Urban Style Look Book- Spring '12

I wanted to do something a little different for this blog post than my usual so I grabbed my makeup, and a great photographer and we went on a little adventure in the city.

I am definitely no model let me tell you........ but I thought it would be interesting to have somebody else taking the photos for once. If anything it gave me more respect for what models do because I think it's totally weird and awkward to pose and such things ;) Nevertheless I thought i'd show off a few of my favorite makeup and clothing looks for this spring.

If you are looking for a photographer in Northern Ohio/Southern Michigan please contact my friend Melissa of Melissa Graden Photography HERE and check out her super cute boutique HERE

All photos taken by/property of Melissa Graden 

Smokey eye with a pop of spring color- Abigail's Boutique Designs cosmetics

Ultra feminine jewelry-by: Jujubeads Jewelry & Addie LaDawn

Dress: H&M

Organized chaos

The Glitter Blog does not respect your authority ;)

Bright lips/lids for spring <3 Abigail's Boutique Designs cosmetics, Pretty Addictions cosmetics (blush, illuminator) Jujubeads Jewelry, 

Can you guess what city I'm in?

Four Eyez: Colored contact lens e-store review

As you already know I am quite a fan of not only circle lenses, but regular colored lenses as well as the theatrical type crazy lenses. Recently I have been searching for a few new places to order colored lenses from when I came across FourEyez.com.


I was immediately impressed with their selection of lenses I have never seen before. Let me tell you.. I have been buying contacts for years and most shops carry exactly the same things. Not this one. I absolutely love their Terminator inspired line of lenses, as well as the very cool selection of mesh pupil lenses. Even better than the selection is the fact that each and every single pair of lenses has a short video to showcase what the lens looks like in a real eye. I find this very helpful in picking out lenses that will work with my eye color, and gives me a really good idea of how the lens will look on me.


What's even better than their selection and videos? The prices. Four Eyez is out of the UK so lenses usually run  anywhere between €12-€19 or about $15-$30 for us Americans ;) Each pair comes with a free mystery pair of  daily lenses. I thought this was way too good to be true.. but it is! I ended up getting crazy shamrock lenses with my order and I was almost as excited about those as I was the pair I actually paid for. Did I mention shipping is also free? Not only is it free, but they are FAST. I received my order in exactly 6 days from the time I paid. 

I ended up ordering THIS style called "Fusion Violet-Grey'. A lot of times companies will alter their photos to make colors pop thus you end up getting lenses that are disappointing in real life. Not this store. These lenses actually are a lot cooler than this photo or video would lead you to believe. They are probably one of the favorite designs I've ordered from anywhere. The violet inner ring is very intense yet these lenses are still subtle enough to wear just about anywhere. They are very moist, and fit comfortably during wear.

Fusion violet-grey 

The daily lenses I received were also super cool although unfortunately they do not fit me comfortably AT ALL. Some crazy lenses just do not work for me for some reason so I do not feel this is a factory defect or other flaw in the lens themselves. I did wear them shortly, however, and was impressed with their opacity and overall design. I am so sad these don't work for me but I totally can't complain over the amazing free style they sent me! Like I said.. some of these just don't work on me but you can get your Lucky clover lenses HERE

the full st. pat's look lol

In total I spent $21 for 2 pairs of lenses that shipped internationally in less than a week. You better believe that I highly recommend this shop, and will be a repeat customer. I will be reviewing more lenses from this shop in the future so if you have any special requests for ones you'd like to see reviewed please link me in the comments :D

You can find the violet-grey and much more available at Four Eyez 

More lens love: CircleLens2U.com

If there is one thing in this world that I truly love.. it IS circle lenses!! LOL

As I continue on with my series of circle lens posts I have another great website to review for you. CircleLens2U is an adorable website with great selection of in-stock lenses. They keep up with the latest lense trends, so you can be sure to get new styles as they become available. You can search the lenses based upon color, and they even have a pretty good selection of FX circle lenses (great for cosplay or halloween).

So let me break it down for you:


Website:

The website is totally cute, and very easy to navigate. My only complaint is that the lenses are sold by the piece instead of the pair (meaning you need to order 2 to make a pair). This can be confusing for some people. Other than that I was very pleased with the selection. I was beyond pleased to find 3 brand new styles from Geo at sale prices. 

Shipping:

wrapped lenses

back of the envelope

front of envelope

 The shipping was very fast at just 8 days from Malaysia to Michigan. However I was not very satisfied with the packaging unfortunately. The lenses came wrapped in bubble wrap, and were shipped in a plain non-padded envelope. While my lenses arrived safe & sound...I can see how easily it would be for them to have broken in transit. I did find customer service to be very friendly, so if a package was damaged i'm sure they would be more than willing to replace it. It really depends on how much packaging means to you personally. I wouldn't let it stop me from ordering from CircleLens2U in the future.




The Lenses:

I ended up picking up the new Geo Forest series in Lavender-violet. I love this style so much. The lenses are quite large at 15mm, and have streaks of black with an iridescent lavender shining through brightly. The lenses almost have a tye-dyed effect. The lavender is very shiny and jewel-toned. The lenses are pretty thick but not at all uncomfortable.I am really excited to try more colors in this particular style.

in the vials

enlargement effect

Overall I really liked CircleLens2U's service, and selection. I will be checking up on them quite often to see what new exciting styles they are getting in. While I didn't like the flimsy packaging, I wasn't totally turned off by it either. I plan to order more of the Geo Forest series very soon (green and grey for sure!) . So there you have it....another great source for circle lenses :)









* Disclaimer: These lenses were generously provided by the sponsor for review. This review is my own honest opinion based on quality of service, and the product provided.*

Circle lens love: E-CircleLens.com review

On my quest for finding great circle lens suppliers I stumbled across e-circlelens.com. Right away I loved their HUGE selection of lenses. I had a really hard time choosing which lenses I wanted to order, but ending up going with a pink Geo pair. I like how you can search the website based on lens color. It makes it very easy to compare different styles of the same color. Most lenses are offered in many prescription strengths. All the lenses featured are in-stock so that there's no waiting for batches. I do not like ordering lenses in batch orders because you end up having to wait a really long time to receive your circle lenses, and a batch can be canceled if not enough people order. It just isn't a real reliable way to get your lenses, and it definitely isn't for impatient people like me. 


So this is my overall review of my experience with e-circlelens.

Website:

I liked the wide variety of lenses offered. I thought the website was easy to navigate. The ordering process is generally pretty easy, and problem-free. Customer service is friendly, helpful, and fast to reply to any email inquiries. I have no complaints whatsoever. 




Shipping:

Shipping from Korea to Michigan only took 1 week!!  I thought that was crazy fast. Their lenses are packed in a sturdy little box, put into a special foam holder, and then packed with huge foam packing peanuts. You definitely do not have to worry about receiving broken vials. 

Extras :

My package came with a circle lens care instruction sheet. I really like when companies include these care sheets because proper lens care is super important for your eye health. They also included a free lens case which is a nice touch.

The Lenses:

The lenses I chose were the Geo WT-A07. They are a matte rose pink with a thick black limbal ring for added intensity.  They are quite large at 15mm, and are the largest pair I currently own. These lenses are rather thick and I would not recommend them for first time circle lens wearers. Some people do not like Geo lenses because of their thickness but I do not think they are especially uncomfortable. I also recommend due to their size to only wear these lenses no more that 4-5 hours at a time to avoid eye strain. It should go without saying that once your eyes begin to feel tired it is time to take out your lenses. I have to say that these lenses are absolutely beautiful in color. They look amazing over light and dark brown eyes!

natural light

with a flash

 

Pink lenses looks best when worn with pinks, roses, rosey browns, gold, bronzes, and blacks.

Just in case you wanted to see the eye makeup too lol

enlarging effect

I would definitely order from E-circlelens.com again in the future. They have a lot of hard to find styles of circle lens available, and in-stock. Shipping is fast, and the packaging is super secure. Their prices are slightly higher than some sellers, but I think they compensate with the quality of their service. This is a great website for lens enthusiasts looking for those hard to find styles!






* Disclaimer: These lenses were generously provided by the sponsor for review. This review is my own honest opinion based on quality of service, and the product provided.*

My love affair with circle lenses

I started wearing circle lenses (rather than regular American colored lenses) about a year and a half ago. I discovered them on the internet while looking for contacts that gave the illusion of larger eyes. The first thing I noticed about the lenses was that they DID make eyes look bigger, and more intense. The second thing I noticed was that they were kind of tricky to order from overseas. I eventually stumbled upon PrettyandCute.com , and felt very comfortable ordering from them as they have always had stellar customer reviews. I was thrilllllled with the lenses that I chose. I ordered 2 more pairs within a week of receiving my first order. (sadly they no longer sell circle lenses, but they do have lots of awesome imported makeup you cannot get anywhere else)

Now before I go on any further I need to mention that these lenses are not FDA approved. The reason for this is that they can exceed the maximum diameter & circumference standards for the USA. Many optometrists feel that they are dangerous because of this and can possibly scratch corneas.. leading to vision problems.  Do not wear any type of contact lens without first visiting your optometrist for a contact lens fitting. What I can say about all the controversy surrounding circle lenses is that I have never had a problem with these lenses myself, and I've never personally known anyone else whose vision was damaged. Just do your research, and make your own educated decision if you're planning to purchase circle lenses.

I only wear mine about 1-2 times a week and for only 4-6 hours. They are usually very moist and comfortable, so at any time when my eyes feel dried out I know it's time to remove them. Just like any contact lenses you need to keep them really clean to prevent eye infections. They are fairly durable so when cared for properly they will last you about 8 months. Make sure to keep the vials they came in so that you know when they are expired. Always put any lenses in before you've applied your makeup- this is important! Your hands need to be clean before putting something on your eyeball..go figure.

I have found that they can really enhance eye makeup depending on what colors you choose. Silvery grey lenses like Geo's Nudy grey really look amazing with a dark smokey eye. The right colored lenses in combination with the right colored eye makeup can totally transform a makeup look. Other than that, it's simply fun to be able to change not only your eye's color, but also it's shape. I also like that they are intended for darker eyes like mine.

This is some of my collection. A lot of these are expired, and went to contact lens heaven (R.I.P.) Excuse the random candid photos & my terrible eyebrows ;P

Geo Nudy Grey

Geo Wing series in Purple

EOS Dolly eye in blue

EOS Dolly eye in green

Geo Nudy in grey

My personal favs- Geo Nudy in golden blue

These are not circle lenses. These are FX lenses sold on your average run of the mill contact lens website- or even- Halloween store! I put this up as a size comparison to the circle lenses. If it's legal for Americans to sell these FX lenses, then why not circle lenses?

Angelic green FX lenses. If my eyes look red, and irritated it's because they were

Currently I am looking for another reliable supplier. So I won't recommend any websites to you that I have not personally ordered from. If you are a seller, or have experience with a great seller please shoot me an email at theglitterblog@yahoo.com and give me a heads up!


What's your favorite style of circle lens?