I switch between contact lenses and glasses in my daily life. Contacts are unobtrusive and extremely practical, but glasses can change your whole look. I have a friend who has a really good eye for them and owns several stylish pairs, and I'm always amazed how they can switch up her look.
I have a very hard time finding eye wear that I like. I actually feel best when wearing contact lenses, but I learned the hard way that I should absolutely not wear them the entire time that I'm awake. So, cue glasses. I recently became aware that my current pair looked awfully dated, so I jumped when Glasses Shop offered to send me a pair to review. Disclosure: I received a free pair of glasses from in exchange for writing a review on the blog.All opinions are 100% mine.
Their glasses online store offers a really wide
selection of styles, so I couldn't decide what I
wanted. The try-on feature on the website is clunky and not very helpful. So, it was a flash of inspiration that led me to do an image
search for Glasses Shop reviews. It was really helpful to see the glasses frames on actual women, and this lovely lady made me fall in love with the Beatrice Wayfarer model and this one proved that they would work with a round face. The Sudbury frames was another close contender.For those with blond hair and paler complexions I think the models with clear frames look amazing.
The glasses arrived fairly quickly. I have to say that the service was really good and friendly, they even noticed a mistake I had made in my prescription. The glasses themselves look really nice, they don't look cheap and feel sturdy. I like them much more than the pair from a certain brand that I reviewed a while back (and who actually tried to tell my what to write in my review -- obviously I rebelled).
It made me really happy that the Beatrice Wayfarers were available in several different colours, I went for this deep red and gold which works with my deep autumn colouring. The interesting nose bridge is a subtle statement and makes the frames look unique. The shape is something between a wayfarer and a cat-eye/nerd. I didn't want a classic teardrop wayfarer because it optically drags the cheeks down if you have a rounder face.
One obvious minus point are the fixed nose pieces. Obviously adjustable nose pieces are not really an option when you buy online, since they need to be custom-adjusted by the optician. I was lucky that the nose pieces of the Beatrice fit me almost perfectly, and I slightly bent the bridge to make them snugger (don't try this at home kids). However if you have an unusually narrow or broad nose, you might have issues.
If your glasses slip of your nose, here are a couple of options: Nerwax is a beeswax based thing that makes the glasses grippy. Glue-on nose-pads are another weird thing that actually works. I also experimented with Sock Stop but it doesn't stay put on plastic, so I'm searching for a similar anti-slip coating product (would be amazing for wooden clothes hangers too!)
Glasses Shop glasses are very affordable, and they seem to have great promotions going on all of the time (right now it's buy one, get one free).
So in a nutshell if you are looking for affordable and stylish eye wear, I can recommend Glasses Shop. I'm really happy with the all round quality and service and can see myself buying my next pair of eye wear there. They also have a nice range of prescription sunglasses. (PS here is an amazing blog post about the iconic sunglasses in movies).
To get 50% off frames of your first order, simply use the code GSHOT50 at checkout. In case you feel like supporting me, you can use my refer-a-friend code INVNUEZ0J97TY which will in addition get me points which I plan to use to get those Sudbury Frames I have been eying.
