Firmoo Glasses Review

I have been in desperate need of a new pair of glasses for longer than I care to admit so when I was approached by Firmoo to review their glasses and the process of buying glasses online, I jumped at the opportunity. I hate shopping for glasses and finding a good frame shape for my face is always harder than it ought be: those of you that have been following my blog for a long time may remember the "Penfold" episode! I had been dabbling with the idea of going down the online purchasing route for a while, so Firmoo's offer sounded ideal.

Firmoo is an online optical store that ship worldwide. They have a reasonable number of frames to chose from and they are relatively inexpensive as glasses go. They have a first pair free program so if you're completely new to online glasses shopping, as I was, you can order a pair and only pay the shipping costs. The free glasses come with 1.50 index single vision lenses as standard.

The process of browsing and measuring up for buying glasses online made me realise there was an element of truth about what I'd been told at Specsavers. Glasses that are too wide across my face do not sit or look right and as each of glasses thumbnails also gave the recommended pupillary distance range, it was far easier to narrow my options. I found the virtual trying on tool useful too. Although it's not a perfect guide, as you will see for the #CP6061 frames, it definitely gave me a clearer idea of which shape to go for.

Top - #CP6061, Bottom - #CP6096

From the options I was given, I chose the frames #CP6061 ($46/£31.74) and #CP6096 ($39/£26.91). I've always wanted to have a pair of glasses with quite chunky frames but I've never found a shape that I was happy with. This seemed like the ideal opportunity to experiment with something a bit different.

The process of browsing and selecting the glasses was easy, as was inputting my prescription details. As with buying at an opticians, you are given a range of lens options including varying lens thickness and coatings, tints etc. at extra cost. What I did find tricky was measuring pupillary distance or PD. It isn't given as standard on your prescription in the UK and I wouldn't be surprised to find that opticians are reluctant to give you that information. I found a youtube video which I made my husband watch and asked him to measure for me. I did get an unfortunate case of the giggles whilst he was measuring which I'm certain professionals don't ever have to put up with!

The glasses arrived very quickly. Each pair comes in a fairly basic but sturdy case complete with cloth, and there was also a little pouch included with tools for adjustments. I immediately tried both pairs on when they arrived. I really like the shape of #CP6096 and would love a pair like this in lighter coloured frame, possibly tortoiseshell, as I think the black is a little too much on me. The depth of the #CP6061 is greater than I was anticipating from the virtual tool and I have likened myself to Mike Read in this pair! The shape also accentuates the natural wonkiness in my features. This is something I've come across with other frames in the past.

#CP6096

#CP6061 - AKA The 'Mike Read' Specs

Moving away from the frames, I have had some issues with the lenses. For reference, I am shortsighted and I do have to wear glasses all the time. When I put these glasses on, the lenses are absolutely fine for things that are near distance (so I'm generally fine around the house) but the perspective in the far distance is off and also when I look at the ground. I have a suspicion that this problem is a minor error in my PD which I've already mentioned was not measured by an optician. The PD measurements are in mm, and go up in increments of 0.5mm, so you can see how someone that is not professionally trained could easily make such an error.

For me, this has been a really interesting experience. I think if you're a confident about your prescription and PD, this could be a inexpensive way of experimenting with frame shapes or buying a second fun pair. It has given me useful ideas about frame shapes and potential colours but I'm not sure I would go the online route again because of my error with the lenses. I think the first pair free program is certainly an inexpensive way of seeing if online glasses shopping would work for you too.

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. I received the glasses free of charge in exchange for an honest review of glasses and online shopping process. I have not included affiliate links.

Desert Island FoTD and Colour Ramblings

I discovered this FoTD post sat in drafts today and thought now would be a good moment to share. The products I am wearing are items I picked out for my Beauty Spotlight Desert Island visit. Based on my hair, these pictures were taken a while ago but the items I used remain firm favourites, irrespective of hairstyle.

Face
NARS Pure Radiant tinted moisturiser in Finland
rms 'Un' Cover-up in 11
Hourglass Aura Cheek Stain in Rouge

Eyes
Rouge Bunny Rouge Solstice Halcyon eyeshadow
Kjaer Weis Wisdom
MAC Teddy eye kohl
Maybelline The Falsies Flared mascara

Lips
Ilia Arabian Knights lip conditioner

I was having a moan today on Twitter about my habit of wasting time filling up virtual shopping baskets, only to talk myself out of the spend. I know I'm not alone in doing this but it is an incredibly frustrating habit. I was eyeing up the Clarins lipsticks that are currently reduced on Escentual, but had to concede that the colours I was looking at (Rouge Eclat in Pink Berry and Woodrose) bear a striking resemblance to about 50% of the lip colours I already own. I curse my own inner sensible side for refusing to allow more dupes for 'research purposes'.

Another reason for vetoing more lipstick purchases is my current obsession with what 'season' I might be. I suspect London MakeUp Girl's recent Sci/Art analysis has sparked a veritable tidal wave of similar curiosity. I am clueless about which colours genuinely suit my colouring. I have been told that my uniform of black and white aren't particularly flattering but knowing which colours don't suit me, hasn't particularly helped me deduce which do. I remain hopeful that pastels or yellow aren't the answer! Both Grace and Stiperstones have suggested I might be a Light Summer, so I have been looking at the appropriate colour recommendations on Pinterest. I rather like the suggested colours and have been messing about with coloured scarves that are similar to the colours in the swatches. This blue/green scarf is probably one of my favourites, not least because it matches the colours my streak has faded to.

I think the time has probably come for me to save some pennies and investigate who offers colour analysis locally, so that I can get a professional opinion. I will also be interested to hear whether my rapidly greying hair changes things in terms of what colours I should choose. Watch this space!

Pink Poltsa Obi Style Belt

I have been really keen to share this purchase with you but thought it was important to wait until after I'd worn it to a certain person's wedding reception (congratulations Mr and Mrs Lippie!). It's not often that I get an opportunity to dress up, so I will admit to spending many several weeks in the lead up to it obsessing over what to wear. I bought a black dress by Gróa in the Coggles sale and thought that some colourful accessories would be just the thing to dress it up.

I'm not entirely sure how I happened on the site Once Upon A Belt but they have a fantastic selection of belt styles and colours. I opted for this wide obi-style belt by Poltsa as I thought the soft leather would work well with the soft jersey of my dress. Although hot pinks can be tricky to capture accurately in photographs, the pink is pretty close to what I was expecting from their images. Trying to pick out matching pink opaque tights from online swatches was another matter entirely!

Because I am fairly wide around the middle, I am somewhat limited as to how I can tie the belt. I do suspect that the other style of Obi belt that they offer might have been a better option for me as it looks to be slightly longer and the leather is also lined. However, I preferred the pink of this particular belt. It did get a little frustrated trying to tie it so that the red backing of the belt didn't show to avoid the obvious colour clash. I realise this probably makes me sound like a complete fuss pot!!

The belt has a side slit to allow you to wrap the belt around neatly. Because the leather is so soft, I discovered that you do have to be very careful about using the side slit as it can easily tear through the stitches, as mine did. No doubt I did this whilst practicing tying the belt to hide the red! Because I was nervous about causing any further damage, I opted to tie it around myself without bothering to use the slit. I also took care not to fasten it too tight.

Here's a quick look at the belt with the other accessories I wore on the day. The pink bag is the Wei Hai shopper from Oasis, which I previously had my eye on in the tan. The shoes are from New Look and are the comfiest pair of ballet flats I've worn in a long time. Needless to say they are the wide fit version.

The Poltsa belt cost £28.99 and postage was £3.49. From memory, it arrived the day after I placed the order. I will definitely be buying from Once Upon A Belt again and have my eye on one of the wide waist/hip belts in a dark colour and possibly another obi belt in black.

When Online Shops Get It Wrong

Now, I must start by mentioning that this post has been prompted by a bad experience that happened to someone I've got to know through blogging. Although it didn't happen to me, it has niggled at me sufficiently that I wanted to write about it. I won't be mentioning any names, the purpose isn't to point the finger, it's more of a ramble about how some online retailers get customer service just right and some get it very wrong, without even realising it.

My nameless friend placed an order with a shop that stocks lots of very nice and relatively niche beauty brands. I asked her if she wouldn't mind telling me how she rated the experience, as it was a shop I was planning to order from in future. So, I was dismayed to hear that her order had arrived minus the main item she had been shopping for. She contacted the shop to find out what had happened and if the item would follow in due course. What happened next is where it all goes wrong.

The online shop emailed her back to say that their system involved two tiers of checks so it was unlikely that they had made a mistake and she would have to wait 48 hours for a stock inventory to confirm whether there had indeed been an error. Now, I don't know about you, but I believe the implication here is that my friend was lying about the missing item which is a frankly shocking way to deal with your customers. My friend was obviously not very happy about this and honestly, who would be? No apology, no 'we'll send it out immediately' and a lengthy wait at her expense to see what would happen. They have since come back to her after she emailed a photograph of the parcel contents and have said they will send out the missing item, but still there was no real apology, no admission of error or, heaven forbid, a discount code for a future purchase to apologise for accusing her of lying!

I think the shop made a really serious error in they way they handled this. Mistakes do happen, everyone understands that but how you deal with mistakes is what sets you apart. If you're a regular online shopper, you probably already have a mental tally of good and bad retailers based on previous experience and customer services is a very important aspect of it, not just their wares and prices. In many cases, there are no bricks and mortar shops to visit to speak to someone in person, so the trust and relationship has to be built in other ways.  I am loyal to particular online shops because experience has taught me I can trust them to give me excellent service. I've seen them deal with the rough and the smooth on Twitter and respect that they don't ignore criticisms or complaints.

Good service is really important to me to the point where I would avoid a particular shop with a bad reputation, even if they did stock excellent products at reasonable prices. Which brings me on to my final point. When I buy from an online shop that I haven't used before, I will always search for reviews or ask for opinions on Twitter first. It is a bad retailer that doesn't realise that people communicate with each other in this way. Just because you don't have a physical shop, doesn't mean your customers aren't talking to one another. My friend's bad experience has put not just me off using them but other people that she talks to on Twitter and elsewhere. They have tarnished their reputation without even realising it and it will likely cost them more than the missing £26 cleanser...