Four Eyes.

So, after 3 eye doctor appointments, one with a new specialist, I got new glasses this month.  FIVE pair!  Or is it pairs?  Anyway, I got a "free" pair by using a coupon at one doctor but had to choose from the "Medicaid - Medicare - Coupon" selection since I had a coupon.  I wasn't thrilled with them.  Once my other appointments were done, I came home and went shopping online.  Let me add now that for the first time since I was 13, I made the difficult but necessary decision to lose the contacts and exclusively wear glasses so what they look like has become much more important to me.  Let's face it, though...money is tight for many people and glasses are terribly expensive unless you have vision insurance, which I do not. A year or so ago I bought some glasses from zennioptical.com and while I was fine with their service, their quality on their cheapie frames was somewhat...well, cheap.  For the price, though?  A great deal.  I'm not telling you to not use them at all...just don't expect $200 frames for $8.00 from here.  Plus, when I ordered from Zenni, I made a huge mistake in not measuring everything on a pair of glasses I already liked and comparing the measurements. I wound up with several pairs of glasses too small for my face, but that was my fault.  That said, I did get a pair of prescription sunglasses from them that look a lot like Ray-Bans and are very sturdy and very nicely made.  I love them muchly and wear them nearly every day.  This time, though,  I did a search on SlickDeals for eyeglass deals and found a buy1get1 sale at  eyebuydirect.com.  It's over now but don't let that deter you...their prices are still amazing. So, I get my new coupon glasses that, while ugly, are a good height and width for my face and I measure the hell out of them.  Then I spend 2 days shopping and finally decide on 4 pair (s?), 3 normal, single vision ones and 1 pair of prescription sunglasses. My entire order came to just over $26, shipped.  For 4 pair(s...whatever).   I figured if I got just one pair I loved, I got a great deal.  Anything more than that was icing on the cake.  I'll add here that I did nothing but single vision lenses...no scratch coating, no superthin plastic.  Bare-bones but for the one pair I had tinted.  It took nearly 2 weeks for them to arrive but when they did, I was excited and worried both!

Here is how they come packaged.  I ripped the shrinkwrap partially off in my excitement before I remembered I should take pictures.  Heh.  It was like Christmas and once again, I was 12.

Each pair comes in a very sturdy hard, clear case that has some padding and the blue cloth with water droplets is actually a lens cleaning cloth.  Nice touch, although Zenni does the same...it's just not as cute.

Ahhh, my first pair and I knew the moment I opened the case I was in business.  Loved them.  Well made, don't look cheap....yay!   Me and my Kodak EasyShare don't take the best pictures ever but they are coffee colored metal frames and far, far nicer in quality than I expected for a pair of $7.95 glasses (and yes, that's both the frame and the lenses). They are amazingly sturdy and just plainly pretty for being glasses.  I knew at this point that if I hated every other pair, it was okay.

And so, accordingly, I pretty much hated this next pair.  I'd wanted blue frames for ages but this blue is so dark you can't really see they are blue.  Then the earpieces are silver, my mistake for not noticing that part, and very, very thin. My lenses are so heavy that these thin, flimsy earpieces make the glasses unsteady on me.  These will be donated.  With some trepidation, I open the next box...my next two are the identical frames, violet metal half-frames, but one pair with dark tinted purple lenses.

Check 'em out!  Love 'em!  These are a bit bigger than the coffee colored ones but not at all overpowering...I wish I could make the color of the metal show up better, too.  It's such a pretty deep purple and I'm not normally a purple fan but it seemed like a good idea and in the end, it was.  I love these as much as the coffee colored ones.  And that leaves the last box...the sunglasses. Let me tell you, I debated long and hard about purple lenses but in the end, I decided to go for it.  And go for it, I did.

I know, I laughed, too.  It's okay.  I put them on and laughed even harder.  Jake tried them on and laughed.  They certainly are purple.  See?

Just so you know, unless you're into the hippy trippy thing, stick with gray or maybe brown.  But here's my confession...I love them.  I mean I *really love them.  I don't often wear things that really attract attention and oddly, these do.  People comment.  Me?  I just love how everything is purple...lol.   These alone are worth the entire cost and the fact I also love (but with slightly less passion since they have clear lenses) 2 of the other 3?  I feel a bit like I just won the Poor Vision Lottery.

So, are you intrigued?  Thinking of ordering some yourself?  Here's a few things you should know:  You do need a prescription but it doesn't have to be current.  They will not check with your doctor.  You will be happiest if you take a pair of glasses or sunglasses you already have and like and then measure the hell out of them.  A cloth tape measure works best for this but a ruler will do and it needs to have metric measurements.  On glasses you already know you like the size of, measure each lens from top to bottom, then again side to side from widest points.  Then, measure the frame itself from hinge to hinge.  Jot all this down in metric.  The other measurement you need, since I just know everyone is going to rush to order eyeglasses online after reading this post *grins*, is your pupillary distance.  Some eye doctors won't give it to you but you can measure your own.  Here's a good video and it's very easy with a little help, a bit harder but still doable alone. How to Measure Your Pupillary Distance (PD)  Lastly, really look at the pictures closely.  Look for details you may hate but that aren't terribly obvious by glancing, like rhinestones on the earpieces (almost made that mistake) or other oddities.  And the last thing I'll mention is how easy it is to adjust them once they arrive.  Trust me, it really is easy.  Let hot tap water run over parts you need to bend and then do it bit by bit, gently.  Be gentle and they will not break.  If the left side seems low, for example, bend the left side earpiece down.  That seems opposite of what you should do but trust me on that - it will raise the lens area up.  Once the glasses are level, gently bend the nose pieces to a comfortable position if yours have adjustable ones.  I promise you, it's easy and nothing to be scared of doing.

I hope this serves as a type of PSA and that someone is able to get some much-needed new glasses out of it.  If so, let me know!  And I know you want my purple sunglasses...who wouldn't?