29.4.12

Store Review: Kitty Eye Contacts


GUYS-- THEY SHUT DOWN/CLOSED.  -_-'' Ugh.


(Feeling lazy? Watch the video review at the end of this post instead of reading.)

This is a review of Kitty Eye Contacts.  Full disclosure: yes they sponsor me, but that does not mean I can't review their packaging, presentation, communication, and even shipping method(s).

No, they did not ask me to do a store review: I just think it would be nice to give some insight into their service level. Hopefully, this is helpful/informative.


Shipping Time

Kitty Eye Contacts is based in PA (Pennsylvania), USA. (The same state as me! And the lovely Anna, as well.)  That being said, I was lucky enough to have the lenses delivered in less than a week. <3  As far as how long it took to ship out, the store owner did so in a very timely manner once all the details had been worked out. C:

[[ And as always, I have to say:  it's very important that online shoppers realize something about the ordering process from any website: a shop does not control how quickly the post delivers a package.  That is, once a shop sends an item out, no matter what level of post it goes through (express or standard), the time it takes to get to you is out of their hands. ]]


The Box/Package

My items from Kitty Eye Contacts came in an envelope lined with bubble-wrap.  There was also a little bit of  paper packing in there.  Additionally, the lenses were well-wrapped in even more bubble wrap. (Picture is under the pic of the envelope~.)


(These are the lens vials in their 2 or 3 layers of bubblewrap.)


The cases were not bubble-wrapped, but generally? I don't care if cases get bubble-wrapped since they aren't liable to break/shatter like lens vials are. Haha.  So I was satisfied with the packaging/packing overall. :]  Bubblewrap, more bubblewrap, and a bit of paper, too.

(All told, the lenses I received were the following: Komi Look 4d (Flower Petal) Green, Komi Look Leopard Grey,  Cute Flower Violet, and OT Eye/Otoo Star Violet.)
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So there you have it: the shipping was quick (as was the delivery) and my 'order' was fairly safely packaged.  Communication?  That was also great-- actually, Kitty Eye Contacts answered my questions faster than I could keep up. Haha.  Their communication was phenomenal for me. (They even chat on YouTube [@ kittyeyecontacts].)

If you check out the website, you'll see several pages of lenses (mostly Vassen OEM series), jewelry, big glasses, sunglasses, and even wigs + hair extensions. @_@  Whew~!

Finally? They have free worldwide shipping! Haha. A lot of folks'll be jazzed about that. (It definitely balances out some of the pricier lenses.)  So shoo!  Go over to Kitty Eye Contacts and see if anything strikes your fancy!
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*

Video Review

You can see the video review here on YouTube, or just watch it below.

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COMING NEXT + SOON . . .



21.4.12

Review: Dollyeye (Dueba/G&G) Natural 3-tone Brown/Honey


Hola! Long time no see. :]  I just finished editing the next review~~. (It's for green lenses-- again. Haha.)  In any case, these lenses were ever-so-generously sponsored by Lens Village.

(If I may, I'mma' just plug the Lens Village blog, too, which is chock full of lens reviews that I know that a lot of you would be interested in. So hop over once you're done reading this one. ;P)



Enlargement: 7/10 The Natural 3-tone series is 14 mm, and enlarges exactly as much (or little, rather) as I might expect.



Colour/Design: 7/10  So. I saw pix of these lenses and they looked positively yellow/orange. My pair? Not so much. :/  The colour is rather opaque, but not extremely light: the center has a brilliant, vibrant orange, and the outside has a surprisingly green-hued brown.  Like, the outside colour looks more green than brown up close. (Not necessarily a bad thing, but yeah.) From a distance, the inner ring of orange gives an intriguing 'pop' of colour to an otherwise subtle lens and keep them looking 'brown' rather than 'hazel'.




(flash)


Comfort: 9/10  Dueba (and G&G) lenses are generally rather comfy for me. These are no exception.


Welp. I don't quite know how I feel about these lenses. They are super-subtle, and I do not often like subtle in my color contact lenses. Haha. What's pretty cool is that they sort of pick up the colours in my hair.  Other than that? I will not likely be wearing these any time soon. (But they look so pretty in the case!!)  [[Oh! And I think Lens Village has an ongoing sale on the Natural 3-tone series: 15 bucks a pair right now~~.]]


And here are the extra pics, as usual: One, Two, and Three.
*
No video review (yet)- I accidentally deleted it. Herpderp. (I also ripped a Blytheye Grey lens this week-- what is going on with me lately?!) Anyway, I'll try and have it up by Monday. C:

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COMING SOON. . .

Fynale J15 Green
AND

Geo Sakura Pink (WI-A27)

16.4.12

About Image Editing/"Photoshopping"

Firstly, relax. Have a chuckle. I insist.

(You're welcome.)
**

Alright, so for such a 'controversial' issue in the (beauty) blogging world, I actually do not have much to say.  Alas, this post is just meant to answer a few questions I've received over the years.

Inquiries about 1.) my opinion on Photoshopping yourself, and 2.) whether or not I Photoshop my own images.  So let's get down to business, yeah? (To defeat... the Huns~!)
-- - --

1): Do you look down upon bloggers who Photoshop/edit their own images? Why or why not?

Answer: Nope. I am fairly neutral on the matter.  If you have the skill and want to do it, I say go for it. If you find it abhorrent, that's also fine. *shrug*  The beauty world-- whether in online blogging or in advertisements and billboards out in real life-- has certain standards that its inhabitants try and live up to.  These standards are generally insanely unreachable, but that doesn't stop folks from trying to get there: it's a competitive market.

Frankly? The trend tends to be that the better you look, the better your view-count looks. ;P  I begrudge nobody their right to compete for whatever their ultimate goal in blogging is.  The only time I disapprove of extreme image editing is when somebody is reviewing an item: I'd like the images to represent the product as true-to-life as possible.

TL;DR- Have at it, friends: liquify, increase glow, brighten, blur, and saturate to your heart's content. Do what you must to get ahead. Just remember to scale it back so your reviews are true-to-life.  And try to remember not to hold yourself to those high standards in your daily life. <3

* *

2): Do you edit your images?

Answer: Yep! Although I don't use Photoshop. Haha. I actually just use Photobucket's (old) dinky/awful image editor. WHAT DO I DO, YOU ASK??! O:

Well, let me show you~.


-- This is from last month. Last year, I had pretty much perfect skin, but a stress break-out in summer murdered my complexion and left me with dark spots that are taking ages to fade. The bags under my eyes? Have always been there. Haha. --


-- My typical edits : I often change (reduce) the blue levels in my pics, as I take them in very cool lighting that skews colours.  Next, I've recently started to slightly blur the objects in the background to keep the focus on the item/lenses/my visage. Finally, I do my best to remove most (but not all) of my dark spots, and try and reduce my under-eye bags. --

Not too extreme, right?  That's because I don't know what I'm doing and because I am bad at it. Also, because the better my face looks, the worse I feel about editing my pics. xD  Thank god it's so painstaking editing in Photobucket. ;D

Anyway, one more example, yes? From a more recent review:

-- Arrgghhh~. My skin~. ; _ ;  It's improving, but still looks awful. --


-- See? Reduced the blue levels, got rid of some dark spots, and softened my under-eye bags. --

*  *

All done! :D  Hopefully you all haven't lost compete faith in me because of something as trivial as 'photoshopping'.  Because really? Most of my pics go through this process-- as do many of the pics of some super-popular bloggers. (Sometimes, though, I'm too lazy to bother...)


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COMING NEXT. . .

14.4.12

☆ _.•º 2x Lens Giveaway º•._ ☆

Allo! :D And a most effusive 'oh thank Zeus-it's the weekend'. Haha. In any case, it's that time again! GIVEAWAY TIME, specifically.  (I'm hosting two in the near future and this is the first.)

 GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED, MY DEARS. Sorry! (Stick around-- the next one starts pretty soon~.)



This giveaway is super-kindly sponsored by Lens Village!  (This store has an excellent variety of brands and series.  Actually, this giveaway is to celebrate the imminent revamping/design of their website.)

[[Actually, while we're talking about LV, check out their blog!  They have a pretty sizable collection of circle lens reviews, and I know a lot of you are always looking for more. ;P ]] Anyway~.


Prizes
♥ 2 Pairs of Circle Lenses (pick from EOS, Geo, G&G, i.Fairy, Dueba, 
Dollyeye, Kimchi, and Vassen)

Rules
♥ You must 'Like' Lens Village on their FaceBook page. (+1)
♥ You must follow Lens Village on Twitter. (+1)
♥ You must comment with your name & email address in
the comment form below. (And Twitter name, too, I guess?..)
^ (Make a new comment for each extra entry~) ^

Extra Entries
♥ Follow my blog. (+2)
♥ Blog about the giveaway + link back to this post. (+1)
Tweet about the giveaway + link back to this post. (+1)
    ^ (For example: "@LensVillage is holding a giveaway at Occasionally
Cute! [add URL here]"

Deadline
6 May (23:59 EST)
EXTENDED TO 11 MAY (23:59 EST)
Giveaway is closed! <3

Info
♥ Winner will be picked via a random number generator.
♥ This giveaway is open internationally. ;)
♥ Yes, we will be checking to see that you've "Like'd"
Lens Village on their FaceBook page.


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Bonne chance, mes amis!
º    º    º    º   º

8.4.12

Review: Dollyeye Blytheye Green (aka. EOS WM-203/Max Adult Green)


Hola, friends! :]  I'm popping in quickly before I jet off for Easter Sunday church with my mother. First, though, here's a fantastic pair of lenses that were sponsored by the ever-amazing Lens Village. <3

~ ~ (Oh! And be sure to check out the Lens Village Blog~. :] You can find a ton of lens reviews, many by the lovely Christina [of THTChristina]-- and, eventually, by me.  So shoo! Go check it out, yeah?) ~ ~



Enlargement: 8.5/10  These lenses may be 14.8 mm, but they enlarge only about as much as many 14.5 mm lenses do~.



Colour/Design: 9/10 This is pretty simple, eh? This is the pretty recognizable Blytheye/EOS New Adult design. A thin, but solid circle around a vibrant colour.  These are rather opaque and very vibrant, but the green is not really a light green. Or rather-- it's not a pastel green. It is pretty solid medium green (although it an look very light sometimes~).  Oh, and I get a bit of a halo effect, often-times that I did not see with the 14 mm/J-203 version of this series. :D




(flash)


- EOS Candy (G-208) Green vs. Dollyeye Blytheye (EOS WM-203) Green -


- Dollyeye Blytheye (EOS WM-203) Grey vs. Dollyeye Blytheye (EOS WM-203) Green -


Comfort: 10/10  Fabulously comfy. *melts*

 

All in all, I was pretty surprised by these lenses. I only asked for the Blytheye Green and Grey to see how light/opaque the colours are.  It turns out they're pretty darn light! Haha.  I'm wearing these more than I thought I would. Huh. Very cute and very bright: two qualities that ensure these lenses will stick around for a while. ;]

And here are the extra pics, as usual: One, Two, Three, Four, and Five (will edit later~).
*
You can watch the video review here on Youtube, or view it below.
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COMING SOON ..

Dollyeye (Dueba) Natural 3-tone Brown

AND

A New Giveaway~~! ;D