A Short Review: Vings Eyes

Unedited Vings in my kitchen they day they arrived! <3

Let me preface this with the fact I completely forgot to write this post last year. I even looked to see if I could find an older draft, and nothing. That said, I won't be able to get into details about arrival times and stuff because it's been so long. I'm also not sure exactly which shade of green I ordered either. I know they were about 18mm and teal.

Around the time I ordered, Vings was having issue after issue. A lot seemed like they were just making stuff up, but for you dear readers, I elected not to get a refund and waited something like 6-8 months? for them to arrive so I could review them for you.

We ordered from their taobao to save a little money (the pricing difference on the large eyes was enough we decided to go with that instead of their direct site). I believe my eyes were approximately $60 + shipping. I paid more than average because I had to get giant eyes because Soony has giant eyes.

Anyone who has been following my posts and photography will have seen them, as Junko generally wears them.

These eyes are gorgeous. They are my favorite urethane eyes that I own. The color is crisp, bright, and very accurate to their sample photo. They are even with no bubbling, irises and pupils are the same size.

The catch the light in an absolutely magical way, and rarely require any editing at all, unless it's in low-light conditions.

Vings are definitely worth the money. They've aged well in the year or two that I've had them, as in, no noticeable  yellowing or anything as I've heard urethane eyes can do overtime, just like the dolls themselves.

So basically, if you're on the fence about them, get them.

Here are some pics for you so you can judge yourself. I've noted where I've used editing and to what extent.

Thanks for reading as always, and happy collecting!

Very, very little editing.

Brightened a bit because of the severe lowlight.

All I did here was edit the eye shine and desaturate the image.

Eyeco Eyes and Yellowing

So I got new eyeco today and noticed a huge comparison. The larger pair were purchased in late 2014--- and you can see a notable difference in yellowing. 

No flash: 

Flash:

Dollshe Urethane Eye Review

Full Disclaimer: I've edited the eyes to be brighter
here.

A bit belated but here's the review in a nutshell.

Website: Dollshe Craft
Price range: $40.00+

Related Posts on my Blog:

Big Eye Comparison Post
(And just browse the blog for more reviews because I'm too lazy to link them right now.)

Speed: 4/5. Urethane eyes take a long time. I was under the impression the eyes were in stock when they weren't (nobody's fault really so I'm not factoring that into my review). They don't seem to note whether eyes are or aren't in stock, so just assume they aren't and spare your sanity.

Communication: 2/5. They didn't respond to me for a loooong time when I asked if the eyes were in stock or not. After two months, two emails, and two posts to their board they finally responded and apologized for the delay. I did get shipping notices.

Ease of payment: 5/5. Typical methods, very easy.

Like the picture: 3/5. A friend who owns Dollshe eyes suggested I check out the colors via a search on Flickr, as the site pictures aren't true to life most of the time (they seem to be more pale in person than on the site). The eyes I chose ended up BETTER than the pictures, but do some research before selecting a color based on their site.

Price: 5/5. Worth every penny.

Quality: 5/5. Absolutely gorgeous. I love that they are small eyes (10mm urethanes are a pita to find), and yet they're as beautiful as the larger urethane eyes I own. I prefer Dollshe urethanes over Vings at this point! I'd like to order again in the future.

No edits to the eyes. This is how they look inside my house in the dark under a lamp. Still gorgeous.

Eyeco Eye Review

(There is a post coming soon that is a photo comparison of various types of eyes.) Eye Comparison and Info Post

The models are Jack and Jill, my legit feeple 60s. I have 13mm eyecos in Jack (Mirwen), and I think I'll be going smaller. Jill (Chloe) is wearing 15mm, which may be a tad too small for her.

Items: Soft platinum glass dreamy blue in 13mm and forest in 15mm

Price range: $15 on up (The price increases for quality of the eye and size; the "fantasy" colors range a bit on the higher side.)

Speed of order: Pretty good. They shipped out about a week after I ordered and took only a few days to arrive (they're in the US and so am I so it didn't take too long).

Communication: Good. They sent me an email order confirmation, but no tracking number or anything like that.

Ease of ordering: Easy. I just used their website and paid via paypal.

Range of colors: Not a super wide range of colors to choose from, as Eyeco tends to focus on very realistic colors and styles. You'll find a range of blues, greens, and browns, with the less common grays and a few purple shades.

Accuracy of color to website: Close. The greens are definitely paler than the site would suggest, even in different lights. The blue eyes are very close!

Quality: 9/10- only dinging them because they don't pack the eyes real well when they ship them, so one pair of my eyes had a little knick in the white part.

Notes:

• You don't want the polyglass eyes. Those are a bit cheaper and are made for reborn dolls and other dolls like that.
• The sizes tend to run a tad small, imo, but that's good. If you want a softer look, order a bigger size.
• Where most eyes are in even numbers for sizing (8mm, 10mm, 12mm, etc), eyeco eyes are odd  numbered (11 mm, 13mm, 15mm, etc).

Where to buy: https://eyecoltd.com/

The Big Eyes Photo Comparison Post

LONG POST IS LONG.

The photos of the dolls wearing eyes in this post have minor editing in photoshop, but the others will have no editing unless noted. I've used mostly blue eyes for the comparisons, since that's the majority of my collection and because blue tends to capture a lot of light when photographed.

I'll update this with more pics as I get around to it, and hopefully compare company pics to my own photos at some point too. I will also update when my Vings urethane eyes get here later this summer and as I buy more eyes in different varieties. Next on my list are some Enchanted Doll, Dollflowers, Gum Drops, and Ersa Flora. As a note, if you like a pair of eyes, get it. Photoshop can make any pair of eyes beautiful, so don't rule it out as an option if you can't afford higher end eyes or simply don't want to spend a great deal on eyes.

Personally, I feel that eyes make or a break a doll, especially on larger eyed dolls (like Delf Soony for example). I like to spoil my rarer, higher end dolls with stupidly expensive eyes lately. My grandpa once told me (granted he was talking about drawing, but the point holds) that eyes are the most important feature. They give expression, they give life. A good eye gives your doll a sense of life and that special spark. And when you can't or don't use top of the line eyes, a little photo editing goes a long way. ;) (Hey I've done it, and I'm not ashamed. I know a couple popular doll owners personally who do the same thing.)

After all of this, I can say urethane and glass eyes are my favorite. Urethanes and glass photograph the best and most vividly, and have the most depth and life to them. Granted, I'll need to use acrylics to get the right dragon-pupil eyes for my dragons eventually, but that's okay. I don't use anything other than glass, silicone, or urethanes in my dolls' eyes anymore.

Before the pictures I will do a table summary of the pros and cons of each kind of eye in my personal experience (yours may differ of course). Pictures will follow!

Again, this is all just my opinion and experience and your mileage may vary.

Posts on this blog about eyes:
Eye positioning
Eye Company Reviews
Types of Eyes and How to Care For Them (forthcoming)

DoA threads with great info on eyes:
http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?609940-Best-Eyes-Ever!
http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?388342-Eyeco-eyes-deteriorating-over-time

Flickr pools dedicated to eyes (tons out there, just search for them, especially specific brands)
https://www.flickr.com/groups/urethane-eyes/
https://www.flickr.com/groups/762488@N24/

On Doll Eyes and Eye Positioning

Hi there everyone! It's been a little while, so I thought I'd post up a tutorial on how to position eyes. I, quite frankly, am terrible at it, so I set off to learn what I could about positioning eyes. Follow along with my adventure!

I wanted to avoid this….

Which looks suspiciously like this….

And if that's what you're going for, great! (I think.) If not, read on!