Lens review: Cupid Flame Red

Hi there!

I'm back with a new circle lens review! This time I'm bringing quite a different one to the table as this is a brand I have not tried before – it's time to review the Cupid Flame Red! I bought these from a limited sale at Momoko Lens a couple years back, I am not affiliated with this particular site but thought I'd mention where I got these lenses. I have not been able to find this pair on the site since then (that, or I'm bad at navigating the site) so it might just have been a flash sale styled limited run.

Let's go~

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 14.5 mm

Water content: 40% 

You might notice that I'm not writing out life span on these and that's because I can not find that information anywhere (I did not think of taking a screenshot back then when the lenses were in stock on the site) and if it's on the blisters then I'm sorry but I can't read Chinese. I would guess it's the usual 365 days but as I can't be sure I'd prefer to not say anything in case I'm wrong.

Also, blisters! I have never had circle lenses in blisters before so this felt wild. I don't know if it's because I'm so used to glass vials but I had some serious trouble opening these lol! And getting them to photograph was hard too but I hope you get the gist of what the design looks like at least.

One lens in.

The design itself is nothing hyper unique but it does seem to create a sort of, err, blotched and wild look to your eyes? Like it's unstable and burning or something. There is some yellow mixed in with the primarily red color so it's actually quite lively and in some lights it even takes on an orange shade, which is pretty cool! Flame Red really fits the impression I get of these.

The red color itself is bright, shows up well and has great coverage. There's a thin limbal ring and the lenses are notably on the bigger side. The pupil opening is a bit irregular and that actually helps with not making my light eyes 'clash' horribly in the center where lens meets iris. I think the transition is not half bad, in fact.

Lens photos ahead ~

All photos taken by me during an August noon 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.

Flash photo.

Unlit corridor with only poor distant natural light.

Facing a window, not sun side.

Outdoors, back against the sun. Facing the wall.

Outdoors, facing the sun while standing under a shadow.

Outdoors, facing the sun.

Sadly these were not comfortable at all. I could feel the edges of the lens very clearly on both eyes at all times, it was uncomfortable and scratchy. They blurred my vision somewhat and were not good in any aspect, except maybe for that they were thin enough to be floppy. But floppiness makes lenses harder to insert so it's kinda annoying too lol. In fact I struggled to wear these for the 15 something odd minutes I needed to get the photos; I wanted to immediately throw them where the sun doesn't shine but had to get the photos done first. Like okay I've worn even worse lenses but these are on the bottom of the list. I would not be able to wear these for more than 30 minutes even if I tried, they were that bad. I don't know, maybe I just got a defective Monday example? I have another Cupid lens that I will review later so let's hope that one is good. In terms of comfort these were a huge letdown, I'm sorry.

Also, these lenses were horrible when I first opened them last month too. They were just as unwearable back when I was doing my Kashuu Kiyomitsu cosplay. I initally first tried to wear these for the photoshoot but they were so goddamn awful I had to swap them for another red lens that I will review later, stay tuned for that.

In terms of color and design these are likable and cool but the comfort drags all of those merits into the mud. I can't recommend these at all, based on my experiences, even though I liked the orange-ish red shade. It doesn't always go as expected and sometimes you end up being disappointed. No can do but move on and remember folks, don't force yourself to wear lenses that feel wrong to wear for longer periods of time. If it hurts it probably hurts for a reason – I yeeted these straight into the trash as soon as I was done with snapping photos.

Distance photo.

Short summary:

Color: 9/10
It's a red with orange undertones, quite rare color. There's yellow spots to give a flaming, wild look.
Design: 6/10 
It's a fairly ordinary design but it still has some lowkey chaotic vibes.
Opacity: 8/10 

Great coverage and goes surprisingly well with light eyes.
Enlargement: 7/10
On the bigger side but nothing insane. Black rim is tiny when compared to more dolly lenses.

Comfort: 1/10 

Unwearable. I feel the edges of both lenses "hugging" my eyes and it's really scratchy and uncomfortable. Blurs my vision somewhat and is overall just not good in any way.
Naturalness: 2/10

It's a freaking red lens, it's not meant to be natural.

Thanks for reading this review!

Shiro Samurai out.

Lens review: Vassen Sweet Bliss Violet

Hello!

It is time for the second last review of the Vassen Sweet Bliss series, namely the Vassen Sweet Bliss Violet! These lenses sometimes go under the alternative name Vassen Cloud Nine Violet but it's the same lens. I've said it before but I'll say it again – this is a great lens for anime style eyes and cosplayers!

Without further ado, let's go!

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 14.5 mm

Water content: 55% 

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

This is a lens with a design that grabs your attention. There's this bold, intense black rim with cute tiny black lines running along it that creates a cartoony feel. The color placement is in "teary eye" shaped blocks with varying transparency and these are honestly adorable. It's such an unique way to do the color instead of just taking the usual approach and I really like it a lot. It is true that some spots are more see-through than others with these lenses as the gaps between the blocks, so to say, allows your real eye color to peek a little and this in turn creates a beautiful effect.

One lens in.

How can you not love these?? That's such an amazing violet shade, it's so ethereal and magical! I am absolutely in awe, this is easily one of my favorite shades when it comes to violet lenses. The color is so bright and youthful, perfectly unnatural yet soothing and I could drown in these for days. I'm falling in love with violet lenses all over again, ahaha. ;w;

These are big and cute so there's definitely a dolly effect going on and yeah, the color coverage is great. I really like how unobtrusive my real eye color is with these lenses, despite how it shows a little bit – it's almost like it's meant to be there by design. These are really pleasing and look great on light eyes, it maybe even adds to the whole fairytale feel~

Lens photos ahead ~

All photos taken by me during an August noon 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.

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

Outdoors, back against the sun. (facing wall)

Outdoors, facing the sun while standing under a shadow.

Outdoors, facing the sun.

As with the previous lenses I found these too late, they had expired by the time I found the cardboard box I had stored them in (I weep) so sadly I can't grade comfort accurately. I only wore these beauties for about 20 minutes while taking the photos for this review and then I discarded the lenses for safety reasons, even though they felt okay to wear. Just don't wear expired lenses to events, okay? Yes, people seriously do that – I once met a person who casually said that they were wearing over 2 years old lenses at an anime convention (as in they had the lenses open and in use for that long) and I think my brain just up and died. God please no.

What I can tell from my first and only impression of wearing these lenses they were thin, I barely felt them in my eyes except for that the left lens was a lil' bit scratchy but nothing too bad. There might have been a slight case of colored corners in my vision but that's to be expected when the pupil hole is a tad smaller than on average circle lenses, especially in poorer light conditions. 

I have naturally very dry and sensitive eyes so I can't wear circle lenses as long as most other people, but I am assuming that if these lenses had been fresh I could possibly have worn them anywhere between 3-5 hours, which is pretty good in my standards. I mean I'm one of those who have to occasionally spam eyedrops in daily life (I wear glasses, not lenses) because my eyes decide to be little shits.

But honestly this is such a gorgeous lens and if you have any inclination to be drawn towards unnatural colors you should definitely try these out. It's such a mesmerizing shade of light violet and combined with the 'anime' eye look its beauty is without words! I would have loved to wear these lenses for longer and I definitely will consider repurchasing them shall the need arise. It's a perfect lens for cosplay, magical looks, cutesy styles and any kind of mystical creatures like elves, fairies and the like. 

Distance photo!

Want to see Sweet Bliss lenses in other colors?

Check these out: Gray, Brown, Green, Pink, Red, Blue

 

Short summary:

Color: 10/10
One of the most beautiful light violet lenses I've tried! Ethereal and full of magic.
Design: 9/10 
Mesmerizing "teary eye" style lens that has the added bonus of making you look like a manga character.
Opacity: 8/10 

Great coverage and goes well with light eyes.
Enlargement: 8/10
Big and definitely on the dolly scale.

Comfort: 7/10 

Appears to be good. Thin and I barely felt them, except the left lens was a bit scratchy (possibly just dirt I did not get out). Estimated 3-5 hours of wear on dry eyes.
Naturalness: 2/10

This design is not meant to look natural.

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

Shiro Samurai out.

Lens review: GEO Color Nine Light Red

Hello folks!

I'm continuing with the circle lens reviews again, need to pick up the pace as the sunlight hours will soon start decreasing and that's gonna make things harder for me. ^^" Today I'm reviewing the GEO Color Nine Light Red, a tiny dark red lens that is quite suitable for cosplay if you need said color.

Let's go! 

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 14.2 mm

Water content: 40±2% 

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

I honestly bought these ages ago and have no memory from what site; they seem a bit hard to find and I remember they were hard to find all those years ago too. It's almost as if I wonder if this series has been discontinued since then? Whatever the case I will still review them as it's a nice lens and this color is pretty hard to come by.

One lens in.

This is a quite small lens, there's not a particularly big enlargement effect although there is a black rim that does add an illusion of bigger eyes.  They are just slightly bigger than my natural iris as you can see, pretty good if you don't want moe eyes. :) I would maybe recommend these if you need dark red lenses for a serious or shounen type anime character cosplay.

So it's a super dark red, like really dark. The darkest red lens I've worn to date, I think? It's a deep color, a bit wine red in shade but it's intense and definitely cool. The design is quite simple but sometimes less is more! I would say that the design and modest size makes these very versatile. The opacity is great, I have nothing to complain about as it obviously changes my eye color. One might notice though that when you look closer the whole print of the lens itself is made up of countless tiny dots, this makes it so that your real eye color does somewhat affect the final color outcome – in my case the lenses have a slight hue of a cherry red in the vials but turn blood red when worn.

Lens photos ahead ~

All photos taken by me during an August noon 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.

In a corridor with poor, distant natural light only.

Facing a window. (not sun side)

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

Outdoors, facing the sun while standing under a shadow.

Outdoors, facing the sun.

I can't really judge comfort as these had sadly expired by the time I got around to do this review so I basically just snapped the photos and immediately discarded the lenses after. Yes, this is the fate of most lenses I've reviewed lately and will be for many more to come as I found that goddamn box that I had yeeted into storage and forgot about and yes, it was filled with lenses. So sadly there was a lot of pretty lenses in the box but I figured I'd at least review them in case it helps someone, out there, some day. 

So yep, in other words I can only base comfort on my first (and only) impression of wearing these lenses for the approximately 20 minutes it took to take the photos. They felt kinda decent, I did feel them in my eyes but it wasn't outright uncomfortable – except for that one lens was a lil' bit scratchy while the other one was perfectly fine. My vision was slightly blurred and they might have been a tiny bit drying? I'm honestly not sure if it was the lenses or my eyes cuz my eyes were already dry before I started doing the review lol. But yeah, on a good day (assuming I had non-expired lenses, of course) I would maybe have been able to wear these around 3-4 hours I think, which is pretty decent considering how sensitive and naturally dry my eyes are.

I don't have so much to say about these lenses, really. They are small, have a rarer bloodish shade of red and thanks to the simple design they lend themselves to cosplay, Halloween monsters and why not metalheads, goths and others who dress in dark styles. This is maybe not as much of a cutesy lens as most circle lenses are so it's a rather "low threshold" lens to try if you're a first-timer or looking for an unnatural color that somehow doesn't have fake plastered all over it.

Distance photo below.

 

Short summary:

Color: 6/10 

A really deep, dark red lens. Yes, the name Light Red is deceiving lol.

Design: 6/10 

It's a simple design with a black rim, single color and has a streaked center.

Opacity: 8/10

My eyes are obviously not light blue-gray anymore. Great coverage despite the "dotty print".

Enlargement: 4/10 

Very slight enlargement effect, mainly just an illusion from the black rim. Won't make or break anything.

Comfort: 5/10 

Overall quite decent but perhaps a bit dryish and one of the lenses was a little bit scratchy? Minor vision blur.

Naturalness: 3/10 

Cut the color some slack and it's not too shabby due to the lack of size.. for being a red lens.

Thanks for reading my blog! More reviews coming soon~

Shiro Samurai out.

Lens review: Vassen Dolly Plus Green

Hello everyone!

It is me and it's time for another circle lens review. This time it's the Vassen Dolly Plus Green, sometimes also spelled as Vassen Dolly+ Green. Not gonna lie, I had high hopes for these and was sooooo disappointed! D:

Hang on, I'll show y'all~

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 14.5 mm

Water content: 42% 

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

Look how gorgeous that color appears in the vials! I was admiring it for so long, hoping they'd be just as vibrant and fresh when worn but alas, my hopes and dreams were crushed in the mud. ;_; Honestly many years ago these were among my top "must try" lenses and the disappointment I felt once I saw them in my eyes was immense. I really wanted them to actually have that cheerful, turquoise color but no...

One lens in.

Urrrrgh! I just can't. Look at that ugly, boring color that just muddled up into a near soulless mess with my eyes! I don't remember when I've last been this let down by lenses. I dislike these and now I can only hope that the other Dolly Plus lenses I have yet to review will have a nicer color...

But if we ignore the sub-par color payoff for a while I'd like to say that the design itself is likable, it's a cute and very versatile style that can be used for many things. It's maybe not the most unique as I'm sure there are lenses out there with similar designs, but this is a good "base design". Also, as with most Vassen lenses these are on the bigger side, in terms of size, and the black rim adds a dolly look along with the illusion of even bigger eyes. 

The opacity is... well. It does change my eye color but I think it blends and thus darkened way too much to look good. I don't know, maybe these would look a lot better on other eye colors? On my light eyes it looks like shit most of the time, unless I go outdoors during sunshine or get that coveted 'halo effect' to appear, then the true color of the lenses will peek out a bit. Yeah I know I'm being quite harsh, it could have been worse but my expectations were super high; I had been saving these for that perfect photoshoot and then I forgot about their existence cuz I stored them away in a box for literal years. Oh well, unlike with the previous lenses I reviewed I feel no regretti spaghetti over these lenses having expired by the time I, err, refound them.

Lens photos below!

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, in a corridor with poor distant natural light.

Facing a window, not sun side.

Outdoors, back against the sun. (facing wall)

Outdoors, facing the sun while standing under a shadow.

Outdoors, facing the sun directly.

In terms of comfort I, once again, are basing my grades on like 15 minutes of first impressions due to the lenses having expired by the time I got around to do this review. This means that I literally only wore them to take these photos and then I immediately discarded them. I stress, do not wear expired lenses for anime conventions etc even if they feel okay. It is always a risk to your eyes.  

But what I can say from wearing these lenses that short time was that they feel thin and I barely felt them. They were potentially a bit dryish but there were no other discomforts and I suspect that, if they had not passed expiry date I could potentially have worn them around 3-4 hours, which is pretty decent in my book. I have super dry and sensitive eyes naturally so anything past 4 hours without eyedrops is rare.

I don't know, maybe someone out there likes these but for me they are ugly as shite unless in specific light conditions. The design is pretty but the color is just horrible. I would not recommend these if you have the same or a similar eye color to me (grayish blue), unless you specifically need this color for a cosplay or just, you know, you actually like it? I really don't, ahahah. This kind of color is exactly what I fear I'd get when I buy blue-green lenses. But oh well, now I know not to buy these although for someone else these might be exactly what they are looking for. Life is weird like that.

Distance photo below.

Looking for reviews of Dolly Plus lenses in other colors?
I got you covered: Blue, Violet, Brown, Gray, Red

Short summary:

Color: 2/10
Bleugh! Immensely disappointing on light gray-blue eyes. Was hoping for a fresh, popping and bold turquoise but got an uninspiring mess of swamp troll poo. :(
Design: 8/10 
Cute and simple, very versatile style with a dolly effect.
Opacity: 3/10 

It changes the color of my eyes but my real eye color affects the outcome a lot and well, it's not pretty.
Enlargement: 8/10
Very big.

Comfort: 6/10 

Thin and I barely feel them. Potentially drying but I have dry eyes naturally so not sure if lenses or bad eye day lol.
Naturalness: 4/10

Too big to really be believable.

Would you wear these or do you also find them underwhelming?

Shiro Samurai out.