Lens review: Vassen Bambi Blue

Hello gentlefolks!

It is time to continue my seemingly never-ending supply of circle lens reviews, this time the Vassen Bambi Blue. Sometimes these lenses might also be known as Vassen Bambi Queen Blue. They are also very likely the same pair as the Kimchi Bambi Blue as well, since as far as I know Vassen is the company that manufactures the lenses that both Kimchi and I.Fairy sell.

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 14.5 mm

Water content: 42%

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

These lenses have an extremely similar design to the incredibly popular GEO Princess Mimi series, so if you recognize the print from somewhere then that's why. No wonder that design gets copied though, it's super cute and really versatile!

Always put your lenses to soak at least over the night before wearing them for the first time! The solution that the lenses are stored in while in their small little glass bottles is not the same kind as ordinary lens solution that you buy from the pharmacy etc.

One lens in.

This is a big lens, no doubt about that part. The blue color also shows up very nicely and is of a fresh, youthful tone. It's kind of a light blue but it's a really pretty color and I personally like it a lot! The random orangeish yellow dots towards the center actually help with the color transition in my case, I actually thought that it would make the blending worse but it does help. xD Could be though because I actually have a goldenish ring closest to my pupil...?

The limbal ring is a bold black and the rim itself is rather thick, thus creating a very dolly appearance. The black streaks have the effect of pulling the viewer's gaze in and also make the lenses have some "life" to them and not look soulless.

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.

Natural room light indoors.

Yellow room light indoors.

Flash photo.

Poor natural room light. Standing close to a dark corridor.

Facing window. (not sun side)

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

Outdoors, facing the light/sky while standing under the roof's shadow.

Outdoors, facing the sun directly.

Comfort was a bit conflicting for me. I can't grade comfort properly though as I sadly got around to do this review only after the lenses had expired (I literally just took the photos and discarded the lenses immediately after that) so my comfort grading is based on first impressions only. With that said it's also worth noting that I have immensely dry eyes naturally. But yeah, the comfort – these lenses are thin and otherwise great and invisible to wear except that, for some reason, the other lens was scratchy and slightly blurred my vision; possibly a defect or that dirt somehow got under the lens but I can't be sure. In whatever the case I'd estimate comfort around the 3-5 hours range, which is like above average considering how dry my eyes are. I guess for someone with "normal eyes" it's anything between 5-8 hours, likely?

This is honestly a super pretty lens that works for almost anything – be it cosplay, fashion or just a fancy day out. The design is simple and what many probably see in their minds when they think of circle lenses. It's an adorable lens with a good color payoff that doesn't look too unrealistic while still maintaining that kind of cutesy fairytale aesthetic. Definitely worth trying this staple design if you like the bigger kinds!

Distance photo!

Wanna see more Vassen Bambi lenses?

I got you covered: Green, Pink

Short summary:

Color: 8/10
Lovely medium lightish blue. A very youthful and fresh shade!
Design: 8/10
Beautiful design that makes your eyes look alive and young. Simple but brilliant.
Opacity: 8/10 
Color coverage is better than what I initially expected. Looks great.
Enlargement: 8/10
Definitely on the dolly scale but will work for most styles.
Comfort: 6/10 
Above average I think. I don't feel them and they are thin, the other lens was weirdly a bit scratchy? 3-5 hours of wear on ultra dry eyes.
Naturalness: 2/10

The color is a bit too strong, not to mention the size and highly noticeable black rim.

Thanks for reading my blog!

Shiro Samurai says bye.

Lens review: ICK Garnet Red

You there, hi!

And here I am again, chugging out another lens review. It's the ICK Garnet Red today and after the letdown of their green counterparts I lowered my expectations a bit. But I still had high hopes as I had checked up other reviews on these red ones ages ago and been really impressed by how good they looked even on dark eyes. So here's to hoping!

Let's do this!

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 15.0 mm

Water content: 42%

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

My main reason to get these was cosplay. Red lenses that have at least a semi-realistic design aren't that common and so I really had to try these! The design makes me think it's a really versatile lens as this kind of 'burst' design often can be used for costuming as well as almost anything else.

One lens in.

The red color is beautiful! It's a medium deep red, really lovely and surprisingly natural for being a red lens. Of course red lenses will never be natural but these give me that "if red was a natural color this could be it" feeling. I really like them, all my fears of these being too dark instantly vanished into thin air! It's such a rich color and the streaks of the design really draws the gaze in.

This is definitely a big lens, it gives quite a dolly appearance but without overdoing it. Because of being red it of course doesn't blend all that well but there is some slight fading towards the center at least, so it's not a super blunt and clashing edge where the lens meets your iris at the pupil hole.

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.

Indoors natural room light.

Indoors yellow room light.

Flash photo.

Unlit corridor, really shitty natural light in the distance.

Facing a window, not sun side.

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

Outdoors, facing the light while standing under a shadow.

Outdoors, facing the sun.

Comfort is nice, I have no complaints except that perhaps they might be a bit drying? Otherwise really thin, comfy and invisible to wear. I don't feel that I'm wearing lenses and that's always a good thing as I have rather sensitive eyes. Estimated wearing time I'd say is around the 4-5 hour mark for me, which is above average considering how very dry my eyes are naturally. 

I would recommend these, in particular if you enjoy red lenses. They show up well enough even from a distance so I'd say that they are worth considering if you need slightly darker red lenses for costuming purposes! Of course these are a rad addition to any bolder and more bold fashion styles like anything gothic, dark or even punk and some j-fashion styles. There's a lot of versatility to these because of how the red shade is not a crazy, villain red but more of a sophisticated red. Me like.

Distance photo~

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

Short summary:

Color: 8/10
Deep, medium dark red with a lot of potential.

Design: 7/10

Lovely, semi-realistic design that is full of depth and allure.

Opacity: 7/10

Really nice color coverage, my eyes are clearly red but it looks alive and not "painted over".

Enlargement: 8/10

Definitely on the bigger side but not gonna break anything.

Comfort: 7/10

Looks to be really thin and comfy. Estimated 4-5 hours of wear on super dry eyes.

Naturalness: 2/10

Size and color raises red flags. But for a red it's not the most unrealistic red, at least?

Thank for reading my blog, cheers!

Shiro Samurai out.

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 ~