I hated wearing glasses when I was a young one, because I believed in the old adage that ‘men don’t make passes at girls who wear glasses’. Well, glasses were pretty horrendous back in the day when I was a teenager. So I wore lens from about twenty one and then I went and got my right eye lasered twenty-two years ago. It was sooooo painful that I never went back to get the other one done. Now I know that’s all changed and in comparison, it’s a walk in the park now!
Obviously, I can’t wear my lens all the time, so I need glasses also and when I realised that the present pair (below) was about eight years old, I took myself off to Specsavers in Swords (Co. Dublin) to get a new pair.
I was met by Edel who took all my details and then did numerous tests on my eyes. She checked the power and the pressure and then took a picture of the back of the eyes. Everything was explained clearly and then my current glasses were measured.
After this, I was met by Sean the optometrist (easy on the eye, by the way) who checked my vision with a very thorough eye test. He had also analysed the earlier tests and I was relieved to hear that my eyes were healthy and we got to talking about how your eyes can tell you so much about your health. The blood vessels in the eyes can give an insight into your blood pressure, your cholesterol, tell if you are in danger of becoming diabetic and optometrists have also been known to diagnose tumours. The eyes are more than windows to the soul, it seems. We also discussed how a healthy, balanced diet with lots of green vegetables (and he recommended linseed oil as well as the usual omega 3) can help with dry eye and eye health generally.
Then it was back to Edel to choose my new glasses. I had a look at the new Comfit range, priced at €149, which had just landed for ‘older people’. Seemingly, Specsavers has responded to a demand for more comfortable frames and following research with a trial group, came up with this new collection of extremely lightweight frames. The legs (how can glasses have legs; wouldn’t arms be more appropriate?) have extra padding behind the ears, which make them very easy to wear. But they are also very elegant. No, we are not talking Dame Edna here but more Anastacia. Check out the detail on the side of the frames in the photo below.
I tried on several pairs and with the help of the magic mirror (an Ipad which allows you to flick back and forth and choose the frames which suit you best), chose my favourite pair. GG (the apple of my eye) was there to help and take the photos for this post, so he put in his tuppence worth also.
But I wasn’t finished yet. With the aid of new technology, Edel measured the distance between my eyes and set the lens so that I would be looking through the best part of the lens. Previously, this was done with a ruler, I was told. Then I decided on the thinnest lens I could get so that the glasses would be lighter on my face. There was no point in having lightweight, comfortable frames and then putting in heavy lens. And with that came a complimentary UltraClear SuperClean Treatment which means the lens are anti-reflective and smudge-resistant.
So with €15 for the very intensive eye test (half price at the moment), €149 for the frames and with everything above included, the entire cost of my new glasses was a very reasonable €324.
When I returned to collect my glasses, Deirdre checked that I was happy, made a slight adjustment to the ‘legs’ and away I went. I couldn’t be more pleased with them; they are so light on my face and the world seems brighter and clearer. Another bonus is that night driving, which has always been a problem for me, is noticeably easier, because there is less glare. Here I am in the photo below, loving my new look.
I have to say that I am extremely impressed with my entire experience. Customer satisfaction seems to me to be foremost in their minds and there is no doubt that the price is right! My only regret is that I didn’t avail of their two-for-one offer available on all their ranges. How stupid was that? It’s not like me to pass on a good bargain. Specsavers, I will be back….
