September 24, 2018

[Sponsored] Lens review: I.Fairy Lucius Blue

Hello sweethearts!

I present to you today a circle lens review of a really pretty blue pair – the I.Fairy Lucius Blue! The lenses I'm reviewing in this post were sponsored by the lovely LensVillage! I was already their customer before the partnership and I can honestly say that they are one of my go-to stores for circle lenses – they have a lot of lenses to choose from, many brands and LensVillage also holds sales often and have good shipping deals too. ♥ Go give them your love!

This review, although sponsored, consists of 100% my own, genuine opinion. I value honesty very highly when reviewing and won't compromise it. Ever.

Psst, I have a new discount code! Using 15SHIRO at checkout takes a cut off the price!



Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 16.2 mm
Water content: 55%
Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)




I've said it many times before but I've never, to my memory, had any problems with LensVillage or their customer service. I always get my lenses in a timely manner, which is in approximately 2-3 weeks. They are always easy to deal with, speak good English (it's common that Asia-based lens stores have poor English skills) and the lens bottles come securely wrapped in some kind of foam, bubblewrap or similar to protect them from breaking during transit. ^^

Lensvillage packaging.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I always put newly opened lenses to soak overnight in a multi-purpose lens solution and I recommend you do it too. The thing is that the solution that the lenses come stored in is of a stronger kind and might hurt your eyes so yeah, better safe than sorry if you ask me. Sight is not something to toy around with.
Honestly, this is a lens that I've been wanting to try for years. It's not all that special by design as several lenses sport a similar print but there is something with these, I don't know what, that has made me keep them on a list of lenses to try out someday. I'm happy I got to try these and I must say that the Lucius Blues did not leave me disappointed!

One lens in.
As you can expect from I.Fairy lenses these are really big and dolly. The color is focused to the edges and that in turn creates a pretty cute effect in my opinion – I'll admit that normally a big pupil hole is not one of my favorite things but this design really works with my natural eye color for once! It creates this splash of color and despite the blue being really vibrant it actually, somehow, manages to mix well with my natural gray-blue eyes. I can't call it a natural blending effect but there is something with these that makes it work and I can't help but love the outcome.

The blue is a lighter blue, kind of a sky blue and it's incredibly beautiful in tone. One of my favorite blue shades and on lenses it's so pretty! The black rim adds an illusion of the eyes being bigger, more youthful and animated. The color is concentrated on the edges and it's opaque with a streaky design, avoiding the "block of color" effect.

Lens photos below!
All photos taken by me during a September 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.
Unlit corridor. (poor natural light)
Flash photo.
Facing window. (shadow side)
Outdoors, back against sun. (facing wall)
Outdoors, facing the sun while being under a shadow.
Outdoors, facing sun.
Comfort is good. These are really thin, easy to insert and don't obstruct my vision in any way. I don't feel any scratching or some other unpleasant shit and I barely feel these in my eyes, despite having ultra sensitive eyes that rival the deserts in dryness. I would estimate wearing time to be in the 4-5 hour range on dry eyes, which is really good in my standards and it would probably equal about 6-8 hours on "normal eyes". These would last me a full convention day with potential need for eyedrops.

I'm in love with these lenses, not gonna deny it. They are so cute, bright and completely magical in their appearance! I can see them being used for cosplay, j-fashion (especially pastel and cute looks!) and pretty much anything you can think of that would benefit from big blue eyes. ^^ I feel like it's a really eye-catching color and one of the most gorgeous blue shades; I love these and would buy them again in a heartbeat. If you like colorful big lenses then I'd warmly recommend to give these pretties a go as well!

Distance photo!


Using 15SHIRO at checkout when buying from Lensvillage gives a nice discount! It works on most products in their store!

Short summary:

Color: 9/10
Incredibly beautiful and alluring sky blue lens. One of my personal favorite colors.
Design: 8/10
Humble by its simplicity but provides a striking effect! Super cute and youthful.
Opacity: 7/10
The colored parts provide good coverage. I have no complaints.
Enlargement: 8/10
Really big and gives instant dolly eyes.
Comfort: 7/10
Really good. Thin, almost invisible to wear and an estimated 3-5 hours of use on super dry eyes.
Naturalness: 2/10
This is a big, dolly fashion lens with a cartoony blue shade, it's not really natural.

Thanks for reading my blog! I hope you found this review helpful!
Thank you, LensVillage! ♡
Shiro Samurai out ~
 

September 19, 2018

Lens review: Neo Dali Heart Green

Hello cuties!

I have prepared another lens review for today so without further ado let's get down to business! Today's circle lens review is about the Neo Dali Heart Green lenses, a super cute pair with good color too!

Let's do this ~



Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 14.2 mm
Water content: 45%
Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)


In their vials the lenses look like a super fresh, vivid and light summery green and it's pretty different from the usual green lenses you see. I was captivated by the color and had my hopes up that they would stay the same once worn. Luckily I wasn't led into a disappointment but the color does still look quite different on my eyes – it turns into this medium green that packs a punch and it's still beautiful, thankfully.

One lens in.
There's a slight enlargement boost, it won't make or break anything but you can tell the difference. The lenses have a black limbal ring combined with green streaks and some black marks on the center hole – upon a closer inspection you'll notice that there's actually a band of hearts running along the whole design of the lens and those also make up the black "dots". It's super cute and I haven't seen it on any other lens before!

The green color shows up well and it's a good shade that I can see plenty of use for. It's not really a natural green but it's pretty nonetheless and the color vibrancy is good. They are decently opaque and go quite well with my natural eye color, which is a blue-gray. If anything I wish that the pupil hole was a tad bit smaller as it's pretty big on these and that means that a lot of my real eye color shows through in the middle; it's a common trait with circle lenses but it sometimes looks weird and especially if you have light eyes, as circle lenses generally are aimed for an Asian market.

Lens photos incoming!
All photos taken by me during a September 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.

Indoors natural room light.
Indoors yellow room light. (bright natural light from the side)
Bathroom light.
Flash photo.
Unlit corridor.
Facing window. (shadow side)
Outdoors, back against sun. (facing the wall)
Outdoors, facing the sun while being under a harsh shadow.
Outdoors, facing the sun.
Regarding comfort I think I got the short straw with these. I suspect I got a Monday example as these feel a bit irritating to wear and dry out really fast. They feel stingy (almost as if there's some dirt on the lens but the feeling persists no matter how many times I clean and reinsert) and also blurs my vision, despite that the big pupil hole should technically prevent that as my iris isn't obstructed by the lens. I noticed that already 30 minutes in they started to feel really dry but after that jumped back to almost normal so yeah, funny dry bouts. I suspect I could wear these for maybe 1-2 hours at best as they do annoy me in many ways. I always feel that I have them on (the "something's in the eye" feeling) and they just feel really unpredictable on my naturally mega dry eyes. I've generally had good experiences with Neo's lenses before so that's also why I think I just lucked out and got a bad pair this time. :/ I should buy these in another color and see what my eyes says...

All in all the Neo Dali Heart Greens stand out from the sea of circle lenses mainly because of their unique design with hearts. It's a fun and adorable lens and goes well with many styles. The color is really solid and if you want your green lenses to look green and not turn into some muddy shit then this is a choice to put on the list. I'll just keep my fingers crossed that others who buy these will get comfy ones and not inherit my Donald Duck luck. xD

Distance photo!


Short summary:

Color: 7/10
Not as light as they look when not worn but still a pretty grass-ish green that is satisfying.
Design: 8/10
Super cute design with hearts creating the pattern of the lens!
Opacity: 6/10
Definitely makes my eyes green but my real eye color seems to affect the color outcome quite much.
Enlargement: 3/10 
Quite small. Good if dolly eyes aren't your first priority.
Comfort: 3/10 
Kinda annoying to wear (dry bouts, unpredictable, blurs vision) and I constantly feel them in my eyes. I suspect I got a Monday example as wearing time is only around 30 minutes to max 1-2 hours and that's on super dry eyes.
Naturalness: 4/10
The color is too green to look natural but the size is okay-ish so I can't write them off completely.

Thanks for reading!

September 13, 2018

Lens review: Vassen Sweet Bliss Gray

Hello there!

Whoops. I was supposed to keep up the fast posting schedule but then I... got lazy. Or more like, PS4 gaming spree happened. xD I still have a lot of lenses left to review before winter comes and I really need to hurry up because polar night has already started approaching. Lucky are the people who don't have to account for it when planning to take photos. Obviously I have to since I live so far up so yeah, that's the main reason I'm throwing out so many lens reviews this year as I have a lot of pairs that expire at the end of 2018. Tbh I should have done more reviews during the previous years but I didn't and now I have to rush and spam you guys so... rip. Or something.

Today's review is about the Vassen Sweet Bliss Gray, also commonly known as Vassen Cloud Nine Gray. This is a cosplay and j-fashion lens to me as the design is pretty cartoony and anime! It's a big and cute lens with a lot of color!


Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 14.5 mm
Water content: 42% 
Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)



As you can see these lenses have this really bold, striking black rim and what sets it apart is that the rim is bordered with these black lines running around it. I guess it's supposed to give a more intense impact or perhaps be some kind of effort to "blend" but it gives a really distinct look to these peepers whatever the case.
It seems like the coloration is done in this kind of, err, blocks with different transparency levels which makes it so that it's not a solid, fake-looking gray. The lenses end up having these in-between-the-blocks streaks where your real eye color slightly shines through a bit. It's a neat effect and combined with the uneven pupil hole we have an interesting and unique design at hand.

One lens in.
The design is lovely. I don't know how to describe it but I feel like it does some kind of "teary eye" effect in a way; it's really cute and delicate despite the intensity of the color which isn't shy at all. There's a notable enlargement boost and yes, that totally means dolly eyes if that's your thing, but even if it isn't I don't feel like these are too big. I can say though that at least on my eyes they do look weird without eye makeup.

In terms of design Vassen is one of my favorite brands at the moment, they have so many different designs and the color opacity is always to be reckoned with. Their lenses tend to have vivid colors that are often cosplay-friendly and as I'm a fan of really colorful lenses then I'm of course drawn to them.

Lens photos below!
All photos taken by me during a September 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.

Indoors natural room light.
Indoors yellow room light, with sunlight coming in from the side.
Bathroom light.
Flash photo.
Indoors unlit corridor. (poor natural light)
Facing window. (shadow side)
Outdoors, back against sun. (facing wall)
Outdoors, facing sun while being under a harsh shadow.
Outdoors, facing sun.
Comfort is okay. I don't know why but always when I insert these lenses they feel scratchy at first, not in the unwearable kind of way but in the "I can stand this but oh come on" way. Luckily once the first 10 or so minutes have passed it seems to stop and after that the lenses are so comfortable that I hardly feel them in my eyes! There's still of course the slight feeling of "I have something in my eye" (especially when I move my gaze since the lenses are big) but it's nothing that you really pay attention to. 
I could wear these for a little short of 3 hours before the first signs of dryness kicked in, which is pretty good in my standards as my eyes are ultra dry and that sucks. I went outside with these when it was really dark and noticed no difference in my vision field so they don't seem to generate colored corners in poor light conditions at least. I did experience some slight blur every now and then but that has been common for me lately, to the point I'm not even sure anymore if it's the lenses or my eyes derping around.

Final words to say is that this is an awesome lens if you like bright and fresh colors that really show up well. It's a solid choice for cosplaying and despite its anime-ish appearance it's surprisingly versatile, at least in the fields of j-fashion and alternative styles. These lenses makes my eyes look bubbly and alive and I think these would be great for cosplayers doing younger characters or sweet ones.

Distance photo!


Want to see Sweet Bliss lenses in other colors?
Check these out: Brown, Green, Pink, Red, Violet, Blue
 
Short summary:

Color: 8/10
Beautiful fresh and cute light gray with some potential blue undertones? Really nice either way.

Design: 9/10
Unique "teary eye" look combined with a black rim for maximum impact.
Opacity: 8/10 

The design has some more transparent parts but overall the color coverage is great.
Enlargement: 8/10
Really dolly. Will probably look weird without any kind of eye makeup.

Comfort: 6/10 
Okay. Scratchy upon insertion but once past that they are close to invisible. I almost got to 3 hours before the first signs of dryness plopped up. Estimated wearing time on super dry eyes around 3-4 hours.
Naturalness: 2/10

I can't really pretend that these would be natural in any way but they're not freaky either.

Thanks for reading my blog! Be cool out there!

September 4, 2018

[Sponsored] Lens review: EOS Super Neon Gray

Hello pretties!

Today I'm gonna invite you all to a circle lens review and it's the EOS Super Neon Gray on the spotlight! My sponsor LoveShoppingholics sent me these lenses for review purposes so thanks to them for giving me this opportunity to review another pair!

The lenses that I'm reviewing in this blog post were sponsored by LoveShoppingholics, meaning that I did not pay for the product(s) myself. This does, however, not affect my honesty in any way. The words and opinions in this review are mine and mine alone, I don't ever compromise the truth.



Base curve: 8.8 mm
Diameter: 14.8 mm
Water content: 38%
Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)


Curious about LoveShoppingholics and their online shop? Take a look at this review where I go through my experiences, impressions of the store and such. :)

Please remember to always take the lenses out of their little glass bottles and put them to soak in lens solution (I use a multi-purpose type) over the night, before wearing them for the first time. This is important because the solution that the lenses are stored in is stronger than ordinary lens solution and thus it might irritate your eyes. Better safe than sorry.

One lens in.
The EOS Super Neon series of lenses feature a dark color, generous size and a big black limbal ring that makes your eyes look really dolly and huge. The design looks like a 'burst' effect going towards the center and that has many different shades of gray in it, to create depth. The lenses don't shy on the pigment department and what I mean by that is that the pixels are dense, which implies that these will cover up my eye color well.

These go pretty well together with my real eye color, which is a light blue-gray. I don't doubt that these would cover dark eyes just as well. It's a really likable, medium to dark gray color and despite me not being a big fan of gray lenses in general, I do enjoy these. The design is mesmerizing and pulls your gaze in, there's something extra-ordinary and deep with it!

Lens photos below!
All photos taken by me during an afternoon with a clear sky. All close-up photos are free from color filters and such and that's so that the colors would be as true to real life as possible.

Natural room light.
Yellow room light.
Bathroom light.
Unlit corridor.
Flash photo.
Facing window. (shadow side)
Outdoors, back against sun. (facing wall)
Outdoors, facing sun while being under a shadow.
Outdoors, facing sun.
I always have a hard time grading comfort fairly as my eyes are so stinking dry that it's not even funny. I do feel that these are pretty okay overall, I don't feel them much in my eyes and they're easy enough to insert, despite the big size. I sometimes experience blurred vision in poorer lights but that's not so weird considering that these lenses have a smallish pupil hole (pupils dilate in poor lights) when compared to other circle lenses of similar size. There's no notable stingyness or anything else uncomfortable but my eyes do feel particularly dry once I take the lenses off and it requires me to use eyedrops afterwards, which not all lenses do.
I'd say wearing time is somewhere between 1-3 hours, possibly 4, but please note that this is based on my eyes only and for someone else the total amount of hours could probably easily be the double. ^^" Comfort is always highly personal and thus subjective, just like most reviews are anyway.

Overall I'd say that if you like big dolly lenses then these might be worth a go. I feel like it's a versatile design that's quite easy to play around with, be it for j-fashion, cosplay or whatnot! It's simple, it's cute and if that ticks your boxes then congratulations, you've got a new moe lens to try out.

Distance photo!


Want to see more of EOS Super Neon lenses?
Check out my other reviews: Blue, Green, Violet, Brown

Short summary: 

Color: 6/10
Medium to darkish gray with many shades. Great depth and decent blending on light eyes.
Design: 8/10
A soft 'burst' pattern that's eye-catching and gives fantasy vibes.
Opacity: 8/10

Solid color coverage thanks to the dense pigmentation.

Enlargement: 6/10
Definitely dolly but still, somehow, not overdoing it.
Comfort: 5/10
Average. Dries fast and sometimes blurs my vision but otherwise all good. Estimated to last 1-3 hours on very dry eyes.
Naturalness: 3/10

Too cutesy and the massive black limbal ring is far from natural.

Thank you to you for reading this review!
Also thanks to LoveShoppingholics for making this review possible.