April 18, 2019

Lens review: Princess Pinky Eclipse Green

Hello folks!

A short break and now I'll get back to pouring out more reviews! Today I thought I'd show you all the Princess Pinky Eclipse Green circle lenses, a really big and cute design that features a lovely 'halo effect'. Let's go!



Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 14.5 mm
Water content: 38%
Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)


This is a really big, really dolly lens with an unique design and a pastel green color. It's super adorable and there's not really any other lenses quite like the Princess Pinky Eclipses out there, except for the I.Fairy Moonlite series which has the same design but a lot brighter and more opaque colors.

One of the first things I always do before wearing any new lenses is to put them to soak overnight in multipurpose lens solution that I buy from the local pharmacy, I don't recommend wearing lenses directly out of the little glass bottles. Just don't do it.

One lens in.
The color is a really soft, diluted green. It makes me think of a misty meadow or something calming like that, it's honestly a pretty color despite my initial reaction of "grandma curtain green", lol. There's a really big size increase and because of the transparency of the colored areas you can actually see on the lens where it passes past your natural iris and onto the whites, which creates the halo effect that I mentioned above; it's extremely pretty in the right light conditions!

My natural eye color is a blue gray and because these lenses have a big, completely open pupil hole (like almost all enlarging circle lenses do) then a lot of my real eye color is visible in the center. There's no real effort to blend these as the color starts pretty abruptly and honestly, the random small black dots that line the pupil opening just makes the inner edges of the lens all the more obvious – it's like "HEY JUST IN CASE YOU DIDN'T SEE IT ALREADY THE LENS STARTS HERE", on light eyes at least. But honestly, who the fuck buys these lenses and expects them to look natural? :D This is definitely more of a fashion lens than something daily and discreet. 

Lens photos ahead!
All photos taken by me during an April morning with a 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.
Bathroom light.
Shitty natural light indoors, facing a corridor.
Flash photo.
Facing window, not sun side.
Outdoors, back against the sun. (facing wall)
Outdoors, facing the sun.
These lenses are generally comfy, although I can tell that I'm wearing lenses as they are not quite invisible to wear. It's honestly pretty much a non-issue though as it's really slight but I did wonder if they were not a tiny teeny bit thicker than other lenses that I've worn lately? Again, no big deal. I'm pretty much nitpicking to be honest, lmao.  But honestly, based on my impressions I do estimate that I could wear these for the average-ish 3-4 hours and yes, it might not sound like much but bear in mind that I have ridiculously dry eyes, which means that anything past 2 hours is already good for me.

It's a really cute, youthful lens with a touch of something alluring and captivating. It's not realistic but that's not the point either and I immediately think of j-fashion when I see these lenses: decora, lolita, pastel goth and such. It wouldn't be a dumb choice for cosplay either, especially if you need this kind of super light green (that doesn't blend and disappear into your eyes as light green lenses tend to do) as it's pretty hard to find. So yeah, if you want lenses that trample ever so slightly into the magical territory then consider getting these!

Distance photo!


Want to see more Eclipse colors?
Check these out: Pink, Violet

Short summary:

Color: 7/10
Calming, very light green. Diluted color, in a good way. Shows up as green despite the lightness and transparency.

Design: 7/10
Simple, super adorable print. A dotted inner ring, a single color and a thin black limbal ring.
Opacity: 6/10
Surprised by how well the green shows up despite being so light. Transparency provides beautiful halo effect!
Enlargement: 8/10
Really big and eye-catching.
Comfort: 6/10 
I can feel them slightly, maybe a bit thicker than other lenses I've worn lately but honestly it's no big deal at all. Generally comfortable, estimated 3-4 hours on super dry eyes.
Naturalness: 2/10
These are not meant to resemble a natural eye. At all.


Thanks for reading, more reviews are on the way!
Shiro Samurai is out.

March 31, 2019

Lens review: ICK Garnet Violet

Hi there pretty~

Yeah I know, suddenly a massive surge of lens reviews. Well at least I'm catching up. xD Today the spotlight shines on the ICK Garnet Violet, a cosplay friendly lens I'd say.

Let's do this!



Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 15.0 mm
Water content: 42%
Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)


The lens design doesn't stand out as impressive and all that unique when you look at it in the vials but I swear that once you wear them some kind of bishounen magic happens, lol. There's something with the color and the way the lens is designed that makes them look really deep and luscious.

The size is generous and so is the color coverage. There's no doubt that the violet will show up and it totally delivers! It's a beautiful shade, not light but not really dark either. The somewhat streaky pattern makes the lenses look intense and full of life. I'm really liking these.

One lens in.
The color intensity is cosplay material but it can be so much more than just that. I see a versatile lens that can spice up most fashion styles willing to tackle something as bold and unusual as vividly violet eyes. These won't fly at the office but anyone who wants to look personal, bold and pull the gazes in would likely enjoy the Garnet series. The dark limbal ring further intensifies the strong hold that these lenses have in capturing a viewer's gaze and pulling it in into this mesmerizing pit.

Lens photos ahead!
All photos taken by me during a March noon with a mostly cloudy 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.
Bathroom light.
Poor natural light indoors. (in a corridor)
Flash photo.
Facing window. (not sun side)
Outdoors, back against the sun. (facing wall)
Outdoors, facing the direction of the sun while being under a shadow.
Facing the sun while it's hidden by a veil of clouds.
I swear it was sunny and the moment I go out the sun was like haha nope, fuck you.
Comfort appears to be fine, these lenses are thin and pretty much invisible to wear. I don't generally notice that I'm wearing these lenses except for that perhaps I had a moment when they felt a bit dryish? I can only base my comfort grade on the first impressions I had while taking these photos (lenses had expired so I threw them as soon as I was done, sadly) and they seemed better than average. There is a risk that they might start to dry quickly but that can very likely be because of my own dry-ass eyes. 4-5 hours I'd estimate wearing time at, which is solid in my book.

Honestly, get these for cosplaying pretty boys and girls and for whatever colorful fashion styles you rock. These will make anything level up to the next level!

Distance photo!


Wanna see Garnet lenses in more colors?
I got you covered: Green, Red
 
Short summary:

Color: 7/10
Wonderful and eye-catching violet that's alluring to watch.
Design: 7/10
Doesn't look amazing on first glance but pop them in and bam, magic happens!
Opacity: 7/10
The coverage is what it should be. I have no complaints.
Enlargement: 8/10
I read these as big and doll-like. Might not be for everyone because of the sheer size though.
Comfort: 7/10
Seems great. Thin and I don't feel them, except that they miiiiight dry a bit faster on at least my naturally super dry eyes. Nothing to worry about. I'd say 4-5 hours, add at least 2 more if you have normal eyes.
Naturalness: 3/10
No. But why would you want these if you were looking for natural lenses anyway?

Thank you so much for the support over the years!

March 30, 2019

Lens review: Princess Pinky Eclipse Violet

Hello swagsters!

It's me and yeah, guess what's up for today? The title says it all, it's a review for the Princess Pinky Eclipse Violet circle lenses!



Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 14.5 mm
Water content: 38%
Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)


This is a lens with a quite unique design – the only other lenses that I know of with the same pattern is the I.Fairy Moonlite series but those have super opaque and vibrant colors and came after the Princess Pinky Eclipse as far as I know, meaning that the Eclipse series is the "original one" I guess.

The Eclipse Violets are huge and have a light pastel violet color that seems quite translucent. There's a lot of small black dots surrounding the inner edges, not sure what for but I guess to create a more surreal, cute look or something? Or maybe to define the eyes, who knows.

One lens in.
One of the first things I noticed was the so-called 'halo effect' that is super noticeable with these. It looks amazing and in the right light conditions it really takes your breath away! That's one of the bonuses with big lenses that keep just the right amount of transparency.

These go pretty well with my natural eye color, which is a light blue-gray. Despite violet being an unnatural color it doesn't come across to me as too 'clashing', which is kinda funny and surprising when you look at how abruptly the colored area of the lens ends – there's no fading out to make the transition from lens to eye softer. And still it doesn't look instantly crazy. I actually think that the look is soothing somehow, despite being dolly and magical.

Lens photos ahead!
All photos taken by me during a March morning with a semi-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 apartment room light.
Yellow apartment room light.
Bathroom light.
Poor natural indoor room light. (in a corridor, facing a distant window)
Flash photo.
Facing window. (not sun side)
Outdoors, with my back against the sun. (facing wall)
Outdoors, facing the direction of the sun while it's blocked from my view.
Outdoors, facing the sun directly.
I can't possibly deny that it's a super cute and alluring lens and that it would be great for many kinds of j-fashion styles, pastel looks like dekora and such. It would hold up to cosplay too, depending of course on what kind of lens you need but if light, almost angelic-looking big eyes suit the character then why not? 

Comfort based on first impressions left a little something to be desired, they're not bad but I could feel that I was wearing lenses (I have really sensitive and dry eyes) and, for some reason, one of the lenses made my eye extremely teary upon insertion and it stung and itched for some minutes until it eventually passed. The other lens was completely fine so I don't know, either dirt or a defect. But if we ignore that thing then they are wearable and I'd guess around 2-4 hours on my eyes, which you can add at least 2 hours more to if your eyes don't rival a desert in dryness levels... :D

Distance photo!


Want to see more Eclipse colors?
Check these out: Pink, Green

Short summary:

Color: 7/10
Certainly sweet and lovely pastel violet. It has a calming effect.

Design: 7/10
A simple print with a dotted inner circle and then a single main color.
Opacity: 6/10
Makes my eyes violet no doubt, but keeps enough transparency to provide a gorgeous halo effect too.
Enlargement: 8/10
Very enlarging and doll-like.
Comfort: 5/10 
I can feel them and one of the lenses made my eye tear up like mad and felt stingy for some minutes before it eventually disappeared. Otherwise decent, could have been just dirt that I didn't get off or something.

Naturalness: 2/10
This is fantasy eyes, not the "going to family dinner and hoping grandma won't notice" eyes.


Thanks for reading, more reviews are coming soon!
Shiro Samurai is out.

March 29, 2019

Lens review: Flora Gerbera Blue

Hello hello!

Let's continue with the roll while it's going strong. Today is review day for the Flora Gerbera Blue so let's get on with it!



Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 15.0 mm
Water content: 55%
Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)


I've reviewed some Gerbera lenses in other colors before and I still think that the design of these look like a 'burst' effect or flowery. It comes with a thick black limbal ring but it's not ultra mega black. You will still get dolly eyes and look super pretty with glistening, colorful eyes.

When you look at the lenses in their vials they don't look super opaque. I was not expecting the most intense color ever but once I tried them on the blue is actually quite vibrant and packs a punch! I don't think I can call it all that natural but it's lively, it's beautiful and you can get lost in the mesmerizing pattern.

One lens in.
There's a pretty okay blending effect towards the center, merging the lens with whatever your real eye colori is. Because I have light blue-gray eyes it isn't super obvious and jarring where the edge of the lens meets my eye and also, the colored pigments of the lens are more sparse towards the pupil opening anyway, allowing for a discreet transition. I just feel like in, at least my case as a light-eyed person, that the random black dots at the center kinda mess up the natural illusion that the blending would otherwise achieve. If we ignore the huge size and somewhat artsy print of the lenses.

Lens photos ahead!
All photos taken by me during a March morning with a semi-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.
Bathroom light.
Shitty natural light indoors. (in a corridor)
Flash photo.
Facing window. (not sun side)
Outdoors, back against the sun. (facing wall)
Outdoors, facing the sun while it's blocked from my view.
Outdoors, facing the sun directly.
When it comes to comfort these seem okay-ish? I do feel them in my eyes but it's not in an unpleasant way and they generally seem decent. I felt like they might have been a bit on the thicker side when compared to the really thin lenses that I've been trying lately, but I can't be sure. I honestly can't give any more details regarding comfort as I've already mentioned several times on previous reviews that my comfort grades on recent lenses will be based on first impressions only, because the lenses have expired by the time I get around to do these reviews, sadly. :'( Just had way too much stressful real-life shit going on and no energy to blog and review as actively as I should have. *sigh*

Oh well, the Flora Gerbera Blue is a cute, fancy lens that has youthful vibes to it. I can see it used for some cosplays and alternative fashion but it might also be suitable for more toned-down daily looks looking for a splash of color. It's a fairly big dolly lens though, so if that's not up your alley you might want to consider getting a pair with a smaller limbal ring. But if you like blue lenses that have some pop to them then go ahead!

Distance photo!


Interested in more Gerbera reviews?
Check these out: Red, Pink, Green

Short summary:

Color: 7/10
 
A medium blue that's very likable.
Design: 8/10
Cool 'burst' pattern with streaks running towards the center, draws attention.
Opacity: 6/10
There is some transparency but it's still very obviously a blue lens.
Enlargement: 7/10
These are dolly and the black rim adds to the look.
Comfort: 6/10
Seems okay. I sligtly feel them (thicker than average maybe?) but otherwise no issues. Wearing time something like 3-4 hours on super dry eyes, estimated.
Naturalness: 5/10
Ignore the size and general design and it's not too out there... I guess.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this review
~ Shiro Samurai out.