Specsavers recently announced Kimberley Walsh of Girls Aloud as their new face of the brand and I started to take notice. I was a fan of Girls Aloud and yup I may have purchased an album or two but Kimberley never stood out as someone I aimed to be like. Over the years Kimberley seemed to bypass any horrific media attention, celebrity feuds and bad overall choices and it was this that made me realise how nice of a person she seemed to be. An inspiration and someone who I would probably want to be friends with if she wasn't a celebrity.
I've been following Specsavers on Facebook for a while but it was their announcement that leads me to visit their profile - I now visit every few days because their versus posts (where they put a pair of glasses against another pair) appeal to my need for fashionable accessories and colour *sigh* I'm weak, what can I say.
As a child, I saw lots of people get NHS glasses. At that point they were really big, chunky plastic frames that typically (in my area at least) came in baby pink or brown colour - they weren't pretty that's for sure. I remember hiding eye pain because I feared those glasses and I managed to get to around fifteen before I 'had' to get glasses. I remember facing the wall of frame choices and thinking 'is this really it?' I took an age choosing because I really didn't like any of the choices, they were all secretary styled frames in various metals and as a fifteen-year-old and someone who loved the colour and showing my personality, these just didn't fit my needs. I ended up ordering a thin gold metal framed pair that cost well in excess of £100 (my pocket money savings). When they arrived I couldn't wear them, they were so thin that I could see out of them and it left me feeling dizzy. Taking them back the opticians (not Specsavers) washed their hands of me leaving me feeling annoyed. I never went back to that opticians.
Over the years I moved from one optician to the next, if you were to Google Glenrothes and Kirkcaldy opticians and I can bet I've tried every single one of those optician brands over the past sixteen years - I kept moving because I felt the range, the service and the aftercare were poor and I grudged parting with my hard-earned money for something I disliked. I stopped the jumping about when I went to Specsavers - I initially presumed they were going to be exactly the same as everyone else but was shocked to find I was wrong. It was the first time anyone had asked me to put my chin on the machine to look into my eyes, it was the first time anyone had asked what health problems and medication I was on and it was the first time anyone had offered a visual field test for my random side blurriness.
When I was told I'd need new glasses I was taken to the displays - I took ages to choose but for different reasons. This time there were so many to choose from in all shapes and sizes. My recent trip to Specsavers resulted in a little haul, I already had my mindset on one pair that I had been coveting from their Facebook page...
I ended up with three pairs because I was at the stage where I needed prescriptive sunglasses because my eyes squinted every time I went out and normal sunglasses didn't stop the scrunching - honestly I was also getting worried about the lines around my eyes from the daily scrunching. My debate had always been about the transition lenses versus prescriptive sunglasses - the deal is buy-one-get-one-free if the glasses are from the £69 range and above or you can opt to have the reactions lenses in your glasses which gives you the one pair that is suitable for both inside and outside wear as they become darker as UV rays hit the lenses.
My worry was about looking like a poser if they transitioned when it wasn't sunny and I really didn't want to draw attention to myself. I also worried about them transitioning indoors and it looking too dark making the glasses unwearable. I figured that I should really try both options and see which were really more wearable, here's was my choices...
This pair is the Madonna frame (£85) and it is the pair that I fell in love with on Facebook. These have a slight cat-eye shape which is the style that I typically veer towards, I find the medium-sized frame stops me from seeing out of the lenses.
I decided to get the reaction lenses in this frame saving £49, I knew I'd wear these more than any of the other frames, after all, I had coveted them for ages. I chose the grey coloured reactions because they were the closest colour to normal sunglasses frames - the grey transition lens turns a shade of black/grey when it's in full sunlight - these have actually transitioned slightly but I couldn't capture that in the photograph.
These beauts are the Carmen frame (£69) and are a purple-pink colour with a slightly cat-eye shaped to them They're really thin and the front frame is made with metal and the legs are plastic - the two materials really look amazing on.
These were the frames I chose as apart of my buy one get one free deal, these have my normal prescriptive lenses in and are so comfortable to wear all day long.
For my free pair, I wanted a frame that would work as sunglasses and wouldn't make me look like a poser. I also wanted ones that had a cat-eye shape but as you can see from the other two these work much better. These are the Crawford frames and would have cost £69 but I got these for free. These are in the glasses range but Specsavers allow you to chose actual sunglasses or you can choose normal glasses frames and get a prescription sunglasses lens popped in.
So which is better? reaction lenses or sunglasses lenses? I've got used to of all of these glasses and honestly, my worries about the reactions being poser like or being too dark were unfounded. When these did react to the UV rays I didn't even notice as the inner lens didn't change colour. The Madonna frame is also so light and these look far chicer than my designer frames. The sunglasses are just like any other sunglasses, they do stop me from scrunching my eyes so as far as I'm concerned they do exactly what I want them too - the leg is slightly too tight so I need to go and get that corrected by otherwise I'm overjoyed by these and my reading glasses.
Overall Specsavers always offer the best service and aftercare. They measure the distance between your eyes and the back of your ears to ensure you get a comfortable fit, they do a thorough eye check and always ask what symptoms you may have as well as medications you're on. They also do hearing tests in some stores - I know in America opticians are viewed as being eye doctors but I never felt that fitted the opticians here, Specsavers is very much eye doctors and I've been back a few times (yearly actually) due to poor eye health and eye symptoms. Each time they've sorted out my problems or upped my prescription even though it's been before the standard two-year gap.
This year one of my three sons and my husband also joined the glasses gang so going to Specsavers is very much a family trip for us these days. They have a colouring section to keep the monsters quiet and the store is very family-friendly. You can check out their frame selection prior to your appointment on the Specsavers website and also their Facebook to get an idea of what you prefer or face spending all day choosing because there are so many beautiful frames. Prices for full glasses (frame and prescription lenses) start at only £25 and NHS customers also get a discount with their NHS voucher making fashionable eyewear affordable to all incomes.
Honestly, though, Facebook will draw you into the world of frame addiction! I've already got my eyes set on Drew and Elle frames which will be half price as I received a 50% off gold voucher with my order *yay*
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