Lens review: G&G Tulips Green

 Hello and welcome to another review!

I'm doing another G&G Tulips lens review, namely the G&G Tulips Green this time. These are very similar to the blue ones I already reviewed, except a different color and yet equally as lovely.

Let's get this out of the way~

Base curve: 8.9 mm
Diameter: 14.5 mm

Water content: 38%

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

 

I'm just pointing out that I've done some research a long time ago and came to the conclusion that G&G, Barbie and Dueba are all basically the same brand. Hence why the store where I bought these from calls them G&G, the vial labels tag them as Barbie and in the top left corner it says Dueba. :D Rebranding, rebranding...

Also, those attentive might have noticed that these green ones have a different base curve than the blue pair, despite being the same lens series. I don't know why that is but I know sometimes the same lenses are made in different base curves and you get to pick which one you want. I don't recall having had a choice though but hey, it's been literal years since I ordered these so please don't come at me lol.

One lens in.

 

Color-wise these don't 'pop' quite as much as the blue pair although they still look feisty and fun. It's a cute, somewhat childlike and feminine lens with a flowery print. The unique thing with the Tulips lenses is the irregular, flower petal edges that makes your eyes look swirly and positively otherwordly. I was honestly worried at first that this kind of unnatural edge print would look really alien but it's actually not even half bad!

The green color is a medium green, it's a bit subdued but it doesn't sacrifice vibrancy because, in a nice light, it still packs a punch. Sure that these lenses aren't meant to boast a massive color coverage; I feel like it's more of an "effect lens" than something meant to dramatically change your eye color – what you do get is more of a generous enhancement I'd say.

Lens photos ahead! All photos taken by me during a July noon 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.

Indoors, natural room light.

Indoors, yellow room light.

Bathroom light.

Flash photo.

Indoors, facing a window. (not sun side)

Unlit corridor, poor natural light in the distance.

Outdoors, back against the sun. (facing a wall)

Outdoors, facing the sun while standing under a shadow.

Outdoors, facing the sun.

Just like with almost all the lenses I've reviewed lately these had expired when I found them. I had put away a box with lenses and forgot about it until not so long ago. Of course they had all expired, classic luck. -.- So I'm doing these reviews so they might at least help someone out there but yeah, I can't grade comfort because I'm not willing to wear expired lenses for any longer than absolutely necessary... and you shouldn't anyway. I approximately wore these lenses for 10-15 minutes while I took the photos and then I immediately discarded them. Please do not wear expired lenses for costuming, parties, events etc – it's reckless and not worth it.

 

Regarding comfort from my first (and only) impressions of wearing these lenses I can say that they were okay but not the best. Again, I do not know if they'd be a lot nicer when fresh, probably. But for me they were a little bit scratchy and I could feel that I had lenses on. I'm not sure if they were dryish or if it was just my eyes acting up as always because yeah, my eyes are naturally very dry. 

One thing to keep in mind though is that these lenses seem to be harder to insert than usual, they are perky and keep that bowl-like shape almost too well – when I press them onto my eye they don't flop and and slide on like circle lenses usually do; I have to quite literally press/push them in place because they're so rigid they won't just stick to the eye. :S Most circle lenses are usually of the kind that they will flop on your finger if it's wet but these didn't. So yeah, if you're inexperienced with wearing contact lenses it might be a bit daunting to get these on.

 

Overall this is a cute and girly lens and the green color is joyous. It's charming, flowery and takes you back to innocent times. I like how the jagged edges actually aren't as scary and alien as one might expect but actually look quite soft all in all – it's not even that noticeable from a distance. It's a wonderful fashion lens if you're into lenses that are cutesy in style.

 

Distance photo! 

 

I've reviewed another G&G Tulips lens: Blue 

Short summary:

Color: 7/10
A cute, somewhat subdued yet lively medium green. Blends nicely.
Design: 8/10
Adorable and feminine flower petal design with pointy, irregular edges.
Opacity: 6/10
In a way I feel like these lenses are meant more for effect than color, but you can still tell that they're green so the pigmentation is sufficient.
Enlargement: 5/10
There is a size difference but it's not as pronounced due to the lack of a traditional limbal ring.
Comfort: 5/10
They're more firm and thus harder to insert than average but comfort is serviceable. Not the best, not the worst.

Naturalness: 2/10
The stylized edges give these away easily, otherwise they might have made it.

Shiro Samurai is out! Cheers and thanks for reading~

Lens review: G&G Tulips Blue

 Hello in the hoods~

Here's the next circle lens review I promised! Today I'll introduce the G&G Tulips Blue, one of those lenses with uneven, patterned edges! I can't remember having reviewed a lens with this kind of stylized edges but I've wanted to give them a try so let's see how it looks! (hopefully not super alien lol)

 

Let's go!

Base curve: 8.8 mm
Diameter: 14.5 mm

Water content: 38%

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

 

It should be noted that, based on the research I did years ago, that G&G, Dueba and Barbie are essentially all the same brand. I think Dueba is the manufacturer and the other two are simply rebranding names or something of the sort. No idea why they gotta make things more complicated but oh well, it is what it is. *shrugs*

This is a cute, summery and sorta girly design. It's cheerful, playful and just overall cute. The print looks like nicely arranged black and blue flower petals, it's quite smooth-looking and despite the edges being pointy like that it doesn't look too crazy – I don't think the aliens will come for me tonight...

One lens in.

Heck, it really is quite adorable! I honestly originally bought these just for fun, to try something different because I was curious. I didn't really go in with any kind of expectations but these lenses sure are effectful. They blend extremely well with my natural gray-blue eye color and there's more color output than I initially expected. 

I feel like this design is meant to draw the watcher's gaze in because you can definitely tell already from a distance that there's something going on, specifically those uneven edges and thus the lack of a typical stable black rim like on commonplace circle lenses. 

There is an enlargement boost but due to the lack of a limbal ring these don't actually bring as much attention to the size difference as conventional circle lenses do.

Lens photos ahead! All photos taken by me during a July noon 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.

Indoors, natural room light.

Indoors, yellow room light.

Bathroom light.

Flash photo.

Indoors, facing a window (not sun side).

Indoors, unlit corridor with poor distant natural light.

Outdoors, back against sun. (facing wall)

Outdoors, facing the sun while standing under a shadow.

Outdoors, facing sun.

 

I can't grade comfort fairly as these lenses were expired by the time I rediscovered them in a storage box I had forgotten about. I only wore these for around 10-15 minutes, enough to take all the photos for this review and then I immediately discarded them. Do not wear expired lenses, like really. 

Regarding comfort and wear what I can say is that I had trouble inserting these lenses at first – they felt  perky on my fingertip, they kept their shape even as I tried putting them in and it just wouldn't go sploot on my eyeball you know? They just stayed in that basic upturned shape and wouldn't flop on my finger like most lenses do when your fingers are moist. These lenses were just really perky and hard for being soft contact lenses. It was quite a challenge to get them on, even for me whose worn a ton of lenses and normally do it routinely with no issues lol. 

When I got the first lens in it was crazy stingy and I had to remove it immediately as it was unbearable. I cleaned the lens and retried and this time it was fine. It still felt a little bit stingy (especially when I moved my gaze or when I blinked) but it eventually set and after that it felt thin and I stopped feeling it as much. The other lens was fine. I guess I could wear these for 2-3 hours if they were fresh, which is average considering my eyes are very dry naturally and I have periods when I spam eyedrops like no tomorrow (I normally wear glasses daily).

If you want a cutesy, kinda feminine and summer fresh lens then I would recommend giving these a try! They don't look nearly as weird as I feared they would at first. The color transitions nicely into my real iris and it's a pleasant blue shade that shows up just enough to be noticeable yet not too much to look crazy. It's a fun lens, I could recommend these if you can handle a lens that is notably more form-keeping than usual.

Distance photo!

I've reviewed another color of the Tulips series here: Green

Short summary:

Color: 7/10
A fresh medium blue mixed with black petals. Nicely enhances your eyes.
Design: 8/10
Super cute and girly flower petal design that completely lacks the usual round edges.
Opacity: 7/10
Considering the unusual shape and how it seems that high pigmentation isn't the main draw of the lenses, these do have quite solid color coverage.
Enlargement: 5/10
There is definitely a size boost but it's not brought as much to your attention due to the unique edge design.
Comfort: 5/10
 Aside from being perky and hard to insert these lenses are okay in terms of comfort. A bit stingy at first (possibly just dirt) but afterwards felt thin and decent.

Naturalness: 2/10
It's not even shaped like an actual iris so I hope you don't buy these expecting no one to figure out you're wearing lenses lmao.

Shiro Samurai out! Bye bye!

Lens review: I-Codi Eclipse IC3-31 Aurora Green

Hello!

It's time for another circle lens review again and this time I will show you all the I-Codi Eclipse IC3-31 Aurora Green, a cool multicolor lens! It's a blue-green lens with a streaky sunburst design, quite fancy.

Let's-a-go ~

 

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 15.0 mm

Water content: 38%
Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

 

 

This is a fashion lens with an intricate pattern, it reminds me slightly of the GEO Xtra Aster series in terms of style. You can see already in the vials that these are not as heavily pigmented as the I-Codi Eclipse CO4-01 Brown I reviewed earlier but then again, it's not the same series.

I bought them from ifairycon (I'm not affiliated with this shop) ages ago but they seem to still sell these lenses, which is nice as I'm drawn to this kind of artistic, unique styles. x)

One lens in.

 

I don't know man, I guess I had really high hopes for these but they're not as colorful and bold as I was expecting. It's still a pretty lens and all but they turned somewhat dark on my eyes and that makes all the black lines look even more busy and noticeable somehow? I don't know how to explain and I'm not even sure what exactly I was expecting, but something just makes me nudge ever so slightly into that disappointed territory with these. :/ I do admit they blend nicely, although that thin black inner circle screws up any attempted naturalness on light eyes...

 

The color is a blue-ish green, somewhere in the seafoam green range. Outdoors in bright sunlight the colors looks the best, that's when it really shows properly. These lenses might be a bit indistinguishable when viewed from a distance because, at range, all the black details really darken the color of the lens.

These pack some size but it's nothing out of the ordinary when it comes to circle lenses – it plays in the bigger ballpark though. There's a distinct, black limbal ring to enlarge your eyes and make them appear more youthful.

Lens photos ahead! All photos taken by me during a July noon with a semi-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 indoors.

Bathroom light.

Flash photo.

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

Outdoors, back against the sun. (facing wall)

Outdoors, facing the sun (hidden) while standing under a shadow.

Outdoors, facing the sun while it's obscured by a cloud.

Outdoors, facing the sun.

These lenses were also part of that cardboard box I had stashed away and forgot for literal years, meaning that when I eventually rediscovered all these lenses it turned out that almost all of them had expired. Not so much one can do about it, shit happens. What this means is that I'm doing these reviews just to help the community out and, once I've taken all photos necessary for the blog post, I immediately discard the expired lenses. This of course means that I can't grade comfort fairly and it's thus based on my first (and only) impressions of wearing the lenses for approximately 10-15 minutes. I do NOT recommend wearing expired lenses! I'm only doing it under as short time as possible to get these reviews done.

In terms of comfort these lenses appeared to be just fine – they were thin, easy to insert, I barely felt them at all and they were overall comfortable. I have naturally really dry and sensitive eyes but I guess, if these had been fresh, I probably could have worn them for the usual 3-4 hours without eyedrops (which is good in my standards). Again, don't wear expired lenses to conventions, events etc – it's a stupid risk to take when lenses aren't even that expensive to begin with but your sight is irreplaceable.

Overall I think this is a decent lens. It has a cool burst-like design that sadly blends into my eyes to the point that the color darkens more than I would have liked. Only in bright, outdoor lights or up close do these really show their best side.. on light eyes at least. I wonder if these weren't intended for dark-eyed people? Whatever the case these are not really suitable as a cosplay lens in my honest opinion, simply because the color doesn't 'pop' enough and especially not from a distance. It's one of those lenses were you can clearly tell someone has lenses on but unless you get close, and in optimal lights, it's just kinda "oh it's some color alright". It's definitely not an ugly lens by any means but it's not what I was hoping for (your mileage may vary) and, to be honest, I now kinda lowkey wish I would have picked another color. xD I do feel like I'm sounding a bit harsh here but really, these are not bad I swear! It's just that I expected something more vibrant and bright.

Distance photo!

Short summary:

Color: 7/10
Multicolor blue-ish green lens, think seafoam green. The amount of black severely darkens the effect, dampening the 'oomph' I was hoping for.
Design: 7/10
A fancy, burst-like design with lots of black streaks. It's a fashion lens more than a costume lens.
Opacity: 6/10 

It changes my eye color but there's a bunch of transparency. Most pigmentation is near the edges. Blends nicely.
Enlargement: 6/10
Somewhat on the big side but very wearable.

Comfort: 7/10 

Seemed to be good. I didn't really feel them and they were thin and easy to wear.
Naturalness: 3/10

Too big and detailed to look natural on light eyes.

Thanks for reading, more reviews coming soon! 

Shiro Samurai out.

Lens review: I-Codi Eclipse CO4-01 Brown

Happy summer folks!

Hope y'all having a nice weekend. :) I will continue to do circle lens reviews as per usual (shame I don't really have any new cosplay content yet) and this time it's the I-Codi Eclipse CO4-01 Brown, a super pretty multi-colored lens!

Let's roll~

 

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 15.0 mm

Water content: 38%
Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

 

As you can see this is not your typical brown lens. It has this kind of multi-color burst pattern with brown, orange, some yellow and blue shades and it's honestly thrilling! I've never come across a lens like this and it's so unique and gorgeous. I remember buying these from ifairycon, in case anyone wonders where you can find these lenses (I'm not affiliated with this shop). 

There's a prominent black rim although it's not super thick like on some other lenses. It still really frames your eyes and adds to the illusion of big, youthful peepers.

One lens in.

When worn you can kinda tell that the primary color is brown but the blue speckles are quite prominent as well! It makes me think of stained glass or a supernova or something, it's really fancy. The design is very eye-catching and it definitely won't pass as natural so yeah, wear these with funky fashion outfits that already turn heads and you'll turn even more heads lol. x) Oh and yeah, in terms of size these lenses are quite big but it's not too big, you know?

The color coverage is really good, it completely covers my real eye color. I'm actually lowkey surprised how the pupil opening doesn't clash badly where it meets my iris – it works better than I thought, despite the design being so intense and busy. Actually, I feel like the pupil hole might be just a tad smaller than average for circle lenses of this size now that I look closer...

Lens photos ahead! All photos taken by me during a June afternoon 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.

 

Indoors, natural room light.

Indoors, yellow room light.

Bathroom light.

Flash photo.

Unlit corridor, weak natural light in the far distance.

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

Outdoors, back against the sun. (facing the wall)

Outdoors, facing the sun while under a shadow.

Outdoors, facing the sun.

I've mentioned this in a lot of previous reviews before but, just in case someone new is reading this, I want to clarify that these lenses were in a cardboard box I had forgotten I had until way past expiration. When I found it again, years later, all the unopened lenses inside had expired. This means I am unable to grade comfort on these lenses along with most other lenses I will review for some time. I'm literally only wearing this pair long enough to get the photos for the review (approximately 10 minutes) and then I immediately discard them. Please do not wear expired lenses for events etc.

 

From what I can tell these lenses seemed fine – they were thin and I barely felt them. There was a moment immediately after I inserted the left lens that it was a little bit itchy around the corner but it settled after about one minute. I can only guess but it wouldn't surprise me if  I could wear these for the usual 3-4 hours (note: I have naturally very dry eyes so this is standard/good wear time for me) if they had not been expired. It's a shame I can't get some use out of these lenses as I really like the design and the, well, color vomit. xD 

 

Summa summarum this is a gorgeous, fresh and feisty lens. The burst-like design draws attention and the multiple colors work together in a wonderful, magical way. I feel like the blue shades in particular liven up the brown and gives it this kind of fantasy flare and it's exciting! It's a really unique lens with a cool color combination that you really don't run into every day. If you like multi-color lenses that stand out then don't sleep on these!

 

Distance photo~ 

 

Short summary:

Color: 9/10
Beautiful multi-color lens! Brown is the primary color but there's oranges, yellows and blues mixed in.
Design: 8/10
It has a respectable black rim and a wild, burst-like design that looks amazing up close.
Opacity: 8/10 

Really solid color coverage. High pigmentation.
Enlargement: 6/10
It's a bit big but still fairly modest. These aren't overly dolly.

Comfort: 7/10 

Seemed to be decent, thin and I didn't feel them much. A little itchy upon insertion but it went away fast.
Naturalness: 3/10

Somewhat too big, but definitely too colorful to really fly much at all.

Thanks for reading, I hope you found this review useful! 

Shiro Samurai out.