Circle lens review: MAX Elegance Tri-Tone Brown

G'day everyone!

Let's continue with these - seemingly endless - circle lens reviews, shall we? x) This time I'll review MAX Elegance Tri-Tone Brown which, in my opinion, is one of the most beautiful brown lenses I've reviewed so far! ❤ Fun fact: I have review pics for multiple brown lenses and it actually took me and my sleep-deprived brain a while to actually identify which one is which lol.
To the review! Pics for this review were taken by Shiro Samurai - thanks a lot! c: 

Important note: I got these lenses from someone who totally lost interest in wearing and reviewing circle lenses. These lenses had a wrong prescription for me and I think that these were close to their expiration date/already expired so I can not grade the comfort. However, I will say a few words about the comfort in general - pretty much my first impression of these. Remember: wearing lenses that are past their expiration date/broken/have the wrong prescription for you is a dangerous thing to do and it can damage your eyes for good so seriously, don't do it. I wore these lenses for half an hour and then threw them away so I had these on only for this review. Thank you.

Nope, there were no sponsors.

The vials of the lenses.

The lenses in their vials.

Base curve: 8,6 mm
Diameter: 15 mm
Water content: 42 %
Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

Inserting process went smoothly; there was no scratchiness or irritation whatsoever. The lenses settled quickly to their places and, to be honest, after that I didn't even feel them in my eyes. I'm a bit sad these had expired before I got around reviewing them; had these still been, eh, fresh and had the right prescription for my eyes I definitely would have worn these more than just once!

One lens in to show the enlargement.

These sure do deliver in the enlargement department! Even though these don't look as freaky in my eyes as the gray ones did, these still kind of eat up my eyes lol. These did exceed my expectations, that's for sure!

I have a huge knack for brown lenses and I highly doubt that a brown lens that I would dislike even exists. However, like I mentioned in the beginning of this review, these are one of my favorites by far. The color actually reminds me a bit of honey, only a few shades darker. These are inevitably brown - that much can be seen from miles away. As the name suggests, there are a few different tones of brown, making the lens look very vibrant. I would also describe the color 'bright' - not sure if a term 'bright brown' is actually a thing but it sure is now lol (or, well, it can also be that the design of these beauties makes your eyes look brighter in general). And, as you can see, the lenses look good even in light-colored - more specifically gray - eyes! ❤

The design, with this color, reminds me of crackling fire, chocolate and phoenixes. As you can see, the pupil hole isn't all that big so it doesn't let your own eye color show that much through. I mean, I don't even know how many shades lighter my eyes are than these lenses, and not much of the actual color is visible - or at least my eyes look notably more brown than gray. The black details in these lenses give them a lot more depth and even some mystic vibes - and I do highly appreciate that the limbal ring is actually quite thin. It suits these better than a thick one. As for the use purposes: I could pick these for alternative outfits and cosplays. However, I wouldn't use these as everyday lenses; these are way too big to look natural.

Lens photos, coming right up!

These pictures were taken during a sunny summer day. No filters, no edits, just re-sized. These ones also belong to the "we took photos of these when I still lived in the south" batch so yeah, the light conditions do differ from the circumstances that could be considered a norm for my reviews.

Bathroom light.

Bad corridor light.

Natural light through the window.

Flash photo.

Roomlight, shadowy side of the house.

Facing the sun.

Back against the sun.

From the distance.

Same lens, different color: Gray

• The color is 10/10. These are what the name promises; multi-toned brown lenses. And the brown shades are very pretty.
  
  
• The design is 7/10. I think it looks better with this color. Still not the most unique out there, but beautiful in its own way.
  
  
• The opacity is 8/10. These look a bit more opaque than the gray ones; the pigmented part of the lens is very clearly brown and doesn't really let your own eye color through. Of course some of your own eye color will be visible through the pupil hole, but that's nothing new under the sun. 
  
  
• The naturalness is 4/10. The color is natural-ish but these are waaayyy too big to be actually natural - not to mention the design isn't exactly the most natural out there.
  
  
• The enlargement is 9/10. These sure do deliver!
  
  

And that's my opinion of MAX Elegance Tri-Tone Brown~!

If my calculations are correct, there are two more reviews to write before I publish my Nekocon cosplay plans! And yes, I do have a planned schedule for these posts lol; I have so much content that it just makes my life easier if I follow one. This will, obviously, ease up at some point (also known as when I have gone through these big batches from lord knows how many years ago) but for now I'm trying to publish quite often! ^-^

Until next time.

-Firith

Circle lens review: Neo Ruby Queen Gray

Hello~!

Let's continue with the circle lens reviews, shall we? These will be the main content of my blog for a while again - I'm trying to write as many as possible before autumn. The backlog is still pretty huge but I'm trying to get rid of it, slowly but surely.
This time Neo Ruby Queen Gray takes the stage - a magical, diamond-like lens! Let's go! 
Oh! Pics for this review were taken by Shiro Samurai, thank you once again! ^.^

These lenses, despite not being a part of the huge batch I'm still going through, were also expired by the time I reviewed them. That means I will only say a few words about the comfort in general; I feel like it wouldn't be fair if I gave these an actual comfort grade based on this experience. 
Remember: wearing lenses that are past their expiration date/broken/have the wrong prescription for you is a dangerous thing to do and it can damage your eyes for good so seriously, don't do it. I wore these lenses for half an hour and then threw them away so I had these on only for this review. Thank you.

Nope, I did not have sponsors this time either.

The vials of the lenses.

The lenses in their vials.

Base curve: 8,6 mm
Diameter: 14,2 mm
Water content: 45 %
Life span: 1 year* (I recommend 6 months)

(* = depends a bit on the source. Some sources say 1 year, some 3 months - it's possible that there are multiple versions of this lens which means both might be correct. If you're not sure, check the vial!)

Actually inserting these was pretty easy; no problems at all with that, except for a little scratchiness that is very likely due to these being expired long before I reviewed these. However, something quite annoying happened: my vision got blurred immediately after inserting these! In this case I really don't know if it's because these were already expired or if this lens series just can't co-operate with my eyes - years ago I reviewed a pair of Neo Ruby Queen Blue lenses and I had same issues with them. I'm willing to buy one more pair at some point to see if they're any different.

One lens in to show the enlargement.

The enlargement is pretty much what one could expect from a lens with these measurements. It's definitely there, clearly visible, but it's not massive. 

I love the color! There are multiple different shades of gray (wouldn't say 50 though) which kind of saves the lens. Gray lenses can appear quite... Dull, especially if the wearer's natural eye color is also gray, like mine is. In some lights these even look a bit brown-ish - just a bit though. In most lights the pigmented part of these is inevitably gray. The pupil hole is quite big though so yeah, you can be sure your own eye color will show through.

The design is pretty much my favorite out there. I love lenses that resemble diamonds and these ones are not an exception to that rule. It's not natural by any means though; I probably wouldn't wear these as everyday lenses. However, for alternative looks - such as a traditional goth or even gothic lolita - these could be a very good choice! For cosplay these probably wouldn't be my first pick but I'm not saying these wouldn't go to any character at all. So yes, these could work for that purpose too! ^-^ I also like the fact that the limbal ring of these ones is pretty thin - had it been any thicker these lenses would have look way too unnatural.

Next up: the lens photos! 😚

These pictures were taken during a sunny summer evening. No filters, no edits, just re-sizing. These pics were also taken when I still lived in the south so yeah, the light conditions are still a bit different (and will be in the next few reviews too).

Bathroom light.

Bad corridor light.

Natural light through the window.

Flash photo.

Roomlight, shadowy side of the house.

Facing the sun.

Back against the sun.

From the distance.

Same lens, different color: Blue

• The color is 9/10. I simply love it and the way it blends with my natural eye color! ❤ It's also clearly gray, despite getting a few brown-ish shades in some lights.
  
  
• The design is 10/10. Basically my favorite out there, ngl. 
  
  
• The opacity is 7/10. The pigmented parts have a lot of color, however the pupil hole is quite big and lets your own eye color through quite a bit. If you're looking for something with a very good color coverage, this one is not your pick.
  
  
• The naturalness is 2/10. Even though these aren't the most enlarging ones and the color is natural-ish, I bet nobody has eyes like diamonds by nature. No matter what love poems say.
  
  
• The enlargement is 6/10. The effect is there but it's not "in your face".
  
  

And there it is, my review of Neo Ruby Queen Gray - and my second review from the Neo Ruby Queen series! I will very likely write a third one at some point; I still want to know if I've just had bad luck with the comfort or are these just not suitable for my eyes.
I bet it doesn't surprise anyone at this point that at least a couple of the next updates will be circle lens reviews - and then it'll be time for Nekocon cosplay plans which are still changing almost on a daily basis lol! 👀

Until next time.

-Firith

Dragonair mini photoshoot

Hi! ^.^

As I mentioned in my Kummacon summary, we - meaning Shiro Samurai and I - had decided to take some "at least this shows we had costumes on lol" proof pictures but that kind of escalated to a 2 hour long photoshoot. I also mentioned that I would publish the pics soon so here they are~! I'm so happy how these turned out, especially considering that we had some problems during the photoshoot, such as finding good light conditions because the sunlight was very harsh etc.

I plan to photoshoot Dragonair again at some point (also known as when I actually get the wings attached to my wig so I can do more than just one pose); when that will be, that I don't know yet. I still haven't had a proper photoshoot of Alicia either due to lack of time, oops.

To the pics we go~!

Character: Dragonair (gijinka)
Series: Pokémon
Cosplayer: yours truly
Photos & edit: Shiro Samurai

I would have loved to take more pictures by this lovely water area but harsh sunlight and water don't go too well together - I'm glad we got this one good pic at that location ;__; 💙

As you can see I couldn't take any other poses because, well, I couldn't move my hands since I was keeping the wings in their place. These pics are great but can't wait for taking more - after all Dragonair is one of my favorites so yes, I want more pics of this costume ^^ 
Oh! The wings and bracelet are made by Shiro Samurai (and some parts of the costume are borrowed from him), thank you so much! 💙 

I may have had a huge cosplay crisis going on just a few days before the con but he solved it by suggesting swapping the Pokémon to another.

Wait, you thought we were done here?
...you're wrong. You're SO wrong.

Bring in... The derps! 😆

"Yours truly, lady Whistledo--- Oops wrong series :I" Seriously, I look like I was a character in Bridgerton and just heard someone spilling the tea xD

Okay so usually I don't like to publish too unflattering pictures of myself but I've been laughing my ass of every time I see this, I look like your local Mama June ffs XD

Okay, now we're ready with this post! xD
If you want to check how I managed behind the camera, go check Shiro Samurai's mini photoshoot post!

After this post back to the circle lens reviews it is - I'm seriously losing hope on sewing anything before Nekocon so yeah, sticking to the content I have a lot send help lol. Oh, and my next con will indeed be Nekocon in July - already looking forward to it! 🐱

Until next time.

-Firith