Tag: Glasses

My First Time Buying Glasses Online

For the first time in my entire life, I ordered glasses frames online. I loved what I got so much, I felt the need to share them with you. In this video, I share details about the frames and how I found them.

Now, let’s talk about these fabulous glasses. As you may now know, I have been wearing glasses all my life. Due to that, glasses have always been more of a utility. Growing up. my prescription evolved to be quite thick. Thus, back then, frames were not designed as jewelry and there was a limit to the style one can use with a thick prescription. Now, thanks to technology and fashion, there are more choices. The red frames you see me in now have been on my face for about 6 years. So, I have been itching for about a year and a half now for new frames, but had yet to find any in stores that catered to my personality. Thanks to now having extra time at home, I made it a project and treat for myself to explore different online eyewear stores.

First, Vint & York creates “eyewear for the modern nostalgic.” They take vintage trends to design stylish frames.

This is “Ella.” I chose the pink design and absolutely love them. Do you see the engraved details? They are elegant and edgy as well as discreet. The vintage design reminds me of My Fair Lady. They feel light weight on my face and are really comfortable.

This is “Zelda 2.” I chose the Belize Blue design and really love them. The design reminds me of African print and Vibranium. They are bold and sophisticated. This design reminds me of Afrofuturism. In terms of size, this might be the biggest in my history of eyewear. But, due to the design, I like that it does not swallow my face. Rather, it still accentuates my eyes. They also feel light weight and comfortable.

Next, Voogue Me tag line is “born to be unique.” They have a variety of styles that are classic, bold, and trendy.

This is “Eleni.” I chose the orange design. It reminds me of blaxploitation movies, like Cleopatra Jones, and R&B music in the early 2000s, like “Dip it Low” by Christina Milian or “Call on Me” by Janet Jackson. It also makes me think of anime. I really love this design. It is bold and funky. They are also light weight and feel good quality.

This is “Sydney.” I chose the black and white design. It reminds me of the Hollywood Glamour era with Audrey Hepburn, Eartha Kitt, and Dorothy Dandridge. I love this design’s twist on the cat eye shape. It is elegant and retro. They also feel good quality.

Finally, UBlins provides a variety of eyewear frames that are good quality and affordable.

This is “Anna.” I chose the black design and tortoise design. They both have a professional feel with personality. Elegant and discreetly edgy with the gold accents and cut-out on the sides. They are light weight and feel comfortable.

Overall, I am so pleased with my purchases. This was my first time hearing about any of these companies and I am really glad my online search lead me to them. I am really glad to see how eyewear design continues to evolve. It is encouraging to have so many options to choose from, if you take the time to search for them. Also, creating mini-lookbooks for each frame was a lot of fun.

Which eyewear design is your favorite? Which look was your favorite? Share with me in the comments.

Also, remember to connect with me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. I love hearing from you.

May 30, 2020
Why My Glasses Have A Purple Glare

I was practically born with glasses on. Thus, lens technology is my kind of party. The red frames I am wearing now were a gift from my brother and father, who also have a healthy sense of style. Friends noted my glasses had a purple reflection, which I did not notice. It was only after editing my LookBook images that I saw what they were talking about. Out of all the glasses I have worn over the years, this is the first time my lenses have looked like this. Since I did not order purple-rain-lenses, I slightly panicked thinking the lab might have done something wrong. So, of course, I did some research and felt the need to share my discovery with the world.

My lenses have an anti-reflective coating. Even though I have had this on my previous glasses for the past 10 years, there has been a new development recently that causes this colored glare. The purpose of anti-reflective coating is to remove reflections from the lenses to improve the quality of vision and look of the lenses. It removes the “back-glare” that is caused by light hitting the back of the lens and bouncing into the eyes. This can cause eye fatigue and blurry vision while viewing a screen or driving at night. This coating is installed as layers on both sides of the lens to cancel out the intensity of the light reflected from the inner surface and outer surface.

Now, I always understood anti-reflective coating to remove all reflection from the lenses. At least, I figured that is why it was called “anti-reflective.” All advertisements and demonstrations show clear lenses.

So, why do my glasses have a glare…a purple glare? It turns out the color of the light reflection is determined by the quality of the anti-reflective coating. A blue or purple coating has 6 layers and a green coating has 9 layers. The heavier coating is prescribed for those who drive more at night and use the computer a lot. These colors are known as a “residual glare.”

My frames also have aspheric lenses. This is also a recent development in lens technology where the concave of the lens is reduced to minimize the magnified appearance of the eyes. My prescription is pretty strong and not the same for both eyes. For a long time my eyes have looked very big with one noticeably bigger than the other. These lenses do not completely cancel the magnification, but I do notice a change in size. Note aspheric lenses do not alter the quality of vision, but rather are a cosmetic adjustment.

Now, are these new developments worth it? To some, the purple residual glare looks cool. I do not see purple while wearing the glasses, so the glare does not distract me. However, looking back at the demo images, I was expecting my lenses to look clear. It might be that the combination of the aspheric lenses and the anti-reflective coating causes a bigger glare. Compared to my previous glasses, these seem to pick up more reflections. This is why I feel that stores and labs that specialize in lenses should make an extra effort to explain their products. There are so many options now to add to your lenses that the lack of a comprehensive menu of choices can lead to pleasant surprises or disappointments.

Do you have experience with different glasses? What is your opinion on the new anti-reflective coating?

September 28, 2015