Circle Lens Update

Okay, so last week I wrote about how I got circle lenses and how they burnt my eyes the first time I wore them? Well, turns out that people were right, and that it was only a problem because they didn't come with the proper instructions that would have said "Soak your lenses in solution for at least 8 hours before wear,". I'm rather annoyed that this information was not broadcast rather loudly by the seller, and instead hidden on their FAQ page (which was broken at the time I got the lenses). The reason being, all domestic contact lenses can be worn straight from their packaging without soaking, so how would people know to soak them if they don't get told first? >_<;;

But anyway, now you know! Now I know! And I was able to put one in and wear it today for a few hours with no discomfort or problems. Yay circle lenses!



P.S. I actually wore out just one lens because I had to go shopping, and nobody noticed at allX___x;; I guess people really just don't look people in the eyes any more these days>_>;; But also, this re-enforces the fact that you should only wear these lenses for short amounts of time, like photo shoots, because otherwise you might be hurting your eyes for no reason and no-one will notice anywayX__x;;

Circle Lenses, Colour Contacts and Lolita

Right from the start, gothic lolita fashion and colour contact lenses have gone hand-in-hand. Lately a new type of lens called "circle lenses" have become very popular. Circle lenses are colour contact lenses where the colour goes all the way to the edge of the lens, making your iris look bigger.
Read any Gothic Lolita Bible, Kera or Ageha magazine and you will see that almost all the models have either colour contacts or circle lenses. For a natural look, there are edge-only lenses which only increase the diameter of the iris but don't change the colour. These only really work if you have black or brown eyes. For colour circle lenses, there are edge colours, transparent colours and opaque colours.

In the past I made the mistake of buying transparent colour contact, only to find that they didn't show up in blue eyes at all!


Up close you can see the pattern.


From a distance there is hardly any change.

Disappointed, I decided to order some opaque circle lenses instead. They aren't sold in Australia, so I had to order them from Korea. When I got them, they made a huge difference to my eyes!


They would probably look best on darker eyes, but blue and purple aren't too different.


Now here's where you can see the impact! It completes the supernatural doll look that I try to aim for in Lolita XD


With a black wig- to me it looks less unnatural than blue eyes with black hair. Now I just need a better wig^^;;

I did have problems with the Korean lenses however- they didn't come with proper instructions, and I found out later that you were supposed to soak them in lens cleaner for at least 8 hours before use. This was after I already put them in and they burnt and stung my eyes DDDDD:
I haven't tried them back on since, and have been wondering if it's really worth risking my eyesight to look cool in lolita>_<;; You only get one pair of eyes, kids! Be sure to check with an optometrist and do your research before wearing contact lenses of any kind!
Also, circle lenses are only made for occasional and short-term wear. No more than 4-6 hours a day, and not too many days a week. There have been reports (although nothing official I can find) of people getting corneal ulcers and going blind from themD: A lot of my friends wear them often and so far have had no ill effects, although I know they take good care of them with cleaning and wear-time. Just be careful with your eyes!

A Lolita Night in Japan

Just today my friend who runs the Gothic Lolita select shop Mfashion in Europe posted a video she took of us in Japan last Winter. It features us walking around the streets of America-Mura (the centre of street fashion in Osaka, much like Harajuku in Tokyo) looking for somewhere to eat^^;; We're both wearing Innocent World.



(Sorry for my giggling and weird voice^^;;;;;)

Boleros are a Lolita's Best Friend!

If there was one lolita fashion discovery I wish I had made sooner, it's how useful boleros (and cardigans) can be!



Don't feel like wearing a blouse under your JSK? Wear a bolero over it instead! Especially in Summer, it's a life-saver! And it's usually much easier to wash a bolero than a blouse too (and requires less ironing).

Got a dress that looks funny with a blouse under it? Then wear it with a cardigan or bolero over the top instead! Some dresses are hard to co-ordinate with a blouse because of the shape of the collar or sleeves, so boleros or cardigans can solve this problem.




What about if a dress doesn't fit properly? Or has damage to the collar you can't fix (like make-up stains)? Again, boleros and cardigans can help you get more wear out of these dresses by hiding a multitude of sins.

So in conclusion, buying long and short sleeve boleros and cardigans in a few colours (black, white, cream, pink) can extend your wardrobe by a lot! Personally I'm working on completely my bolero and cardigan collection all the time, because they are just so useful:D

Happy New Lolita Year 2010!

Akemashite Omedetou! Happy New Year!

The most important part of the new year for lolitas is SALES! Most importantly if you live in Japan where the Lucky Packs (fukubukuro) go on sale around January 2-3, but also for online sales for international lolitas.

When I lived in Japan, I would always check Kera magazine for the list of brands and which day they would open to sell Lucky Packs, and which day they would open for Winter Sales (usually 30-70% off). The reason that some stores sold the Lucky Packs on one day and started the sale on another was to minimize the amount of confusion and people in the store. Some brands like Baby the Stars Shine Bright would only let in 5 people at a time, and wouldn't let anyone else into the store until they had paid for their items and left- presumably to prevent shop-lifting. Other brands just let everyone rush in- but it usually depended on how in-demand the lucky packs were.

The usual price of a Lucky Pack is 10,000-yen (about $100). The clothes inside can be worth anything from $200-800, depending on the brand. The most expensive Lucky Packs I've seen were 50,000-yen ones from Innocent World, h.Naoto and Angelic Pretty. Again, the more you can afford to lay down, the more you will get back in value!

Here are some lucky packs I got in previous years:


Angelic Pretty (New Years 2008)


Angelic Pretty (New Years 2007)


Black Peace Now (New Years 2008)