What’s sexy, multitalented and every celebrities’ best friend? That’s right – a pair of sunglasses. Whether glamming up an outfit, hiding a hangover from the paps, or simply blocking the sun – shades are a star’s must-have accessory.
Copy these celebs’ summer specs appeal with our suggested lookalike versions, and be left with more than enough change for a round of ice creams. Happy days.
Victoria Beckham
All the talk recently has been about VBs third boob job, but headline magnet and fashion designer Victoria Beckham keeps her trademark cool in a pair of on-trend oversized designer sunglasses.
Emulate her elegance with these oval French Connection shades.
Lily Allen
Ladette Lily looks as lovely as ever in a pair of vintage-style sunglasses that match her down-to-earth retro dress. Check out our similar shades below
Jake Gyllenhaal
Jake Gyllenhaal does the effortless hot Hollywood heartthrob thing in a casual t-shirt and 80s-style black Wayfarer sunnies. Our Mai Tai glasses look just like Jake’s pair of shades. Simply add a sunglasses tint when personalising your glasses, to get the same look.
Nicole Ritchie
Nicole Richie accessorises her huge patterned shades with a feminine headscarf as she hits the shops in Beverley Hills. Get Nicole’s look with a pair of our Frankie glasses, simply add a sunglasses tint when you personalise your specs.
Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams looks every the bit the cheeky chap millions love him for being as he leaves a London recording studio. Add a dark sunglasses tint to our Cosmopolitan glasses to get the rockin’ Robbie look.
Posted on: June 22nd, 2009 by Carole
Photo courtesy of D Sharon Pruitt
Are you feeling the love this summer? You are according to new research* that reveals that over half of us (53%) believe in love at first sight. Awwww!
But what’s this? The same report suggests more than one in five Brits will actively avoid making eye contact with a stranger we find attractive. The reason for such shyness is no doubt complex, but one simple step to giving more ooomph to your ogle is to actively care for your eyes.
David Hutchfield FBDO, a dispensing optician at Glasses Direct says, “If you believe in falling in love at first sight, one key way of giving Cupid a helping hand is to consciously look after your eye sight every day – not only to look good but to stay healthy and well.”
To keep your eyes looking good for romance, David’s suggests these top tips:
1. Eat and drink healthily
A balanced diet rich in fruit and vegetables is important for both your general health and your eye health. Stock up on broccoli and spinach. Both are packed full of lutein, thought to play a major role in preventing damage to the macula, the central point of the retina needed to see fine detail, like words on a page.
2. Oily fish
like salmon, tuna and mackerel are good, too – full of Omega-3 fatty acids said to reduce the risk of age-related macular Degeneration (AMD for short), the main cause of sight loss in the UK. Drink plenty of water too.
3. Be smart with make-up
Ditch eye make-up when as soon as it reaches its ‘use by’ date (with mascara, for example, it’s six months). And don’t share it. Or apply it when travelling – in case you scratch your eye and spread potentially harmful bacteria.
4. Stop smoking
It damages the cells in your retina and doubles the risk of developing AMD.
5. Have a regular eye test
“Visit an optometrist every two years or so. They’re eye ‘doctors’, trained not only to test your sight and prescribe glasses but to spot any problems and treat infections” says David. “You’re also welcome to contact us with any questions or concerns you have about your eyes.”
* By The College of Optometrists.
Posted on: June 15th, 2009 by Carole
Asking for questions on twitter the other day, this one came in:
http://twitter.com/catalogbiz/statuses/2017607429
What does the Axis part on the prescription mean? What is “average”?
I asked another David, one of our team of dispensing opticians:
“The axis is the orientation of the astigmatism. The value is in degrees, and can be anything from 1 to 180. There is no average value, and the number doesn’t have any relevance to the size of the astigmatism ( that is indicated in the CYL box ).
Its probably best described as being like a compass bearing. The bearing you walk on doesn’t relate to how far you walk, its just the direction of travel.”
And an astigmatism? What’s that?
“Instead of being spherical like a football, most eyes are cylinder shaped, a bit like a rugby ball, and need correcting in two meridians; a spherical (SPH) component, and a cylindrical, or astigmatic (CYL) one. The AXIS is the direction along which the cylindrical component (astigmatism) lies.”
So there you go, hope that helps out. How’s the language? Understandable?
The way that I imagine it (from a non-optician’s viewpoint) is like this:
Imagine holding up a tall glass (like this one) up in front of your eye. The ‘Cyl’ value is similar to the thickness of the glass, and the ‘Axis’ value is the angle at which you hold the glass in front of your eye.
Any thing else you want to know, just ask in the comments.
Posted on: June 4th, 2009 by Mark H
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