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I was super excited to try circle lenses.. but they were a huge FAIL

It would be easy to blame Lady Gaga for my circle lens foray, jump on the bandwagon of cool that she sashays down and say I just wanted ‘bad romance’ but that would just be lying. think about it. That video was over three years ago, so it would just make me look like the laziest fangirl ever. Truth be told, circle lenses have been on my radar pre-Gaga, as I’m a little obsessed with weird Japanese and Korean blogs and after wondering how the fuck do all the girls look like anime characters, I decided that http://lmgtfy.com/ was pretty much my only answer. Enter a world of fantasy, of sapphire diamonds floating across pupils, tiny gold filaments sparking around irises of the eye, and circles, so many circles, like all your Venn diagram wet dreams in one big strange absorbing eyeball.

The problem was that my eyesight was abhorrent.we’re talking minus eight people, and for those blessed with 20/20, minus six is considered legally blind my many people, so add two more points.. and yeah. Of course, I could get circle lenses and wear them with my glasses, but that felt like a really lame way to go, and would pretty much spoil my whole fantasy of masquerading as some adorable anime nymphet.

In 2012 I had unsuccessful laser eye surgery (yes, I’m in that enviable 5% bracket). My eyesight isn’t 20/20, but it is -2, which means that as long as I avoid roads and reading, I could finally indulge my circle lens fetish.

Carefully selecting the Phantasee MaxVue vision circle lenses in black, I eagerly awaited their arrival. After ripping them open, I was so impatient to try them that I temporarily blinded myself putting one lens in my eye created a burning blistering pain that had me hopping up and down, tears streaming. Seems that the packaged solution the lens travel in doesn’t go so well in the eyes, and the instructions I’d ripped apart would have told me to rinse the lenses in the provided solution.

The next day, I tried them again. I prepared- hands were clean, face was bare and smooth, lenses were rinsed. In went one. then the next. No burning pain- always a good thing, right.

Then I looked in the mirror. Um. I looked pretty much exactly the same. Sure, if you looked super closely you could see that my pupils were a tiny bit wider, but this really wasn’t channeling the inner kawaii girl at all.

I wasn’t going to give up this easily, so I added some kawaii accessories. OK, really just an oversized big pink hairbow,(quick aside, I love bows, Gossip Girl got me into them and they are a great way to make any outfit sparkle, plus they’re great at hiding the fact you haven’t washed your hair lately) dusted on some powder for the ethereal glow I was going for and looked again. Hmm maybe from one angle I looked a little cuter, so I then naturally sent an hour posing and taking photographs.

Sure , from some angles I looked kinda elfin, especially when i pursed my lips, or did that awkward half grin thing I learned from Joey Potter (Dawson’s Creek reference FYI) but overall, meh.

 

Next, I played around with them in PhotoShop. I had two rules.

FYI I set these rules, there wasn’t some big-eyed goddess of circle lens-hood beaming down on me, I’m just a little bit obsessive and so I decided to arbitrarily impose them on myself. No enlarging was allowed, and in terms of photo editing i could only tweak color and contrast, I couldn’t artificially add glowing orbs to my eyes to make them superman-style.

I played a little, and changing my skin to pale and yellowish tones added to the alien affect, but it was more odd than enchanting and i did feel duped.

Staring disconsolately in the mirror, I went back to their website to ogle the other lens options and to see if I’d just messed up with my order. I had the Big Eyes Defined Ringlense, and the website even showed them on another user- a redhead, who looked striking and exciting and vampy.

OK, so it was just me then. Somehow my face and eyes resist any option of going kawaii and the circle lenses were just another one of those purchases that will go into the better luck next time pile.

$20 from EyesBright

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Lady Soma Skin and Nail Treament

My hands have been pretty chapped lately, nails peeling, and icky ripped up skin teasing the edges of my cuticles. In part this is because I am a nervous finger chewer- yes, I KNOW- but I do also feel that the random weather is a little too blame. The insane New York aircon is also a little too blame, but considering my finger stubs were becoming nubs, I needed to take action pronto. I carry a hand cream with me at all times, but I felt I needed something more intensive. I also changed my diet, adding in some Biotin and daily Folic Acid supplements. No, I’m not preggers, these are just great nourishing skin replenishing vitamins.

Next, the Lady Soma Skin and Nail Treatment. It’s paraben free and made with cocoa butter and shea butter. What I think really makes the difference though is the inclusion of kokum butter. Yes, I had to google it, but basically it’s isan extract from an Indian tree, and has amazing emollient properties.

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Spa Find Heavenly Hydration Foot Care Cream Review

Feet are the opposite of glamorous. Shoes, shoes I can get behind, but feet, well I’d rather stick them in pretty socks or tights and forget about them. Problem is, other people. Other  people who might see them or touch them.. yeah.  In an attempt to make my feet more people friendly I’ve been slathering them with the Spa Find Heavenly Hydration Footcare cream. I’m not a fan of the overly long unnecessarily  alliteration, but I won’t hold that against them.

The cream itself is very rich and thick,  white liquid that sticks to my hands and sits rather than gets absorbed in my feet. I’ve been slathering it on and wearing socks in bed for a week, and I have seen some improvement in softness. The cream apparently has extracts containing ‘Aloe Vera, Grapefruit, Mango, Peach, Chamomile, Jasmine, Rose and Coconut’, and while I am sure this is true, it is completely scent free.

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Eyesbright Colorvue Jewel Gold Contact Lens review

I have always wanted to try out colored contact lenses, so when Eyesbright offered me the chance I was super excited. I picked the Jewel Gold pair for my first option; I wanted something bold, but not to obvious that people would see them straightaway.

The lenses came packaged in a nice neat little packet and they were easy yo apply. The lenses themselves were slightly bigger than everyday lenses, so that felt a little strange at first, but they settles down. Disclaimer: I used to wear lenses daily (pre bad LASEK) so I do know what I’m talking about here. I really liked the gold decoration on the lenses- they caught the light in a really cool way, plus I just got a new camera to play with, so I may have got  a little carried away…

 

And yes, I do really need to do my eyebrows.

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Nail Rock BodyRock Glitter Tattoo Review

Temporary body tattoos were one of those things we thought we left in the 90′s, along with gummy bracelets, Rainbow Strike and Milkybars. However, recent years have seen temporary tattoos take on a life of their own- chiefly with the help of Chanel and their rather stunning leg decorations- and steep Chanel like pricetag. NailRock, the creators of the stunning nail decals that we love to play with decided to create a rather more wallet friendly line of temporary body art, and I’ve been [playing with some of them in light of it being the holiday season.

I’ve been trying the Body Rock Glitter pack, which contains three sheets of different gold glitzy tattoos, and as I LOVE stars, I just had to go for them.

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Dr Nick Lowe The Secret Is Out Lifting Cream Cleanser Review

With Winter whistling its temperamental tune down the streets of New York, my skin is feeling drier than a Thanksgiving Turkey in December. Chapped lips, red cheeks and skin texture that is verging on the rough makes me a little concerned. Some people like to deal with rough skin by using harsh astringents but I prefer the gentle approach.

Dr Nick Lowe is a world famous dermatologist who specializes in using high end technologies and combining them with skin products to help refine and hydrate the skin, and he’s also medical director of a clinical research company which focuses on skin ageing.

I’m a big fan of cream cleansers, as I love the feeling of cream on m skin and they feel a lot less harsh than gels or scrubs. The Dr Nick Lowe Secret Is Out Lifting Cream Cleanser comes in a light blue bottle- and you get soo much of it, 200 ml to be exact, which is very attractive for the price. The cream itself is pretty light but has a nice non sticky consistency and is easy to rub into the skin. It contains algae to help tighten the skin as it cleans it, and includes Hyaluronic Acid, which adds to the feeling that you’ve somehow hydrated your skin whilst cleaning it, a very pleasant sensation.

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L’Oreal Mythic Oil : Hair gold in a pot

Bleaching and heat tools do not a healthy hair of head make, so L’Oreal’s Mythic Oil mask has been my secret tool in keeping my tresses in shape. This product is easy to use- you simply shampoo your hair as normal and then apply a healthy dollop of the Mythic Oil Mask to the ends of your hair. The product has a light yellowish tinge to it, and I love how it has a nice thick texture, making it really adhere to your hair and enabling you to carefully comb it through the ends (helps prevent tangling at a later stage).

Mythic Oil is from the L’Oreal Professionnel  range, which offers (in my opinion) a slightly higher level of haircare products, and there are multiple Mythic Oil options to choose from- a dedicated shampoo and conditioner as well. You are advised to leave the mask on for around 3 minutes and I like to aim for about five as my hair needs some serious TLC.

It rinses off easily and you can already tell how nourished the hair is from this, as it runs like silk through your fingers as you shower out the product. The secret to this product is in the ingredient list- naturally- which contains Argan Oil, Avocado and Cotton Seed Oil to leave hair shiny and silky, and taming all those flyaways that frustrate me so (well, for a day or so at least).

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