Lens review: I-Codi Colors of the Wind Forest Green

Hello in the house!

 

Time for another Colors of the Wind circle lens review, namely the I-Codi Colors of the Wind Forest Green. And no, these are honestly not very green at all. xD

 

Let's go!

 

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 15.0 mm

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

So yeah, I swear to god these are not "forest green" by any stretch lmao. That's like a turquoise-ish base color with a green inner center at most. It's like one of those dual color lenses where the outer and inner colors are different. Just looking at the lenses in their vials tells you that these are gonna be some gorgeous motherfuckers.

One lens in.

I'm not kidding, the color is quite delicious! These go well with my natural eye color, there's no super awkward nor clashing transition at the pupil hole, despite how semi-vibrant the colors of the lens are. It is a pretty bright color, very appealing and magically youthful.
The design itself is quite eye-catching as well, it mimics a real iris somewhat but cranks it up a notch. There's a clear thin black rim at the edges which helps frame your eyes and bring attention in. As if the color alone wasn't enough to do that though. xD I honestly love these, I can't even be disappointed by the false marketing of "forest green" lolol – they should have called these "sea green" or "lagoon" instead, that would have been at least somewhat closer to the truth. Regardless, I stand firm that whatever the name claims to be this is a beautiful shade and shouldn't be passed on if you enjoy this type of color.

Lens photos below!

All photos taken by yours truly during an August 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.

Bathroom light.

Flash photo.

Unlit corridor, poor distant natural light.

Facing a window, not sun side. (weirdly blue for some reason)

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

Outdoors, facing the sun while standing under a shadow.

Outdoors, facing the sun.

Just like with the other colored contact lenses I've been reviewing recently these had sadly expired before I got around to do this review. That means I can't grade comfort properly as I literally only wore these long enough to take the photos and then I immediately discarded them, which means I wore them only once and for about 10 minutes. But what I can say is that they seemed to be thin and comfortable overall, I barely felt that I had lenses on. Maybe they have a tendendy to be a bit dryish but that's impossible to say as my eyes are naturally very dry and sensitive as well. But oh well, I would guess the wearing range would be in the 3-5 hours mark, as per usual for me; it might not sound like much for someone with more "normal eyes" but my eyes are dry and shit so yeah, I can't really wear lenses 8 hours straight without being addicted to eyedrops lol.

 

Okay so, in case it wasn't obvious by now this is an alluring colored lens in my humble opinion and it's definitely worth checking out. The main color is this kind of turquoise shade, with a nudge of green mixed in, but the inner center of the lens is clearly green and does a great job at blending in with my natural eye color. These lenses have quite a big impact with the black accents and seem somewhat more intense than some of the other Colors of the Wind lenses I've reviewed, despite them all having more or less the same base design.

I would recommend these for cosplay, parties, alternative fashion and anything else you can think of. It's definitely a fun color and should look great whatever your real eye color happens to be. Also, I feel like these lenses look better in real life than on photos?

Distance photo!

Short summary:

Color: 8/10
Really lovely turquoise lens with a green inner center. Great pigmentation.
Design: 8/10
Mimics a real iris with added black streaks and limbal ring for extra effect.

Opacity: 7/10 

Color coverage is solid and the lens transitions nicely into my actual iris.
Enlargement: 4/10
Not particularly big but there's still enough size to make it clear you wear lenses.

Comfort: 7/10 

These are the usual thin, comfy lenses that you hardly feel in your eyes. Maybe drying a bit?
Naturalness: 5/10

The color itself isn't all that natural but these are nowhere near crazy lens levels.

Thanks for reading, I hope you found this review helpful~

Shiro Samurai out.

Lens review: I-Codi Colors of the Wind Yellow Green

Hi there peeps!

It's time for another I-Codi's Colors of the Wind series review, I have several colors left to review but today I'll show you the I-Codi Colors of the Wind Yellow Green and yes, it really is that weird shade between green and yellow.

Let's go!

 

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 15.0 mm

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

 

Not gonna lie, I bought these out of curiosity. You pretty much never really find yellow-green lenses out there so of course I had to try them! 

But yeah, on first impression they look mostly yellow, although you can tell it's not a pure yellow so to say. But once I put them on I could definitely tell there's green hues – I'm not sure how much my natural eye color (gray-blue) affects the outcome, but the opacity and color output is good regardless. So good in fact that if you need this very specific color for cosplay then I could recommend considering these lenses.

One lens in.

It's not a crazy vibrant lens but the color change is very obvious and it looks pretty great. I really like the Colors of the Wind series as there's soooo many colors to choose from, even rare ones like this. 

There's a thin limbal ring at the edges but it's not black –more like a watered-down gray– so your eyes won't end up looking super uguu moe. There is a notable enlargement effect though.

And yes, the color truly is a yellow green, green-yellow or whatever you wanna call it. It's not a bright lens but it's not dull either, the color opacity is exactly where it needs to be to not look fake despite being a highly unnatural color.

 

Lens photos below!

All photos taken by yours truly during an August 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.

Bathroom light.

Flash photo.

Unlit corridor, poor natural light in the distance.

Indoors facing a window. (backyard view, not sun side)

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

Outdoors, facing the sun while standing under a shadow.

Outdoors, facing the sun directly.

These lenses had expired by the time I got around to do this review so I can't really grade comfort properly. If you've been reading my other circle lens reviews since a while back you know the deal but it's basically just that I had a bunch of colored lenses that I stored in a cardboard box which I ended up forgetting about... for years. When I found it here, not so long ago, I noticed that almost everything had expired and well, now I'm racing to at least get reviews out so I didn't completely waste my money. It's good if these reviews can help someone out there, chuu~

Regarding comfort I can't say much except that these lenses appeared to be thin, overall comfortable and I didn't feel them much. They were perhaps a bit dryish but that might just as well be my eyes since my eyes are naturally very dry. I'd guess wearing time would be somewhere in the 3-5 hour range, which is pretty much the norm for me, but then again this is just an estimate as I'm definitely not willing to wear expired lenses for any longer than necessary – aka the time it takes to snap the review photos. After I got the photos taken I immediately discarded the lenses so any words on comfort are based on my first and only impression, which lasted for approximately 10 minutes.

This is a weird color, I like it for its rarity but it's not the most appealing you know? xD It's cool for dressing up as bad guys, reptile-inspired costumes, cosplaying, funky rebel styles, cyberpunk and the like. If you need this particular color then definitely check these out though!

 

Distance photo!

 

 

Short summary:

Color: 7/10
It is what it promises to be, a yellow green. Or more like a green yellow.
Design: 8/10
Mimics a real iris. Sports a light limbal ring that is quite tasteful and dignified.
Opacity: 7/10 

Color coverage is a lot better than one might expect of a green-yellow lens. Nice pigmentation.
Enlargement: 4/10
No super big enlargement but the size difference is still visible.

Comfort: 7/10 

Appears to be nice. They are the usual thin, comfy lenses that you barely feel in your eyes.
Naturalness: 5/10

For being such an unnatural color these don't even look half bad.

Thanks for reading, I hope you found this review useful. Another one coming soon!

Shiro Samurai out.

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!