Circle lens review: EOS New Adult Red

Hello~!

Since I haven't found fabrics for my next cosplay just yet, I decided to do another (non-sponsored) circle lens review! 

I actually really needed to open this pair of lenses since I'm going to need them in March and I thought that it would be a good idea to wear them a couple of times before that so my eyes would get used to them. 

These lenses are EOS New Adult Red. I ordered them from PinkyParadise a while ago (and also got another pair for free because of a Christmas campaign - I will definitely review that pair in the future too!). 

All pictures in this post © me.

The vials of the lenses.

The lenses in their vials.

 Base curve: 8,6 mm

Diameter: 14 mm

Water content: 38 %

Life span: 1 year

According to the measures these lenses are smaller than the pairs of circle lenses I've used in the past. I noticed it when I inserted these into my eyes - it was so much easier than usually! My eyes aren't that big, that's why inserting lenses is sometimes quite difficult task to do. 

I felt these in my eyes a couple of minutes after inserting these but I have to say that my eyes were, once again, quite dry so it might have something to do with that. Nothing out of ordinary, I could say. 

After opening the vials I let these soak in a new solution over the night since the original solution (in the vials) makes at least my eyes water and hurt. I don't know if it does the same to your eyes or not but I definitely don't recommend testing it.

One lens in to show you the enlargement.

I could say that these are not very enlarging. Yes, my other eye looks a bit bigger than another but not very much. These are definitely the smallest circle lenses that I've ever worn. 

When I wore these I sometimes managed to forget that I have lenses in my eyes - these are very comfortable to wear (I guess that is one of the reasons why these are so popular). Every now and then I felt a small scratch but those feelings lasted a few seconds and then passed. I was able to drive a car with these which means that these didn't blur my vision either. Except indoors - the blur wasn't too bad but wearing these outside was a bit more comfortable. 

I like the design very much. Those white dots (which you can see in the "lenses in their vials" pic) seemed to disappear when I put these into my eyes - in other words I think that those dots are supposed to help the color of the lens to blend with the natural eye color (which in my case means a mixture of gray, green and blue - in other words my eyes are light-colored). 

The dark limbal ring could've been thicker though, in my opinion it's a little bit too thin. 

The color is super awesome. At first, when I saw these in their vials, I thought that these would be more pink than red but it was a positive surprise to notice that I was wrong. However, I was able to spot only one shade of red and I think that the color could've been even more vibrant if there was some other shade too. The white dots help with the color blending and make the color a bit more lively - luckily, because otherwise my eyes would have looked like I tried to edit my eye color with Paint... 

But now, the pictures.

These were taken in January with semi-cloudy sky.
The pictures aren't edited in any way.

Yellow light.

Indoors, with a flash.

Under the fluorescent lamp.

Bathroom light.

Indoors, natural light (looking out of the window).

Outdoors, facing the sun.

Outdoors, back against the sun.

A distance pic.

And yes, there just might be a hint of a cosplay I'll make in the near future...

• The color, in my opinion, is 9/10. These would've been a bit more vibrant if there were some other shades of red too. 

• I would rate the design 9/10 too. Sometimes simple is beautiful. The dark limbal ring could've been thicker though - it would've given that nice "anime eyes" effect to these too. Very beautiful lenses anyway. <3 

• The opacity is 7/10 - damn it, these are clearly red! The color doesn't blend with my natural eye color too well though; you can clearly see that grey color in the middle and that's my own eye color. I think that these might work better with darker eye color..? 

• The comfort is 9/10. The scratchy feeling is there in the beginning but disappears quite soon after inserting the lenses into the eyes. I think that I would be able to wear these at least five to six hours without problems! 

• The naturalness is 1/10. I have never seen anyone who has red eyes by nature. 

• The enlargement is 4/10 - these aren't very enlarging. 

And there it is!

Got any questions? Ask in the comment box, contact me on social media or send me an email! 

-Firith

Some plans for 2017!

I could place a bet that even half of these aren't actually going to happen but I will try.

In 2016 I got almost nothing done. I couldn't follow my plans, I didn't even want to look at my sewing machine and when I finally did I cried blood mentally. I could say that everything I made... Pretty much failed (well okay I think that my Italy cosplay was okay).
I would like to change these things in 2017 since I love this hobby very much. The greatest problem here seems to be my attitude ("I'll just fail so why should I even try, seriously?") and luckily I can affect it!

But yes, some plans...

Avalon from StarStable Online.

I'll try to make this druid guy for Yukicon but at the moment I'm facing kind of huge problem - I can't find fabrics for this. Yes, I know, it's just fifty shades of gray but I've only come across way too thin fabrics by far.
I so hope that I'll finish Avalon in time - he's such a cool guy!

Chikane Himemiya from Kannazuki no Miko.

...I don't even know what to say about her anymore. God damn it, I've tried to finish making this priestess costume for almost two years now and I'm STILL stuck with it!! *insert some rage here* My frustration is actually one of the main reasons why I want to make this costume ready... And guess what - I finally came across someone who wants to cosplay Himeko Kurusugawa! <3

Prussia from Hetalia: Axis Powers.

...though I don't know which version of him I want to make. I love Prussia as a character a lot and his outfits are just too cool! I might stick with his most common uniform, but I'd like to cosplay Teutonic Knights!Prussia too. Decisions, decisions.

Yang Jinghua from Ling Qi.

I watched this Chinese anime quite recently and I fell for this character in no time. Yes, he's quite foolish at times but when he actually takes action... HOLY F*CK. It will be quite interesting to cosplay him alone though (he always protects Duanmu Xi though in this version he's also connected to Duanmu Luoye).
And I just might have started to make stuff for this character already, oops...

Nasu Suketaka Yoichi from Drifters.

I begun to watch Drifters a while ago. When this young man appeared for the first time I practically fell from my chair - this guy is just too awesome.
He's actually based on a real historical character but I don't think that that guy was this... Derp. Because yes, the animated version of him can be a bit silly sometimes but that just brings some happiness and joy to his character!
I'm quite sure that I won't make this cosplay anytime soon though; perhaps in the summer or in the autumn.

Keisuke Sannan from Hakuouki.

I begun to watch Hakuouki quite recently... And when I saw this character it was love at first sight. I just love his personality and design! ;__; This character is also based on a real historical character, Keisuke Yamanami, and that makes this guy even more interesting!
I'm not quite sure when I'm going to make Sannan-san but I really hope that I manage to make it in 2017.
(And this was, once again, one of those "where in seven Hells are your reference pictures?" characters, that's why I chose this pic even though I'm not likely to make that haori. Note: likely.)

There's one more character on my cosplay list but I'll keep it secret yet~ don't worry, it's a character I will definitely make during 2017. I just don't want to tell about it just yet.

But yeah, here are my plans for 2017!
...and I didn't even list my own characters here...

Looks like I'm going to be busy this year! :'DD I really hope that I'll manage make at least some of these costumes - these characters are very dear to me and I want to cosplay each one of them as soon as possible. ;__;
Oh, and the cons that I will definitely attend this year are Yukicon, Tampere Kuplii, Tylycon and Tracon. I think that I'll attend more conventions but those are on the "must attend" list.

See you next time!

-Firith

"Why should I wear make-up when cosplaying?"

Happy Friday the 13th everyone!

The question in the title is one that I've heard or seen many people asking - and a question I've also asked myself. 

At first I'd like to say that I have nothing against people who don't wear make-up when cosplaying. Since I can't read minds I can't know why they don't do so - and let's face it: I don't use that much make-up for example when I cosplay Josh. 

But when it comes to anime characters/VOCALOIDs/manga characters etc. I try to make myself look a bit more like the character and that's possible with make-up. 

Today I decided to do this "power of make-up" thing with cosplay make-up. The idea is that a person only does the make-up like usual but just to the other side of their face while another side of their face is all natural. I chose Luka Megurine's make-up since I haven't done it in ages (and I will not do it in the near future again).

Note: I'm not a professional make-up artist. Usually I don't wear make-up at all. 

All photos (c) me.

All of the pics (excluding first two ones) were taken with a flash. 

These pictures aren't edited in any way.

All natural, no make-up at all.

I put a lens to my other eye. I'm also wearing foundation and powder in this picture.

Coloured the eye-brow and added the blush and the contour.

The make-up side of my face.

The natural side of my face.

Added the eyeliner and some light-coloured eye-shadow. 

Put on the false eyelashes... And fucked up my eyeliner because I poked myself in the eye with the damn lashes. Fml. 

Just compare the sides of my face.

I look surprisingly angry in the last pic... I didn't actually intend to do so but I stared at the flash so it might be because of that.

But yeah, here you can see what make-up actually does to one's looks in my opinion I look a bit scary with that much make-up on lol!
This post was quite nice to do - even though I don't like wearing make-up, sometimes I just like to experiment different kinds of make-up styles and techniques.

See you next time~!

-Firith

Circle lens review: I-Codi Colors Of The Wind Aqua Marin

When I begun cosplaying I decided to never order any blue lenses. I thought that it would've been pointless since my eyes are partly blue by nature.

In 2016 I decided against my earlier decision and ordered blue contacts, a pair of I-Codi Colors Of The Wind Aqua Marin. I ordered them from IFairycon.
Basically I ordered them for my Deidara cosplay - you know, a ninja from Naruto? His eyes are a bit more blue than mine... And that's why I decided to try these since these seemed to be a very good option.

All pictures © me.

The vials of the lenses.

The lenses in their vials.

Base curve: 8,6 mm

Diameter: 15 mm

Water content: 38 %

Life span: 1 year

I was a bit afraid of inserting these into my eyes since in the morning my eyes had hurt so much that keeping them open was one hell of a task to do. 

But soon I noticed that my fear was completely pointless; inserting lenses hasn't felt this comfortable in a long time! My eyes didn't even try to reject these! <3

By the way, after opening the vials I let these soak in a new solution over the night. The original solution in the vials makes at least my eyes water and hurt. I don't recommend testing if it does the same thing to your eyes. 

One lens in, notice the enlargement.

These are one of the most comfortable lenses I've ever had. Indoors these blurred my vision a couple of times but outdoors that problem didn't exist. I could drive the car easily when I wore these since these didn't irritate my eyes at all and the blur wasn't that bad (I could see clearly what was happening ahead of me/at the side of the road/etc.). 

Every now and then I actually forgot that I even have contacts in my eyes. After 7 hours I had to take these off since I can't wear lenses during my Krav Maga training but I can tell you that I could've worn these for the full 8 hours easily! 

After inserting the lenses I noticed one thing; these are WAY TOO BLUE for Deidara. At first I was a bit disappointed about it because I had ordered these for that certain cosplay but no can do. Well, I can always wear these when I cosplay Miku Hatsune.

That doesn't mean that I wouldn't like the color and the design. For some reason the design reminds me about a cornflower - the blue part of the lenses actually looks like a flower. There are a few shades of blue which make the color look quite lively. The black limbal ring brings the "anime eyes" effect to these - the ring is a bit too thick to make these look actually natural (well, at least these don't look natural in my eyes). 

Here are the pictures~!

The colors aren't edited in any way.

My eyes are a mixture of gray, green and blue; in other words, my eyes are light-colored.

These pictures were taken in January with semi-cloudy sky. 

(Oh, and I decided not to wear make-up/wig this time; partly because I really didn't have time to do anything fancier and partly because I wanted to show you how natural/unnatural these look in light-colored eyes.)

Yellow light.

Indoors, with a flash.

Under the fluorescent lamp.

Bathroom light.

Indoors, natural light (gazing through the window).

Outdoors, facing the (partly clouded) sun.

Outdoors, back against the sun.

From a distance.

• Even though the color wasn't perfect for Deidara, I'd still rate it 8/10. It's just a bit too dark for my taste, otherwise I have nothing bad to say about it.
• The design is  9/10. I like how the blue part of the lens reminds me about the flower petals, it's a lovely detail! The dark limbal ring also gives the nice "anime eyes" effect.
• The opacity is 7,5/10. These don't blend as well with my natural eye color as I had wished. In some lights the blending happens, yes, but in most lights you can see my natural eye color in the middle.
• The comfort is totally 10/10. One of the most comfortable lenses I've ever had!
• The naturalness... Well, I wanted to show you how natural these look in light-colored eyes without make-up on, and I'd say 4/10. My brother glanced at me and commented that I looked like an alien so... Yeah :D These are way too huge to be worn on a normal day without make-up. However, the color looks quite natural.
• And then there's the enlargement which I rate 9/10. Pretty much the same than with the former lens pairs I've worn. 

And there it is!

Got any questions? Ask in the comment box, contact me on social media or send me an e-mail!

-Firith

Circle lens review: Geo Princess Mimi Bambi Chocolate Brown

Time for another (non-sponsored) lens review~!
This time it's time to review brown lenses; Geo Princess Mimi Bambi Chocolate Brown. I ordered these from this site (the same site than this) - these are the ones I meant to wear for my Japan cosplay but I placed the order a bit too late and didn't get these in time... x__x

But now, the review itself!
All pics © Shiro Samurai (if not mentioned otherwise).

The vials of the lenses.

The lenses in their vials.

Base curve: 8,8 mm

Diameter: 14,8 mm

Water content: 40 %

Life span: 1 year

After opening the vials I let these soak in a new solution over the night. This is recommendable, especially if your eyes are sensitive since the original solution (in the vials) makes at least my eyes water and hurt. I don't recommend testing if it does the same for your eyes. 

One lens in to show the enlargement. This one was taken by me, the quality is provided by my mobile phone. Well, at least this shows the enlargement...

I had pretty much problems with inserting these into my eyes; I know that my eyes are sensitive but when I managed to put a lens into my left I it hurt like hell. This hasn't happened in a while now and I actually took the lens off to see if there were any flaws/dirt in it - no. The second time I put the lens into my eye it still felt quite uncomfortable but after a few minutes the feeling finally passed and I was able to put a lens into my right eye too. 

For the first couple of hours I didn't feel these almost at all - every now and then there was a small scratchy feeling but it didn't get too bad. However, during the third hour I noticed that these had begun to blur my vision and during the fourth hour I saw just foggy blur when I tried to play a game apparently I'm Jigsaw now lol. At that point I decided to take these off. 

The design is damn beautiful. The main color is chocolate brown (like the name of these lenses says) but the thin, light brown rim makes the color look more vibrant. I also love the thick, black limbal ring and those spike-like black stripes - they make these lenses look quite awesome; I could even say somehow wild! 

Now, the pictures~! 

Note; my eye color is a mixture of blue, grey and green - in other words, my eyes are light-colored. 

The colors in the close-up pics aren't edited.

These pics were taken on a semi-cloudy day in January, a couple of hours before the sunset.

Bathroom light.

Flash photo. 

Facing corridor window.

Weak staircase light.

White corridor light. Excuse me the position of my eyes.

Yellow light.

Facing apartment window, sunlight.

Outdoors, facing cloudy sky.

Outdoors, back against the sun.

Close-up.

Distance photo.

• The color is definitely 10/10 - I love it to Hell and back. These would have been perfect for my Japan cosplay too! Maybe in the future...
• I also love the design and I could say that it's 8,5/10. Not probably my number one favorite but still.
• The opacity is 7/10. The color doesn't blend with light eye color well and you can clearly see some of my own eye color in the middle. I think that these might work better for brown eyes... Well, I've had lenses with worse opacity too so I'll stick with my rating.
• The comfort was 6,5/10 - wearing these was similar to wearing Super Pinky Green lenses. The scratchy and blurry feeling was there once again.
• I don't think that these lenses look that natural on me so I could say that the naturalness is 6/10. People would surely notice that this isn't my natural eye color. Also the enlargement and the design give these "the eyes of the cartoon character" effect. Perfect for cosplay lenses though.
• The enlargement is 9/10. Even though these are a bit bigger than the lenses I usually wear, there's almost no difference in the enlargement effect. 

That's all for now, folks!

Got any questions? Ask in the comment box, contact me on social media or send me an e-mail!

-Firith