Lens review: ICK Garnet Green

Booyah, hi there!

And here I am again with another circle lens review to share. I will show the ICK Garnet Green today and I must admit that I had really high expectations for these, do you think they held up?

Let's get to it!

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 15.0 mm

Water content: 42%

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

I had dubbed the Garnet series the "bishounen lenses" in my head before I even bought them, fun fact. :'D I'm a sucker for green lenses in general and I was really hoping that these would give this kind of mesmerizing depth and have a really eye-catching green color...do they?

One lens in.

My first impression was honestly... a bit torn. I feel like the design is pretty and certainly has depth, but that the darkness of the green makes the finer details get lost. Yes, I don't really like dark lenses too much, at least not when I'm specifically looking for cosplay lenses and that's exactly why I bought these. It's of course not a bad lens but these are absurdly dark when compared to how light and bright the Garnet Violets were, almost as if from a different series. :S I guess the green is just more prone to blend with my real eye color or something...? I honestly don't know.

It's a big lens and totally dolly, it's good if you are looking for these big doll eyes that you can drown in. It's like dark gems in a way!

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.

Natural room light indoors.

Yellow room light indoors.

Flash photo.

Standing in a corridor, natural light from the side.

Unlit corridor, really poor natural light in the far distance.

Facing a window. (not sun side)

Outdoors, back against sun. (facing wall)

Outdoors, facing the direction of the light while standing under a shadow.

Outdoors, facing the sun.

Okay, I will admit that most of my photos above are darker than what I commonly have as this review was done late on the evening (the sun was to the side instead of in front of my kitchen window, which does make a difference). The color is like a darker emerald or forest green shade or such, I guess it's a nice color if you like dark lenses. They blend a bit towards the center, which means that the color doesn't end super abruptly but is phased out to get replaced by your actual eye color towards the center – this is always a good thing as I think that the 'clashing' look can really disrupt the illusion many times.

I had a weird experience with the comfort. The first two tries I tried putting on one of the lenses in my right eye it was insanely scratchy and impossible to wear! I cleaned and checked the lens twice but saw no visible defects and so I started wondering if I had gotten a Monday example, but the third time I tried putting it on the left eye and then suddenly it was perfect? No idea, maybe there was dirt, it was just weird. The other lens was fine.

But yeah, the actual comfort – these felt really thin, comfortable and I did not feel them in my eyes much at all, so basically invisible to wear. I think that I could wear these for around the 4-5 hour range, which is above average for my super dry and sensitive eyes.

So yeah, summa summarum is that while these didn't live up to my personal expectations it's still a good lens overall and I can't take that away. My main disappointment is simply because the design is really nice for the "pretty boy" type characters but the dark color makes it so that they just look black, or almost black, from a distance and that just won't do on cosplay photos as colors need to be really vibrant. I will admit though that up close the color is really beautiful.
But yeah, this would be a nice lens for j-fashion, many lolita styles and such. No idea how it would perform on other eye colors though as I have light blue-gray eyes.

Distance photo.

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

Short summary:

Color: 6/10
Darker than expected, a dark forest or perhaps emerald green color.

Design: 7/10

Has a notable depth and the 'burst' style design overall is really appealing.

Opacity: 7/10

Solid color coverage, changes my eye color.

Enlargement: 8/10

Gives the illusion of really big eyes. Feels even bigger because of the blackness too.

Comfort: 7/10

Appears to be really thin and comfortable. Estimated 4-5 hours on very dry eyes, which is good.

Naturalness: 3/10

Can't really claim these to be natural, size is the main thing that looks off.

Thank for reading this far, ciao!

Shiro Samurai out.

Lens review: ICK Animate Green

Henlo!

Gonna continue with the reviews as I'm still so behind and yes, it's still stressing me out. But enough of that eheh, today it's time to show the ICK Animate Green! This is again one of those green lenses that are more blue than green, so depending on what you're looking for it's either a bad or a really good choice. Woo!

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 15.0 mm

Water content: 42%

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months) 

You can see already from the vials that the color is definitely a blue-green, think sea green or something along those lines or should I say waves? I'm starting to feel like this color is not as hard to find as I used to think when I started using circle lenses all those years ago. I mean yeah, it's still not a super common color but I feel like there are a lot more options now to choose from than like, in 2013. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

On first look I do feel like these stay true to their name and yes, I mean the Animate part. These do look undeniably cartoony in their design, or should I say anime? It's a really simple design actually, a bold black limbal ring with thick dotted lines with quite a lot of space between the streaks. It definitely adds a magical, fairytale touch!

One lens in.

The first thing I saw is the lovely 'halo effect' – it's what happens when the lenses are bigger than your natural iris and have enough transparency so that the overlap creates a color difference along the outer edges. Did you get it? :D It's a bit hard to explain but it's really easy to see once you have noticed it once!

The color is indeed a blue-green, it's fresh and wonderful. It's a quite light shade in tone but there's no problems with the color coverage despite that, which is good. I feel like the overall look of the lens is youthful and full of life! It makes me think of mermaids or a kiwi fruit for some reason, it's such a charming color haha.

Lens photos below!

All photos taken by me 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, poor natural light in the distance.

Facing a window. (not sun side)

Outdoors, back against the sun. (facing wall)

Outdoors, facing the sun while standing under the roof's shadow.

Outdoors, facing the sun.

Comfort is all good, these lenses felt thin and comfy to me – and I have really dry-ass eyes so that's already better than average. If anything I felt a tinge of dryness, maybe, but I'm not sure at all? Whatever the case I would still say that I could likely wear these for the common 3-4 hours, which is average to me and my sensitive eyes. It's more like 4-6 hours or something for those with more, err, normal eyes I guess. :D 

This is a really cute, cartoonish lens that also has an alluring pull to it. It's a fun color and, although it doesn't blend much, it doesn't look dumb either – and the lens is further aided by how the pupil hole appears to be a bit smaller than usual so the potential 'clashing' effect is not as pronounced. But it's still obviously not gonna look realistic by any stretch but honestly, I don't think anyone would get these lenses for a natural look anyway. It's a costuming and fantasy lens that is also great for j-fashion and such. I would recommend these if you are on the lookout for this kind of sea green color or anime style lens!

Distance photo~

Wanna see more?

Reviews of another color: Blue

Short summary:

Color: 7/10 

A fresh, fun blue-green color. Sea green I'd say, it's pretty nice!

Design: 8/10 

Cartoony, anime-styled lens with a simplistic and bold design. It works well.

Opacity: 7/10

I have nothing to complain, despite the light color the coverage is really solid!

Enlargement: 7/10 

It's on the bigger side, not crazy big but definitely dolly.

Comfort: 7/10 

Thin and comfy, I don' t feel them. Perhaps a bit dryish but I can't tell for sure, likely just my eyes. Estimated 3-4 hours on super dry eyes, which is the default for me.

Naturalness: 3/10 

No, I don't think that these will really fly.

Thanks for reading this, woo!

Shiro Samurai out ~

Lens review: Flora Blossom Green

Hello in the hoods!

I'm lagging behind again with the reviews, oh noes. Gotta have to speed up before the summer vacation is over so that I'm somewhat on schedule for the later half of the year at least. ^^" Today it's the Flora Blossom Green that I'll show you all, go go go! 

Shuush~

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 15.0 mm

Water content: 55%

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

It's big, it's cute and it's colorful. A really dolly lens that is not shying away from being very hard to miss! Just like with the blue pair that I reviewed earlier these actually have a compact overlapping butterfly print that makes up the bulk of the color when you look up close on the design, it's super adorable and really unique! This is definitely a vivid, bold and overall really youthful lens.

As with any lenses I let them soak in multi-purpose lens solution over the night before wearing them, I don't recommend using them straight out of the small glass bottles as the solution lenses are stored in is stronger than the normal stuff. Just to be safe, ya know.

One lens in.

The color packs a real punch, it's a really nice and vibrant green. Almost a radiant shade, it's really cartoony looking and far from natural. Great for cosplay and funky, over-the-top fashion styles! Despite the super impactful green color the lenses still somehow look more gentle than crazy villain style, if that makes sense? I love the color a lot, it's so rad and not the kind of green you bump into all the time either!

The color coverage is solid and these lenses are notable in the size department. Yes, that means dolly eyes but it's not like insanely big. :D I can see a small 'halo effect' too and it's really lovely when it shows up!

Lens photos below!

All photos taken by me 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. Poor natural light in the distance.

Facing the window. (backyard, not sun side)

Outdoors, back against the sun. (facing wall)

Outdoors, facing the sun while under the roof's shadow.

Outdoors, facing the sun.

Comfort is overall decent. I do feel them in my eyes but it's not in an uncomfortable way, just the usual "I can tell that I'm wearing lenses" feeling. I did notice though that these do seem to blur my vision a bit, especially towards the corners. It's no big deal but worth noting, although every lens experience is different because we all have different eyes. I do estimate that I can wear these for around 3-4 hours, which is average for me and my ultra dry eyes.

So what more to say? It's a really cool, head-turning lens that definitely belongs more in the costuming and fantasy realm than in the realistic territory, lol. The color payoff is great, the green shade itself is fairly different from what you normally find and it's just overall a really interesting lens to have. If you like to stand out and prefer lenses that are unapologetically bright then these are deffo worth looking into!

Distance photo~

Want to see reviews in other colors?
I have done another: Blue

Short summary:

Color: 8/10 
Really vibrant, slightly blue-tinted green shade that is really strong and unique!

Design: 8/10

Pretty flower-like design that is actually butterflies clustered all over.

Opacity: 9/10

Really solid color coverage, can't complain.

Enlargement: 8/10

These are definitely big, really big in fact, but it's still not overdoing it.

Comfort: 6/10

Decent. I can feel that I'm wearing them (not in a bad way, just the usual "lens in my eye" feeling) and it seems like they do blur my vision a little, especially at the corners. Estimated 3-4 hours of wear on super dry eyes, which is average.

Naturalness: 2/10

Pffft no. Don't even think about it.

Thanks for checking in, hope y'all enjoyed this review! 
~ Shiro Samurai out.

Return to deviantArt and Falls of Clyde charity offer!

Hello landlubbers!

This is a sort of information post because I want to share what's been going on the last days! Some of you know, some don't, but I've been a member on deviantArt since June 2009 – yes, that's almost exactly 10 years ago as the exact day is 16th June. I used to be active there up until around mid 2013 and I posted both cosplay photos as well as my art. But then my activity died as if hit by a wall, partly as a result because I shifted all focus to this blog instead, which was new and standing on wobbly legs back then. Another reason is because I ran into a severe art block and lost inspiration to draw (and uploading my art was the original reason I joined deviantArt). I felt discouraged and disappointed in myself as I felt like I didn't improve my art at all for years – it was pretty soul-crushing as drawing used to be my main interest for most of my life and I felt like it was one of the few things I truly excelled at and enjoyed.

So my deviantArt was neglected and dead silent for years, until now. During the past couple days I've been going through my gallery, favorites, groups, everything. I deleted every single cosplay-related thing I had ever uploaded there as it was too much of a hassle with the different watermarks, despite my Ukitake cosplay being the very reason I even got popular on deviantArt in the first place. But I just didn't want to have my cosplay stuff spread out anymore and it felt better to have it all neatly collected in this blog instead. I also left a lot of fandom groups that I had lost interest in, including all cosplay groups as I wouldn't be submitting content to them anymore.

And then the main thing – I started up art commissions again, woop! I used to do them ages ago but put commissions on hold because of mental health issues (which I still have) and because I lacked the energy. I also felt pressed to sell myself short to get customers because everyone does it and it makes me angry and sad that it has to be like that; it hurts the artist community and the value of art. But I'm not falling for that pressure anymore – I now value my time, my effort and my art and I have thus made a completely new, revamped art commission journal and scrapped the old one.

Used with permission by Save Falls of Clyde - International.

Also, during the summer (likely longer) I'm doing special charity sketch commissions! I care very much about our planet's ongoing climate crisis and I also care about preserving history and thus I have chosen to support the rescue effort of the Falls of Clyde tall ship. She's the last remaining four-masted, full-rigged, iron-hulled ship in the world and on top of that she's a whopping 140 years old, which puts her on the list of the oldest ships still afloat. She's a former museum ship, an U.S. national historic landmark and also the last surviving sail-driven oil tanker and, despite all of these feats, she is now facing a very real and very urgent danger of being sold for scraps or intentionally sunk. And as someone who loves all things marine (yes, I had a fish craze before Pokémon came out and took that place) it would break my heart to see her gone. Especially as I have come to realize for not so long ago that my dream job is at sea, I've just been blind for too long to the innermost spiritual calling.

And if anyone wonders what's gonna happen if Falls of Clyde gets rescued and restored to her former glory, it's a lot! She's gonna be refitted with the latest eco-friendly technology and she will do many things that will benefit all of us in some way: fair trade sail cargo (emission free like in the old days), pick up and recycle plastic waste from the oceans, sailing holidays and she will also offer 'education at sea' to the children from the poorest communities, to help them grow and learn valuable life skills. Odds are that she will be based in Scotland, where she was built in Glasgow in 1878. Let that year sink in. (pun not intended)

So if you care even a little, please for the love of all things good, consider commissioning me and picking the FoC charity option, you quite literally get free sketches for donating to an important cause! And it doesn't even have to be more than 5€, every little helps! Or just donate directly to the campaign if you don't care about my art, that works too. xD

Thank you so much for reading, help spreading the word around!

~ Shiro Samurai

Lens review: Flora Blossom Blue

Hello fellas!

Here comes another lens review to the world and today it's the Flora Blossom Blue, a big and really colorful lens that packs a punch! 

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 15.0 mm

Water content: 55%

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

I think I bought these on a sale ages ago out of curiosity. The color seemed really opaque on the model photos and as there's not so many Flora brand circle lens reviews floating around I wanted to contribute to the case myself. I hope that all my past and future lens reviews might someday help someone out there to find the kind of lens that they need. We need a helpful community, not a toxic one. ♥

Okay so, back on track. I popped one lens into my eye and my first reaction was like "WAOOW" because the color was so intense! In some light it looks so bright that you'd almost imagine for a second that the lenses would glow in the dark, lol. Of course they don't but what I'm saying is that these lenses exceeded my expectations.

One lens in.

I'm not gonna lie, these lenses scream cosplay to me. The intensity of the blue color, the size and the black rim creates a cartoony look. It's a bold and vibrant lens and yeah, basically a show-off. The blue color is really pretty though, I like the shade of it! It's this kind of default bright blue that a lot of kids stuff have, if that makes sense. xD It's not a boring color by any means – it's not for the faint of heart but for us who like things to be a lil' bit extra. These lenses are fucking lit.

The design is something extra. From a distance it looks like a sorta basic flower print lens but once you zoom in and focus you will notice that the design actually consists of a myriad of butterfly outlines that together form the bulk of the blue color, which is extremely impressive. How can it even attain that coverage and brightness when the color is not even solid pixels but delicate overlapping butterfly prints with a fair amont of transparency on each animal since it's just the lineart that is of color?? I can't even. 

A little bit of information: the design is actually pretty much identical to the Vassen Butterfly series, except for that the Flora lenses appear to have a bit more firing power in the color intensity. I do not know which one came first, so I can't say which one is the original and which is a copycat.

Lens photos below!
All photos taken by me during a June afternoon with a semi-cloudy sky, as in the sun was hidden behind a thin veil of clouds. 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.

Unlit corridor, natural light in the distance.

Flash photo.

Facing window, not sun side.

Outdoors, back against the sun. (facing wall)

Outdoors, facing the sun while being under the roof's shadow.

Outdoors, facing the sun while it's hidden by clouds.

Outdoors, facing the sun while it's almost out from the clouds.

Outdoors, on the shadow side of the building, facing the wall.

Unless you didn't notice already then these lenses are pretty big in size, which really adds to the eye-catching effect even more. The color coverage is without a doubt extremely opaque and I am very sure that even on jet-black eyes these would show up as a crisp, undeniable blue! 

These lenses are simply exceeding my expectations, I am at a loss of words because I simple love this so much. It's one of my favorite blue shades and these lenses makes my eyes look like I'm from some video game fantasy world! Get these for cosplay, like fucking seriously.

Comfort is fine. The Blossom Blues are thin and generally comfy and I noticed no particular discomfort during my short time of wearing these, despite the expiry date having passed (I only took the photos and then threw the lenses away, so comfort is based on first impressions) by the time I got around to doing this review. Something I did notice though was that my vision blurred slightly when I went outside, normally lenses only blur my vision in shitty light conditions and daytime sunlight is usually not one of them. I would regardless recommend these lenses and I will surely repurchase them for cosplaying later, whenever the need for bright blue lenses shows up.

Distance photo!

Want to see reviews in other colors?
I have done another: Green

 

Short summary:

Color: 10/10 
Immensely bright, bold and fantastic blue color that will instantly level-up your persona.

Design: 8/10

Pretty flower-like design, but if you look really close you'll notice that the patterning actually consists of butterflies all over.

Opacity: 10/10

Holy macaroni, I did not expect the color intensity and coverage to be this good on a non-crazy lens! 'nuff said.

Enlargement: 8/10

These lenses don't hold back on the size. Dolly it is!

Comfort: 7/10

I don't feel them at all, they are thin and comfy and pleasant overall. Slightly blurred my vision outdoors for a moment though, but no big deal. Estimated wearing time on super dry eyes around 3-4 hours, possibly 5 hours on a good eye day.

Naturalness: 2/10

Hahaha no, get out of here. :))

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed this review! 
~ Shiro Samurai out.