Showing posts with label beginner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beginner. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Vivi Eye-Natural green prettypeeps.com



These were the second pair of lenses I received but they were the first pair that I ordered. I wasn't very knowledgeable about circle lenses when I bought them so I made a few mistakes. First off, I didn't look for seller reviews. I got lucky that pretty peeps was great but in general buying from a seller without reviews is a gamble. The next mistake I made was buying lenses made by a manufacturer that I never heard of. Again, I got lucky (these lenses are the most comfortable ones I own) but I would recommend looking for reviews. The next noob mistake I made was believing that they were 18mm in diameter. Anything over 15mm is referring to the "effect" unless you're buying a full eye or sclera lens, it won't be over 15mm.

I had a good experience with prettypeeps.com, they are a reliable seller and take payment via PayPal which gives you some security. They have a large variety of very unique lenses!! It took a while for my lenses to arrive because they had been back ordered but she let me know right away and she gave me a travel case and cell phone charm to apologize for the wait. :) My items came well bubble wrapped and the vials came in their original boxes. I regret not taking photos. She also wrote a nice little thank you message on the
envelope :)
little message on the envelope

I love these lenses!! The green is a bit dark but it's definitely noticeable. I think these would suit medium to dark brown eyes best. If you have green, grey or blue eyes they would probably darken them too much. They are opaque with a fairly normal sized pupil hole so they will cover most of your natural eye color.  They have a relatively thick limbal ring but it's etched instead of solid so it's not harsh. They have an 8.6 mm base curve and 56% water content.

lens closeup




Color/Design: 8/10
   The green is noticeable but a tad dark. The limbal ring is enough to emphasize the eyes but not too harsh
Comfort: 10/10
    I can wear these for 10 hours (even though you shouldn't). I've traveled in them, napped in them and they're great!!
Enlargement: 8/10
   That's actually perfect for me. I feel like they're enough to make your eyes pop but not so much that they're too unnatural. for some reason, I find they seem more enlarging in dim lighting.
Naturalness: 8/10
   They're not obvious from a conversational distance. The color has enough yellow/olive tones so they're close to my hazel eyes. Even people who know me don't notice them right away.

I would recommend these lenses for people with light brown eyes like mine. For those with naturally green eyes, they will enlarge your eyes and blend fairly well but they'll probably diminish your color. Similarly, i think they'd look natural on darker blue eyes but they will also diminish color. I wouldn't recommend these for light blue or grey eyes. i think the color transition around the pupil will look too harsh. For dark eyes these would be a subtle but noticeable color change.
All in all, these are my favorite lenses!! I recommend these!

General advice for beginners

I thought it would be nice to make a post for people looking to buy their first pair of circle lenses. There are a few things one should know before buying. Don't know what circle lenses are? Click here: lmgtfy

First, I'll talk about picking a seller. There are a LOT of sellers out there. Spend some time shopping around. It's fun and helpful. There are two main types of sellers, those who do batch orders and those who have all their merchandise on hand/ in stock. Batch order sites are generally cheaper but take a lot longer. You place an order, send payment and wait for the seller to have enough orders or for a predetermined cut-off date. Then, your order will be submitted to a distributor. When the reseller (owner of the site) receives it, it will get shipped to you. This requires a lot of patience but may be the only way to get hard to find lenses in your prescription. These stores often post "ready-stock" or "on hand" lens lists. These are generally only Plano (lenses without corrective power). There are many sites that are have lenses in stock so you can place an order and it will be shipped right away. From my experience, shipping from southeast Asia to New York takes 10-12 days on average.

When picking a seller you should try to find reviews. They can't guarantee you'll have a good experience but it will help you weed out some unreliable sites. Next, you'll need to consider selection, lens price and shipping. Do not ignore shipping costs!! It can be expensive! Some websites are located in Canada or the US so their shipping is cheaper and faster. I can actually only think of one from each country... Find out which site sells the lenses you like best and who has the best perks. most sites offer free shipping over a certain amount or during a certain time; brands, series or colors will be on sale; some sites offer free cases or gifts... SHOP AROUND!

Picking lenses also requires research. Again, finding reviews is a good place to start. Consider the look you're going for. Are you going for all-out huge, dolly eyes or something more subtle? do you want contacts that will just brighten your eyes or do you want a drastic color change? These are things you have to consider when choosing a lens.

Lenses range in size from around 14mm-15mm. No lens is much bigger; anything advertised as 16mm,17mm or 18mm is referring to the diameter of the "effect." A true 17mm or 18mm lens would be a full eye sclera lens that would completely cover the whites of your eyes.  Check reviews and photos of the lens also. Some lenses are printed right to the edge while others are smaller because there's a large clear rim.

Don't trust the stock photos to be an accurate representation of color.  They'll be heavily edited or really brightly lit to make the lenses seem lighter than they are. Try to find customer reviews for more realistic photos. You'll want to see photos of the lens alone and on different color eyes to get an idea of the true color. Opaque lenses will look alike on most eye colors and allow you to change your eye color more dramatically. Sheer lenses blend better and generally look more natural. Since they blend with your natural eye color, they will look VERY different on different eye colors. For light eyes, sheer lenses are often a good choice since they usually don't have the dark pigments for blending which look unnatural on light eyes.


This is really long but hopefully it helps someone looking to buy their first pair of circle lenses