If there is one feature I love the most about myself, it’s my eyes. My eyes are a turquoise/blue shade that I get a ton of compliments on. I can’t even tell you how often I get “you have beautiful eyes” and my usual response varies from “thank you” to “I know”, depending on the person of course ;).
I was contacting by the people over at Angel Contacts, a Canadian company that specializes in circle lenses (cosmetic lenses that make the irises in your eyes appear larger), a few weeks back to review a couple pairs of their lenses. I was a bit skeptical at first, because when I think of coloured contact lenses I think of too bright blue lenses that don’t look real. Plus, I already love the colour of my eyes. After some thought, I decided to take them up on their offer because I thought it would be cool to see what I would look like with different coloured, larger-looking eyes.
Now Angel Contacts aren’t just coloured contact lenses. They offer them in prescription and non-prescription (up to -7.00) grade, but they aren’t for functionality, they are more for cosmetic purposes. I do wear contact lenses on daily basis (clear ones) as without them my eyesight is very poor (when I popped these in I have to wear them with my glasses because otherwise I would be blind). Now the big thing about this product is the fact that they are branded as circle lenses, not coloured contacts.
Our GEO circle lenses are cosmetic contacts, which come in a variety of styles and colors. All of our lenses are 14mm in diameter, which means they give you a natural and noticeable enlargement to your iris. From the most subtle Nudy series, to the boldest Angel series, you can customize and redefine your eyes anyway you want! Best of all, they come in prescription!
Circle lenses originated from South Korea and have been very popular in Asian countries. The main difference between your typical contact lens and a circle lens is that the circle ones are tinted not only in areas that cover the iris of the eye, but also prominently in the extra-wide outer rim of the lens. As a result, you get the appearance of a bigger, wider iris and it creates the illusion of a larger eye.
Whenever I think of circle lenses I think of Michelle Phan’s tutorial on Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance look (fast forward to the 6:08 mark).
Anyways, although they are a cosmetic product, Angel Contacts are Health Canada certified and US FDA 510(k) approved (for more info click here), so it definitely made me feel better putting these in my eyes.
I chose to go with the Geo Fresh Brown and the Geo Nudy Violet because I wanted a different look than what I’m used to but nothing too extravagant. Both lenses retail for $25 each and come with a free lens case.
Geo Fresh Brown
Geo Nudy Violet
The Nudy series is their most natural-looking lens. I chose these because I didn’t want to look like I was wearing coloured contacts; I just wanted my eyes to be enhanced. The Geo Fresh series are also natural looking so it was exactly what I wanted. They do offer more bold choices but I didn’t want anything too crazy (considering that I would have to wear these with glasses anyways, so I just felt like it would be too much attention on my eyes).
Here are my natural eyes, I’m not wearing any contacts in the above photo.
Here are my eyes with the Geo Fresh Brown. You can still see a hint of my blue eyes around the iris area, but I did notice as soon as I put them in my eyes did look bigger. They weren’t as brown as I thought they would be once they are in but I think that perhaps you are supposed to match the lenses to the colours of your eyes. For example, these would be great for someone who has brown eyes, then you can get the real effect of the lens. I still really liked them but I would recommend these lenses to someone who already has brown eyes to begin with.
Here are the Geo Nudy Violet lenses which actually show up more violet in photos than in real life in my opinion. I found these were more subtle in person, they enhanced the natural colour of my eyes more than anything.
I really liked both lenses but I found that I would wear them for different purposes. If I wanted my natural colour enhanced, I would reach for the violet ones. If I wanted that true circle look, I would grab the brown ones. I did noticed instantly that with the Geo Fresh Brown lenses my eyes did look larger.
If you want to try out circle lenses I would definitely recommend Angel Contacts because not only are they easy to deal with and dependable (fast shipping, tracking number, Health Canada approved, and a Canadian company), but they really do offer natural-looking products, which when it comes to lenses (whether you are buying them to change the natural colour of your eyes, or for the circle aspect), I think this should be the biggest factor. Although circle lenses aren’t necessarily an everyday kind of product, these are fun to pop in once in a while, plus Halloween is coming up and I would love to go as Lady Gaga in her Bad Romance video…
Before I go, Chase also wanted to show you his eyes. He has large irises, lucky him he doesn’t need any enhancements…
It’s been a while since my last post because I have been on a long-overdue vacation. I went to Las Vegas for five nights last week on an annual trip with a few girlfriends of mine. This was my third time there so I didn’t really do any “touristy” things, just mostly hit up a few nightclubs and do the usual shopping.
As far as shopping goes, I usually have the things I want in mind before I go. Since stuff is generally cheaper in the States compared to Canada (especially cosmetics) I usually load up on things when I’m there. As a result, I have a separate “travel” savings account set up so every payday I just deposit the usual amount in it and by the time my vacation comes around I have all this cash to spend. I have been saving for this trip since I got back from Montreal in February, so I had a good chunk of change saved up.
I do usually tend to buy a lot of big name cosmetics when I travel because it’s often to bigger cities and they offer more premium brands. I also buy one big purchase, which typically is a designer handbag. I did buy a handbag this time around, but my big purchase was actually something different than a bag. But I’ll get into that last :).
I don’t generally buy a lot of clothes when I travel, I mostly invest my money in cosmetics and accessories because I find I get more wear out of them. I used to travel with an empty suitcase and just buy a ton of clothes, but as I’ve gotten older and wiser, this is no longer the case as I like to make more sensible purchases; something that’s not an impulse and stuff that I can wear or use for more than one season. Plus, I just get so sick of clothes so fast. I did buy a few items from H&M, J. Crew, and Charlotte Russe though, mostly because we don’t have those stores in my city (I honestly hope we never get an H&M here because I travel so much that I can shop there a few times a season, if we had one I wouldn’t bother stopping in).
Anyways, starting off with the cosmetic items…
Viva La Juicy eau de perfume 50 ml – bought at the Juicy outlet at Premium Outlets Las Vegas North. I actually got a really good deal on this because it was 25 per cent off, bringing it to around $55 USD. In Canada it retails for $80. I’ve wanted this fragrance for a while so I was really happy to get it on sale.
NARS Madly blush – bought at Sephora. I love this blush and Dulce Candy always raves about it so I was excited to pick it up. I have so many pink blushes that I wanted something a little more different.
Illamasqua lipstick in Liv – bought at Sephora. This lipstick is seriously the dictionary definition of porn star pink. Definitely a night out kind of colour.
Benefit High Beam – bought at Sephora. I have a mini of this stuff and it’s seriously the most perfect highlighter I have ever tried.
MAC Paint Pot in Nubile – bought at the Cosmetic Company Outlet Las Vegas North. I have wanted this Paint Pot for a while but I didn’t think I really needed it that bad. Luckily, it was only $11.75 and it was the last one left, so I snatched it. I’m glad I bought it because it’s the perfect base for your eyelids. This was also limited edition from 2011.
Butter London Nail Polish in Slapper – bought at Nordstrom. I have wanted this colour for a long time but the only place in Canada that I know that sell Butter London is The Bay, which didn’t seem to carry this colour (although I was at my local Bay store this past Saturday and they totally carry it now. Oh well, it’s cheaper in the US anyways, $14 compared to $17). Anyways, this was the last one of this shade they had and since I have never tried BL before, I thought I may as well pick it up.
Deborah Lippmann Nail Lacquer in Just Dance – bought at Nordstrom. Because Deborah Lippmann is much cheaper in the US I knew I was going to pick up at least one of her polishes, this teal-blue glitter caught my eye so I snagged it.
As for accessories, I didn’t pick up that much jewelry. I really wanted a Tiffany’s necklace, but I decided to save that for another trip. The two pearl bracelets and gold spiked one was a set from Charlotte Russe that I got for $6. The green bracelet with rhinestones is from H&M. Note: I didn’t buy the silver Michael Kors watch on this trip, I got it from The Bay around Christmas time last year (shown for stacking purposes).
Of course I had to pick up a new bag when I was there and I have wanted this one since I was in Montreal. I picked up the Michael Kors large Hamilton in black with gold hardware and plan to use this as a work bag because it’s just so large and roomy and would be perfect to use on business trips. This bag retails for $398 in Canada and $348 in the US, however, I got it for much less than that because of luck and timing.
I knew I was going to pick it up at Macy’s because they offer a 10 per cent off international discount. I ended up going to Macy’s at Fashion Show Mall on a Friday and the next day they were actually having a shopping event where you can buy a shopping passport for $5 (donated to charity) and get 25 per cent off most items. I ended up pre-paying for the bag so I could get the 25 per cent off, plus I signed up for a Macy’s card which snagged me an additional 20 per cent off (which I paid off right away), so the final total after taxes and everything came to $225. I got a crazy deal on that bag and I’m so glad that I chose to go to Macy’s rather than Nordstrom, a Michael Kors boutique, or Neimans. Macy’s usually offers the best deals on items so if you want something from a brand that you know Macy’s carries (each store is different, Macy’s at FSM is definitely a premium-brand store compared to other stores in smaller markets), check with them first, you can most likely get some sort of discount on it.
To match my new bag I got this rose gold card holder from the Michael Kors outlet (I actually bought this before the bag). I have wanted a business card holder since I got business cards so I picked this one up. This is a great little item because you can also use it as a wallet and store your credit cards, debit cards, cash, etc. in case you don’t want to carry around a large wallet.
Finally, onto my biggest purchase…
I splurged and bought a pair of Christian Louboutins. I have always felt a desire to buy a pair of CLs every time I see their iconic red sole but I didn’t know if I would be able to fork over that much cash for a pair of shoes which are constantly on the ground. I told myself that I would try a pair on and just get it out of my head that I didn’t need them. Well, that plan didn’t work and I walked out of Neiman Marcus with a pair of Decolletes 100s in black jazz calf leather.
I’m not going to go into too much detail about the shoes because I’m planning on doing a separate post on them (there’s not a lot of blog reviews on Christian Louboutins, especially this model). I have found that these type of posts truly help a lot of people because if you are like me, I do a ton of research before spending the cash on these items, and any sort of information on them really helps.Anyways, here are some more shots of the shoes.
Keep a look out for future blog posts featuring these items!
As for the actual trip, we stayed at The Mirage which is always a good time and got the two-bedroom hospitality suite for the last two nights. For nightclubs, we went to 1OAK (mediocre compared to other Vegas clubs), Surrender (loved this place, Lil’ Jon was playing the night we were there), Marquee (the music was good, the place was beautiful, but it was way too crowded, I wouldn’t go back), and XS (always a good time, if you go in the summer make sure to go for Sunday Night Swim). As for day clubs, we hit up Bare at The Mirage (we got accosted by a guy who offered us open bar from 11-1 and free cover, cant say no to that), which actually turned out to be a pretty good time.
Here are some pictures from my trip (note, they were taken on my iPhone, hence the quality).
Khloe Kardashian! If you spent $160 you got a photo with her and a gift bag. I didn’t do it because I would rather spend that on makeup…
Platinum Entourage Blow Out Bar Las Vegas
Me, on left
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I have been really into pink this month so I picked up a colour that I have had in my collection for a while now but haven’t had the chance to use.
SpaRitual’s Camellia is a pretty bright pink colour, reminiscent of Pepto Bismol. It’s not as bright as SpaRitual’s Knowledge is Power, but more of a toned down version of that shade. Originally I thought it would be similar to OPI’s Pink Friday but Camellia is definitely a more brighter pink. It looks a little lighter than it is in the bottle but I was actually very happy with this colour and a bit surprised that I haven’t tried it before.
I applied two coats of Camellia to get it opaque. As usual I used Beauty Secrets base coat from Sally’s and Poshe top coat. As for chipping, I find that SpaRitual has very good wear compared to other brands out there. I had this colour on for four days before some minor tip wear occurred.
This colour was part of their Summer 2012 Pigment collection but if you can still find it, I would pick this one up if you like these kinds of pink. SpaRitual really knows how to make nice pink polishes, I have a few of them.
Have you tried SpaRitual Camellia? If so, what were your thoughts?
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