulous and I guess feminine design with such a crazy color as red is really interesting. It's an odd combo but that's what makes it so appealing in my eyes, lol. I don't know who thought "blood diamond eyes, fuck yeah!" and slammed their hand on the table but this is a pretty rad lens and quite out of the ordinary.

One lens in.

Typical Vassen lens is big and doesn't shy on the color and these hold true to that. The red is impossible to miss, despite not being the craziest color in the market – it's actually more of a toned-down red, a darker and with a what-if-red-was-natural approach to it, perhaps aided by the ever so slight transparency. 
The design is clearly diamond inspired and really pretty to look at, it's artsy and detailed and the black portions of the lens add depth to the gaze. There's also a black limbal ring which makes your eyes stand out a bit more and it provides a sort of dolly look. I just wish that the pupil hole was a bit smaller as my real eye color is glaring back at me from the center and it 'clashes' because the color ends abruptly.

Lens photos below!

All photos taken by me during a November afternoon with a semi-clear sky with the sun super low on the horizon and blocked by a roof (fuck you polar night :D). 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.

Facing window. (shadow side)

Flash photo.

Outdoors, back against sun. (facing wall)

Outdoors, facing the sun that's blocked by a rooftop.

Comfort is really similar to the Diamond Greens, meaning that these lenses are generally okay but I do feel them in my eyes sometimes because of them being a bit thick. They also seem prone to do the "dry feeling" on and off, but it might just as well be my sensitive and really dry eyes acting up. It's so hard to grade comfort when my eyes are being jerks more than half the time. ^^" I don't see why I couldn't wear these for the average 3-4 hours though – it might not sound like much but that's the usual wearing time for me, meaning that the lenses land on a decent to good scale.

All in all, if you like fancy red lenses that don't scream SPAWN OF SATAN APPEARED then consider getting these. They could be suitable for cosplay, funky fashion, goths and whatever elegant dark styles you can think of. It's not casual but not crazy either, mainly because of the red having a slightly darker tone and the black making it look more dimensional and thus, in some way, more realistic I guess – it always feels dumb to label a red lens natural but I have to consider that transparency, design and actual shade can do a lot of difference. x) The diamond print is really pretty and glimmery too!

Distance photo!

Wanna see more diamonds?

Check these out: Green, Blue

Short summary:

Color: 7/10 
A tad darker, not in-your-face type of red. It's wonderful in its own right.
Design: 7/10 
A glamorous, sparkly diamond print with black details to add dimension and depth.
Opacity: 7/10 

Obviously makes my eyes red but the print has some hints of transparency.
Enlargement: 7/10
Big and dolly but not overdoing it.

Comfort: 6/10 

Generally fine I'd say, feels a bit thickish and dryish but otherwise as good as any other decent pair. 3-4 hours estimated wearing time on super dry and sensitive eyes.
Naturalness: 2/10

Red and big gemstone eyes? I don't think so.

Thanks for reading my blog, hope you liked this review!

Shiro Samurai out.

Lens review: Vassen Diamond Green

Hello friends!

It's another Vassen lens today, namely the Vassen Diamond Green. These lenses seem to have an almost identical or completely identical print as the GEO Xtra Diamond series; I haven't tried the green GEO Diamonds so I can't tell if the color, opacity etc is the same but Vassen Diamond is a replica lens, more or less.

Let's go!

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 14.5 mm

Water content: 42% 

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

This is once again one of many lenses I only bought because they were on sale years ago. I didn't have any plans for them or anything, just wanted to try them and review them. I quite often buy lenses with the main intent to review them to help the community, especially if there's few or no reviews of a particular lens that interests me – someone's gotta be the first one and I legit enjoy helping people out. ^^

Okay so, these lenses look like the name implies – diamonds. It's a detailed print and it looks sparkly and lively. It's worth noting though that the pupil hole is fairly big and these lenses will end up looking cartoony or unrealistic because of how harsh and sudden (aka no blending) the center is, just a heads up.

One lens in.

It's a pretty big lens but doesn't reach any insane proportions. My natural eye color is a blue-gray and these go pretty well with that, despite the center being a bit "clashy". It's definitely an eye-catching design because of the artistic print and the many shades in it. The Diamond Greens also feature a black limbal ring that frames the lens and adds an illusion of even bigger eyes. It's a cute lens with solid color coverage.

If you're looking for a true green lens then keep looking. These lenses are not of a typical green, it's much more like a blue-green. I'm not sure what to call the color exactly but some kind of dark seafoam green perhaps? It's a really nice color if you're drawn to more unnatural and rare shades. It stands out and has good pigmentation; I just wish the pupil hole was smaller so that the color reached farther towards the center.

Lens photos below!

All photos taken by me during a November afternoon with a cloudy sky past sunset. 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.

Natural indoors room light.

Yellow indoors room light.

Facing window. (shadow side)

Flash photo.

Outdoors, back against sun. (facing wall)

Outdoors, facing sun while it's blocked by a roof (very low on horizon).

Comfort seems okay overall, they are fairly invisible to wear but they feel a bit thickish and I occasionally feel them because of that. There's no blurred vision or colored corners when I move my gaze etc, none of the annoyances are prevalent. I'd estimate wearing time within the average 3-4 hours for me and my super dry eyes. My eyes are really sensitive and I thus have a hard time wearing almost any lens past 5 hours without eye drops, but I try to do reviews without eye drops as I feel like that's a bit of cheating as it prolongs wearing time past the natural limit, lol. Dunno how to explain but it doesn't feel fair to use eye drops on some reviews and not on others because I'm lazy and inconsistent like that. xD

So yeah, the Vassen Diamond Green is a cute and big lens with a green color that makes me think of the marine life more than the earth life. It's youthful, elegant and hard to miss. Some might think that the large and really visible pupil hole is a deterrent to buying these and I understand, I'm not a big fan of it either as light eyes tend to look otherwordly with the look – circle lenses were first created for an Asian-dominated market so I think it's safe to assume that most lenses with clear-cut openings like these would look a lot more natural on dark eyes as brown is more easily seen as black from a distance, lol. 

Distance photo!

Wanna see more diamonds?

Check these out: Red, Blue

Short summary:

Color: 7/10 
A dark blue-green that's fairly uncommon and really nice, actually.
Design: 7/10 
Sparkly, youthful and chic diamond print. It's pretty cool with its black details.
Opacity: 7/10 

Very clearly changed my eye color but it's not screaming intense and my hunch tells me that your actual eye color will slightly affect the outcome.
Enlargement: 7/10
Notably big but not overdone.

Comfort: 6/10 

Generally ok. Fairly invisible to wear except that they feel a bit thickish. I can feel them a bit but it's nothing uncomfortable.
Naturalness: 2/10

I don't really believe that big, oddly colored gemstone eyes are all that convincing...

Thanks for reading my blog, hope you enjoyed this review!

Shiro Samurai out.

Lens review: Vassen Butterfly Pink

Hi there!

Jajajaja it's time for one more lens review. This time it's the Vassen Butterfly Pink lenses and it's a cute, anime-ish circle lens with a fair amount of color and size! I've come to notice that the print is pretty much an exact copy of the Flora Blossom series but it's hard to say which one came first, lol. Oh well, let's get on with it ~

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 14.5 mm

Water content: 42% 

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

It's a cute, cheerful print that looks kinda magical I guess? One might wonder why they're called butterfly as, on a quick glance, the print just seems like random clutter but upon a closer look at the design you'll notice that the coloration is actually a bunch of literal butterfly images stacked together that are making up the color – it's really cool once you see it! I'd definitely call these an unique lens design in that regard.

One lens in.

It's a fairly sizeable lens although it doesn't feel quite as big as I initially expected. It could be because the limbal ring is kinda thin but whatever the case it's not anything negative – the size is just right! 
The color is this kind of crisp, light to medium pink – a kind of cotton candy pink I'd say. It's sweet and fairly fun but it's not super bright so it ain't gonna make you look crazy but rather a toned-down pink. The opacity is fine, the lenses are undeniably pink but I can see hints of my real eye color showing through the "gaps" in the print, aka the transparent spots that are between the butterflies.

Lens photos below!

All photos taken by me during a November afternoon with a cloudy sky past sunset. 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.

Indoors, extra bright yellow room light.

Facing window. (shadow side)

Flash photo.

Outdoors, back against sun. (facing wall)

Outdoors, facing sun. (cloudy and sun blocked by roof as it was low on horion)

Comfort is okay. These are really thin and invisible to wear – the only minus is that they feel drying at times. I guess I could wear them for the usual 3-4 hours, which is average for me and my super dry eyes. It's not bad despite sounding like it's not much but yeah, my eyes are really sensitive so what 3-4 hours is to me would probably be the usual 5-7 hours to someone with less crappy eyes, lol. Whatever the case these are fine enough to stand wearing for prolonged time for cosplay, just bring eyedrops to combat the potential dry bouts.

So what we have at hand is a cute not-so-little lens with a pleasant pink color and a really unique print that shows its grandeur upon a closer examination. It's dolly, it's cosplay-friendly and it's overall surprisingly versatile! A youthful, happy lens that steers the imagination towards a more innocent place. It's not the most vibrant, bold pink lens you can find but for those looking for a more, shall we say "mature pink", will be very pleased with this pair.

Distance photo, of course ~

Short summary:

Color: 7/10
A cotton candy-ish pink that balances between youthful and cute and sophisticated yet striking.
Design: 8/10
The print is actually a bunch of butterflies in pink lineart that make up the color, super unique!
Opacity: 6/10 

Still obviously pink but there's some transparent spots that show my eye color underneath.
Enlargement: 7/10
Still big but doesn't feel quite as big as some other Vassen lenses.

Comfort: 6/10 

Generally fine. Thin and invisible to wear but seems to do dry bouts or just start to feel dry fairly fast.
Naturalness: 3/10

I don't think pink butterfly-patterned eyes are very natural but it's not as weird as it could have been.

Thanks for reading my blog!

Shiro Samurai out.