The Replacements - Just ForFun(.com)

A while back, I had purchased a mask from Kink Engineering. This was a pull-on micro-perforation hood. One day, I put it on and it just completely fell apart - seams popped and I was left with a black latex mess.

This particular mask had no mouth opening, and I was able to get an exact replacement from Latex101. 

But I've been eyeing the stuff that keeps popping up in my Facebook feed from ForFun in Thailand, so I decided to give them a try and go for a microperf hood with an open mouth.

The site is very easy to use, and I placed my order. When I received my mask, I was extremely pleased with the fit and finish of the mask, the packaging and the comfort level. The latex was top quality and was expertly cut and glued.

What didn't make me happy was the fulfillment process.

First off, it took a LONG time to get the mask - end to end, it was about 4 weeks. From other folks ordering from Asia, this was a relative blink of an eye - it often takes MONTHS to get something.

Then there was the shipping. ForFun used DHL, and somehow, the address as correctly entered on their website got completely garbled on the DHL label. Here I was, receiving the tracking info and waiting patiently for the deliver when I get a delivery exception - I had to go to the DHL site and change the address to the correct format and wait another day or so for it to show up.

I would definitely order from ForFun again, but I would double- and triple-check on the format of the address. And definitely be patient.

UT Disguise - The Shadow Drone mask review

For those of you that have some interest in purchasing a mask from a non-US/Canada/Europe vendor, I decided to try out UT Disguise (https://www.utdisguisemastermask.com/). I have previously purchased several silicone torsos from Smitizen with good results (mask, not so good), and a latex mask from ForFun in Thailand, so I wanted to try out this vendor as well. 

I was not quite ready to order a truly realistic mask from them, so I decided on the Shadow Drone mask. This mask has realistic features, short neck and no bib, and a shiny, solid black color. Price was $211.

Ordering

Purchase process was straightforward. UT does not accept Paypal, so I had to use a credit card. The transaction was processed, and I received an email confirmation very shortly.

The Shopify software that manages the order does seem to have a few glitches (or may be how UT manages it). The status message for at least a week was "Order Received" and I emailed UT to get an update. No response. I waited for another few days and emailed again. This time I got a response that my mask had been made and was being shipped out that day. I would receive tracking information in 3-4 days.

Four days pass ... no tracking number. I again email them, and this time, I do receive a timely response and an additional email with tracking information. The package was shipped from China on September 19th, and was delivered on October 2 - 14 days.

Order was placed on September 6, so the total end-to-end time was 27 days.

Packaging

The product was well packed, with multiple layers of protection. The mask itself was placed in a ziplock bag with little air pillows inside of the mask to maintain its shape. 

The Product

For some reason, I had the impression that the mask was going to be latex - perhaps because of the price. I was happily wrong - the mask is a high quality silicone with a mirror black finish - the same you would find on a latex mask with a shining compound or lube rubbed into it. Edges are neat and sharply finished, interior is perfectly smooth. I ordered the mask with integral lenses - no sharp or rough edges around them on the interior or exterior.

Seaming/flashing is not up to my expectations - all of my other silicone masks (even including the Smitizen) had a much finer seam and better flashing. The thought may have been that black-on-black would not be visible and perhaps better care would be taken on a fleshtone realistic mask. I will bring this up to UT.

The Fit

Surprisingly, excellent. With other Asian-sourced masks, I've found that they tend to be larger, rounder (and thinner) and hence, need some fitment assistance like foam padding. This mask was perfect. I was particularly impressed with the lip fitment. As you know, Bryan Silva's Studio135 masks were the gold standard of eye and lip fitment, and the UT mask rates at least a 9/10. The mouth on the Shadow Drone mask is not cut open, but I could tell from how it fit around the lips that it would be very, very good. Since the version of the mask I purchased had integral lenses, I can't comment on the eye fitment, but this will be another item I will bring up to the vendor. The thickness of the mask was equivalent to CFX, Realflesh and Studio135 later masks (GQ/Punishment - thicker than a Studio135 Chiseled).

Overall impressions

Very good. I had a good ordering experience from UT, and apart from the need to keep on top of the order's progress, it was smooth. Product was well-packed, shipped (relatively) quickly and was top quality.

I am planning on wearing this over a latex microperf hood with an open mouth. On the initial test try-on, I needed to shine up the latex mask to give it a bit more lubrication wearing the Shadow mask over it. I found that breathing was a little difficult, but perhaps it just needs to be adjusted more. A different mask with a more defined nose proved easier to breathe with. I'm also going to try this with a full microperf hood without the open mouth.

Here are some pics wearing the mask.

Gear Talk: The Eyes Have It - SUCCESS!

After more than a few false starts, I've finally found another source for dark contact lenses for light eyes!

As a reminder, my requirements for success are:

- outstanding coverage for a light iris
- "functional" vs. "pretty"
- small pupil hole

 

And the winner is ... ttdeye.com

The vendor is based in Hong Kong and time from order to delivery was 15 days.

In addition to the lenses themselves, you get a nice "care package" along with them - lens case, tongs (to remove the lenses from the case) and an applicator (which I don't use). I also got a little hand mirror as well. They do have many brown lenses, so you need to closely look at them to make sure the pupil holes appear to be small. Below are my top picks.

On to the lenses!

The first one is called "New York Brown" - this is a yearly lens (nice bonus!) and definitely provides the coverage, functionality and small pupil hole. I would say that these are a lighter and a more "soft" brown color vs. the "intense" brown of my older lenses. They veer a little towards "pretty" but they definitely work.

 

The next one is called "New York Black." Again, this is a yearly lens and meets all my requirements. This also provides a more "intense" experience and is much darker than the "New York Brown" - this looks great on all my darker-skinned masks and is actually much darker than any of my older brown lenses.

The final one is called "Bohme Hazel." This is also a yearly lens and meets (nearly) all the requirements. The pupil hole on this lens is slightly larger than the "New York" ones. Color-wise, this  falls between the the two "New York" lenses as it is more intense then the "Brown" and a less intense than the "Black." This is still a dark lens and looks good with my  black-guy masks and great with my Latino masks. There is also a little more of a caramel tone to these lenses in the center area.  

A caveat: I have gray-green-blue eyes with a gold-brown "sunburst" around my pupil - in ancient times, this was known as being one of the "Children of Helios", today it's known as (inherited) central heterochromia -- I can get away with a slightly larger pupil hole, but I don't take advantage of it because I generally want to have a single, solid iris color. When I make a recommendation, I'm thinking of the population at large.

Someone with "solid" light eyes (without a darker central halo) is definitely going to show some of their iris color around the inner edge of this lens. So, YMMV.

 

So there you have it! A fast shipping company, good selection of options and nice extras to go with your purchase!

Gear Talk: The Eyes Have It - Update #1

One of the most important things in a transformation (at least to me) is having the eyes (and the skin around them) blend seamlessly with the mask. 

You can't wear sunglasses all the time! In an earlier post, I described the makeup I use to blend my skin into the color of the mask.

Now I want to talk about eyes themselves.

For those folks that have darker eyes, you're in great shape - there are many options available that let you change your eye color to lighter colors - like green or blue - and have them look spectacular on you. One of the best resources for picking your lenses is a guy named "Fonzevil." He gives extremely detailed reviews with lots of closeups and focuses on image and comfort.

His videos are available on the following platforms:

Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@FonzReviews

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/fonzreviews

TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@fonzreviews

 

With that said, folks with lighter eyes (like myself) have a much harder problem.

Professional contacts (like 9mm) provide superb coverage, but are not good for extended wear. And they are pricey.

"Regular" contacts in brown generally focus on being "pretty" ... they are really made for the ladies who already have dark eyes and want a bit of "pop" - they are not made to provide just an intense, dark color. 

Most "Regular" contacts also often have HUGE pupil holes; so even if there is good color coverage, there is always a noticeable ring of blue (or green or gray) around the pupil which looks completely fake.

The companies that used to make plain dark lenses with small pupil holes have gone out of business (like Expressions, or Waikon)  

I have found Freshlook, Air-Optix, Bella and recently, Purecolors HD, to have too-large pupil holes and/or not dark enough for a proper transformation. The Purecolors HD were so bad that I could barely tell I had them in! Needless to say, they went right into the trash!

I've ordered three new pairs - one from Korea and two from Hong Kong - I haven't received them yet, but I'll let you know how they work out!

UPDATE #1

I received the "Hyacinth Brown" lenses from the "Eyecandys" site from Korea. Again, HUGE eyeholes and not enough coloration. All these did was give me a dark limbal ring and nothing else. So again - right into the trash. Only positive was the lens case I received with them. I contacted their customer service and asked if they indeed carry very dark brown lenses with small pupil holes - let's see if they answer...