Category: Make up

Are circle lenses worth all the hype?

~ Emmie Reve ~ 3 Comments

So this trend has been happening for a long while now.  Circle lenses are contact lenses worn with or without a prescription.  They usually change the eye colour and iris size, and are mostly used for cosmetic reasons and cosplay. It’s another asian make-up trend that latched on here in North America, and the goal is to make your eyes appear more dolly-like, more cute and more interesting.  Wearers and makers of circle lenses claim many things…that they enhance the eyes, play up colour and intensity, and make the eyes look bigger and brighter, more gorgeous. But do they really do all those things?  I kind of doubt how enlarging the iris (the coloured ring around the pupil) can make eyes appear larger.  More like a doll’s eyes, yes, but nothing can really make the actual eye appear “bigger”, in my humble opinion.  I think the enlarging the eyes thing is just marketing talk.

An example of how cute the culture of circle lens packaging is!
An example of how cute the culture of circle lens packaging is!

I feel the only thing that these over-seas circle lenses can do is change eye colour.  The main obstacle when choosing a coloured lens is how to balance a noticeable change while wearing them and not having it look unnatural or fake on the eyes.  I can’t wear circle lenses that are big in diameter (determines the iris size), even though they are all the rage.  That is because my eyes are small and my eye surface area to lens ratio is too great for wearing large diameter lenses. They actually look too fake on me. This has been a major bummer for me because I have to use 14mm diameter and that is very minimal iris enlargement. I’ve just been basically changing colours of my eyes.  I’ve done blue, grey and purple lenses.  Recently, I decided to try red lenses!  I got them on sale from Pinky Paradise.  1 pair doesn’t cost that much ($20-25) and shipping is reasonable.  Just don’t get addicted to these lenses and feel the need to have every colour of the rainbow.  That will rack up quite a bill quickly.

This is my natural eye colour, with no lenses.
This is my natural eye colour, with no lenses.
With redish coloured lenses. Are my eyes more striking? Or are circle lenses useless?
With Venus brand red lenses. Are my eyes more striking? Or are circle lenses useless?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So what do you think?  Is the payoff for wearing circle lenses there?  or is it just better to be au naturale when it comes to the eyes?  We also need to think about how wearing contacts requires proper cleaning, care and storage, because maintaining eye health is a serious thing.  I got some unknown eye condition two years ago while using various circle lenses, and it took me months to heal.  I practiced good handling methods so til this day, I wonder if it was from frequent use of these lenses.  So in the end is it really worth all the hassle just for a subtle change in eye colour? I am still on the fence whether sporting circle lenses are as great as the trend makes them out to be or something I can go without…

To curl or not to curl (eyelashes, that is)…

~ Emmie Reve ~ Leave a comment

When I was growing up, I had the shortest most sparse lashes ever.  As a teenager I cried at my barely there lashes, and coated them with loads of mascara to try to make them show up.  But the look I got was just clumpy.  It was also the norm back then to use an eyelash curler.  Every woman knows this instrument.  It is a hinged metallic or plastic clamp that crimps lashes and forces them to go “upwards” in direction, so they give the impression of being more full and long.  The problem with using this is that it never looked natural…lashes don’t all of a sudden push in an upward direction. And my tiny young eyes were too small to fill in the contours of a lash curler, meaning only the tips/ends of my lashes were being curled.  So all the make-up experts that said lash curling was a “mandatory” step in make-up application probably never had my eyes or my lashes.  The other problem:  they pulled out lashes.  Seriously.  I had few and short lashes to begin with, so pulling them out by crimping them with a clamp was definitely not a good idea for me.

My boyfriend recently stumbled into possession of an eyelash curler and asked me what it was. Us girls and our medieval face-put-together tools...
My boyfriend recently stumbled into possession of an eyelash curler and asked me what it was. Us girls and our medieval face-put-together tools…

Fast forward fifteen years into the future:  I have thrown away all lash curlers.  No I don’t believe they make my eyes bigger, or my lashes appear longer.  I have a feeling they actually damage my lashes and cause them to fall out!  Think about it.  Everytime you clamp down on that tool, your lashes are bent and pulled.  So with long term use, wouldn’t your lashes get even more thin and sparse with time and using a curler?

The new trend today is  making lashes grow.  Have any of you seen the new growth and conditioning eyelash treatments available out there recently?  So now instead to buying tools to crimp up our lashes, us women are supposed to embrace expensive serums that “grow” lashes.  But honestly, we can’t grow lashes. The most we can do is take care of those lashes we do have.  My simple solution is this:  stick to a good non-clumping mascara and get some nice false eye lashes.  No relying on serums, or pulling lashes with a clamp lash curler.

Make the Most of your Lashes:

1. Two coats or more of non-clumping mascara.  Push up on the lashes with a clean finger after application to encourage the drying of mascara into an upward natural curl of lashes.  No need to clamp down with a curler.  Fingers can gently guide lashes to the shape and position you want!

My half length "accent" lashes that I applied, just to the outer half of my eyelash lid. They do the trick and look rather natural...
My half length “accent” lashes that I applied, just to the outer half of my eyelash lid. They do the trick and look rather natural…

2.  Use falsies:  There was and probably still is this Asian make-up trend of super doe-like lashes, full and long to mesmerize the onlooker at how gorgeously lush your eyes can be.  Nobody is born with it, but with the help of false eyelashes, girls that were deficient in the eyelash gene were suddenly and amply blessed!!!  Use a thin layer of eyelash glue and stick falsies as close as possible to the lash line.  Instant babe-a-licious glam!  I use accent halfies–fake eyelashes that are half in length, used just at the ends of the eye for drama.  I like them because they appear more natural than full lashes on my petite eyes, but still deliver on giving intensity to the eye.

This is me in my half length falsies. Believe it or not, because of my eye size, half lashes add enough drama...
This is me in my half length falsies. Believe it or not, because of my eye size, half lashes add enough drama…

 

Tips for applying fake lashes:

*Use a small amount of glue…too much glue actually hinders the look and feel of wearing falsies.  They make them super uncomfortable because of overly strong bonds, and is potentially messy, getting everywhere on your lid as you are placing them on.

*After applying the glue to the lashes, wait about 1 minute.  Most people say to wait about 20 seconds, but I find the longer your glue sets, the more easier it is to place them close to the lash line because the glue is more set and will not cling to the lid until they are in the right place and you intentionally push them onto the skin to adhere.

*Just have fun!  Nobody really cares if you have thick, long or thin lashes.  But I do admit, long lashes frame the eyes wonderfully and make them sparkle!

 

Curling irons fail at giving effortlessly natural waves!

~ Emmie Reve ~ Leave a comment

I read an article a while ago about how to achieve waves in your hair that didn’t look super perfect, and avoided the “glamour shots” look that is so not desirable.  For those of you that didn’t grow up in the subarbs around Toronto, Glamour Shots was this boutique/salon/photo shop that briefly set itself up in malls in Canada I believe during the 90’s, or sometime near there.  This was when looking like a model or actress was a female fantasy, and getting done up at the photo boutique was supposed to be as close as you can get to “looking” like a Hollywood siren. Only the makeovers were very laughable.  Just overdone make-up, and very tight spiral curls, and unflattering bedroom clothes that seemed to add ten pounds to your body and face.  Maybe because 10 pounds is close to the amount of make-up they smeared on a client.

Anyways, getting back onto topic, for many years after the fad, I’ve adored texture and wave, and have used curling irons to occasionally fulfill my need for wavy hair drama.  I resorted to using a thicker barrel curling iron, so that the waves would seem more natural.  But the results were still quite done up, and larger curls sometimes meant less defined pretty waves. What I craved was that look you get with hair that is naturally wavy, like you had just gotten out of bed, and it was effortlessly full of texture and drama.  Mermaid waves, as it is called.    This is impossible to get with a hot iron.   The only way I could get mermaid waves was to use sea salt spray (I make my own), then tie my hair into tiny little buns and wait for them to dry.  The problem with this was that it took a lot of time to dry without damaging heat from a dryer.  The solution was to get curls while sleeping, when no one would see me in this altered state of scrunchied strangeness.  By using soft small scrunchies to hold my hair in buns, I was able to sleep after sea salting my hair, and I would wake up with gorgeous flow-y curls that were messy and natural.

How to use scrunchies for natural heatless waves:

1.  Use them to hold your buns!  After spraying sea salt spray evenly in you hair (check out my homemade sea salt spray recipe), twist your hair into a couple of tiny LOOSE buns.  I usually do four buns for more defined curls, but you could also do one big bun…tie down your buns with your scrunchies!

Not a pretty hairstyle at all! But do at at night when no one is looking! I made my own scrunchies!
Not a pretty hairstyle at all! But do at at night when no one is looking! I made my own scrunchies!

2.  Go to sleep and let the night do its wonders. Because of a looser bun and soft scrunchies, this curling way is actually comfortable enough to sleep in.

3.  In the morning remove the scrunchies to reveal a natural curly wave, not overly done up and hot-iron looking at all!  I feel this curl looks best after 2 days, when it has had time to relax.  Enjoy the texture and wave, and don’t let anyone know your curls aren’t natural!

After a few days, the curls relax and look uneven and undone. Like you fell out of bed with wavy hair!
After a few days, the curls relax and look uneven and undone. Like you fell out of bed with wavy hair!