Review: G&G GBT Grey Circle Lens

So here is my first stab at reviewing circle lens - my G&G GBT Grey lens from Pinky Paradise, which I posted about a few days ago.  PP's description claims that it gives you an "obvious color effect" and I quite agree :)

Diameter : 14.0mm

Water Content : 38%

Base Curve : 8.6mm

My experience with GEO  and EOS left me resigned that I'll never really be able to "change" my eye color because my irises are so dark (almost black). All the lens I tried before this one gave me only the mildest of color changes in the brightest sun....then I saw Noxin's G&G lens reviews. I was so surprised by how vibrant the colors were on her so I gave G&Gs a shot.  I AM SO HAPPY I DID.  Fyi, I was not looking for something with a lot of enlargement, just a massive color change but at 14mm this lens is  the typical diameter for circle lens so you will get some enlarging effect regardless.

Starting with the Before & Afters...

Top: No flash. Bottom: Flash.

Yeahhhh, nice color change yeah?! The grey is practically opaque, which is something I never got with Geo Nudys and totally unexpected for a light color.   Admittedly, these lens are more blue-grey in my eyes rather than a straight grey but it's still pretty no :)?

Even without the obvious limbal ring, these lens have a subtle enlarging effect.  I really dig the pattern on these lens - I think the jagged outer edge in a dark grey is just a great way to subtly enlarge your eyes without having a massive black line around your iris.  And just so you know, I hate really thick black limbal rings that are just drawn as a line without any attempt at blending.  I think they look very fake (ironic as I stick grey/purple/green lens in my eyes yeah xD?) and kind of ugly actually since the halo is just so stark.  Anyway, this kind of limbal ring is perfect for me. You do get a faint halo sometimes when you look up with these lens as well but it shows as a gradient so it's not obvious.  This anti-halo stance is more of my personal preference though :P so it's not really a "bad" thing per se.

One nitpick I do have though is that the blending in the middle of the lens (the inner circle) is not subtle at all - it's just gray then suddenly black in the middle of my eye ^_^ I hope that makes sense.... But in their defense I think if these lens had a gradient/tried to blend the gray with my natural eye color, the overall color effect wouldn't be as vibrant.  In any case, I think the delicate sunburst pattern is still pretty natural and really pretty.

Like I said in the vid, these lens are really comfortable.   They definitely are thicker than EOS lens and you can feel them in your eye every once in awhile but it's not uncomfortable, if that makes any sense.  It's like being aware you have a hairclip in your hair...or something like that.  I haven't worn these longer than 8 hours at a time (any more than that is risky anyway) and they haven't given me trouble.  I don't use eyedrops either (actually I never use them, if lens are uncomfy I just never wear them again) so I think that speaks for how wearable they are.

The last thing I really like is how the lens show up "naturally" in real life, it looks dreamy and as my brother says, "like I'm about to cry" xD It also just looks friggin gorgeous on camera with flash. 

No flash/Natural lighting:

Flash:

This was my Friday night look ^_^

I wouldn't say these lens are subtle because the color is pretty eye catching and I think I hit all the main points in my video so I'll just do a quick summary now:

Pattern: 4.5/5
Enlarging: 2/5
Color Change: 5/5
Comfort: 4/5
Visibility: 5/5
Buy Again? YES

As kind of a teaser...the G&G Violets are GORGEOUS too - actually the Vi's are my favorite from my haul :D  I am totally addicted to G&Gs now, I want to the Blue and Brown ones too now ^_^  I really recommend the G&G GBT lens for people with dark eyes looking for a nice vibrant color change.

Review: Pinky Paradise Circle Lens Store

Hello peeps, I got in my order from Pinky Paradise on Monday.   I'll be reviewing the lens I got on separate posts, this is just my experience with the store.  I paid $25 for FedEx (I almost died clicking pay ahha) since it guaranteed 3-5 day shipping from Malaysia.  I ordered and paid on October 6, it took 1 day to receive confirmation of my order and arrived at my door at 9am this morning, exactly five days later even though it was Columbus Day.

It came in a FedEx bag and inside was another bag (one I assume they use for Regular Shipping.  It was checked as a Gift to avoid Customs Fees ;)

The goods :) I used 'ekilove' as a discount code and got 3 free gifts and 3 contact lens.   I actually got 4 gifts ^^ 2 eye masks, 1 velcro hair thingie, and weirdly creepy-cute key chain.   Unfortunately, the hair velcro was a knock off the original bow velcro and legit just did not work; it didn't hold a single strand of hair back.  So, I just threw that out.

As you can see I'm blind as a bat >_< My terrible prescription is one of the reasons I had to order from Pinky Paradise, there are just so few stores that offers lens from Deuba, G&G etc that sell prescriptions high enough without pre-ordering.   Actually I orignally wanted the G&G GBT Green or the GEO Twins Green but PP didn't have anything above -6.50 in-stock for those :( ...gahhh....I'm so blind >_<

I ordered:
- G&G GBT Grey - $19.90
- G&G GBT Violet - $19.90
- Wonder Eye Green (Super Nudy Green) - $22.90

TOTAL: $87.69 (inc S&H)

I don't think I got the right green lens, I got some green lens in a G&G bottle and I believe Super Nudys are Deuba Barbie (so yeah, G&G/Deuba/Barbie = all the same company, I feel dumb xD)?  Anyway, I emailed them with pics today and let's see what they say.  My macro function bloody sucks so I'm sorry the design is a little hard to see.  I'll try to get better pics for the actual reviews.

G&G GBT Grey

G&G GBT Violet

G&G GBT Wonder Eye Green (Super Nudy Green)

Packaging/Shipping
Excellent packaging, no complaints. Very pleased how it came in a Styrofoam box, not just wrapped in bubble wrap.

I paid $25 for Express/FedEx and while it sounds steep (it would've been a better deal if I ordered more lens), I would say it was worth it since it came exactly within five days as promised counting weekends and holidays so I was quite impressed.   Tracking code they gave me worked on the day after it was posted under My Account.

Note on PP shipping: The reason I paid Express was because in April 2010 and August 2010 there was an odd glut of reviews on YouTube of buyers complaining about how they had either 1.) had not received their lens for 4+ weeks (some still hadn't gotten their lens for over 2+ months with no response!) or 2.) received a tracking code that didn't work.   I specifically wanted lens for Halloween, really wanted to try G&G lens and have terrible eyes so I pretty much had to order from PP.  Since I didn't want to wait more than two weeks and wanted to ensure I'd get my lens no matter what, I put down the money for Express.  That said, I can't speak for their regular shipping, which is supposed to take 14-25 business days - aka from 3-5 weeks to the States. Despite the negative reviews during that time though, there are still plenty of reviews that also state how quickly their packages arrived even with regular shipping so maybe it's luck of the draw :\

Speaking of, if anybody wants to order a lens with me in the future from PP and split the Express shipping costs (flat $25) to the US, let me know ^^

Cost
I ended up paying ~$20 +$8 S&H/lens.  You can definitely get GEO lens for $20 flat (inc shipping) with pre-orders so I definitely do not recommend using PP for GEO or EOS lens.  I've gotten all my GEO's from Geo Eye Candy via pre-order (though they have in-stock too); they also have EOS.  All their lens (the last time I looked) were a flat $20 for GEO and $25 for EOS w/ special deals. The cheapest GEO lens store I've come across so far is GeoSupplier who sells Geo's at $10 + $3.50 S&H to US. I haven't ordered from her yet though (she's based in Singapore) but when the time comes I probably will cuz those prices are friggin' nice.

For more exotic brands, I would have to say PP is the place to go.  PP's strength is that they carry in-stock prescription lens in many brands.  Though some lens are a little overpriced, all things considered, PP charges relatively fair prices. Even if they are a tad on the high side, they make up for it with the range of prescription lens they carry and can ship right away +  worldwide shipping.  Also they include the cutest lens cases ever (use 'ekilove' as rep code in the coupon code box):

Blue pig, yellow frog, pink blowfish.

When I saw these online, I thought they were pretty cheap looking. But noooo...these lens cases are figgin' quality.  They're made of thick heavy plastic, the caps screw on tightly and inside each lens well there is a little 'R' or 'L.'  Also the animal caps always screw so that they are both face forward when it's on tightly - in other words, great attention to detail, all the way down to the direction the animal caps face.  They sell these cases for $3.99 each on their website and I can legit say that they would be worth the money.  It's pretty sweet I got three of them for free ^_^

Communication
It would've been nice if they included a receipt but I noticed non-US based Asian online stores are really lax about receipt-sending (it's really not necessary nowadays with online payment and all) but still.  Otherwise, good communication, PP responded to my question within 24 hours and the tracking code worked within one day.

UPDATE 10/12/2010

Thanks Noxin - and yeah, you're totally right (I should've asked you first -_-;; I feel stupid :P). Btw I got the G&G Vi's because of your reviews so yeah xD it was no coincidence. 

PP replied today (I've never been called 'dear' so often in my life):

hi dear
yes dear, they are the right lenses :) Wondereye series is manufactured by G&G company. GBT label is one of G&G company label

thanks dear

This makes sense since the lens look like the right pattern ^_^ So overall - good experience indeed.  I have to say that despite my initial reservations, I am quite impressed and would have to recommend PP especially for people who need high prescriptions looking for non-GEO/EOS lens and need them quickly  >.<