Glasses: Express Yourself with Optical Express and Vue Cinemas

I first started glasses when I was thirteen. They were these huge purple things, that I am very glad that I don't have any photographic evidence of. At the time, I only wore them at School, to read the blackboard, but as time has gone by, I've had to wear them all the time, and I've grown to really love wearing them. Throughout my life, I've been told not to wear them, because I look "silly" and it's been suggested that I wear contact lenses. So, why don't I? Because my glasses are a part of who I am.

I know this is something that I blogged about recently, but when I found out that Optical Express were trying to promote a new line of cool glasses for teenagers, I was really keen to get involved.

Our teenage years are potentially the most difficult years of our lives. Everything is changing, from our bodies to our outlook on life. That nice little bubble that we existed in, before we reached Secondary School, has well and truly been burst, and we start to become a lot more aware of the world around us.

We feel awkward about how we look. We feel too fat, or too thin. We think our ears are too big, or our boobs aren't big enough. We want to fit in, but we still want to be able to express ourselves, within the tight constraints of the education system. And that last part, is the thing that I think needs to be encouraged amongst teenagers today: Stay unique, and express yourself.


We express ourselves in a variety of way:

• The clothes that we wear
• The way we style our hair
• Our jewellery
• Our shoes
• The music that we listen to

In my opinion, glasses are an excellent accessory for expression. Glasses say that you are an intelligent girl or guy, who is bang on trend. And let's face it, glasses are becoming more and more trendy, as more celebrities (including Justin Bieber and Anne Hathaway) are stepping out at Award Ceremonies and photo shoots, wearing prescription and non-prescription glasses.

Glasses are a fashion accessory in the exact same way, as wearing a hat, or a kitschy bracelet, proven by the fact that celebrities who don't even need to wear glasses are wearing them.

But, most importantly, the glasses available these days are definitely not as "geeky" as they're renowned for being, and you really don't have to ask your parents to buy you really expensive one. Instead, you can buy awesome ones, that are so trendy, that teenagers can choose a style that suits their face shape, but matches those worn by their favourite popstar or actor.

To celebrate the launch of this really cool new range, Optical Express are running a competition, exclusively through Facebook, with the incredibly prize for the very lucky winner, being an iPad2 (jealous, much?). To enter, all you have to do is help Optical Express choose a name for their cool new range of teenage glasses.

The competition ends this coming Friday (April 22nd, which is of course Good Friday) so hurry over there, and get your entries in now, by liking the Optical Express Facebook page, and filling in the form under "cool glasses".

This competition is supported by Vue Cinemas, who are currently running a couple of awesome (awesome, as in I'm very jealous not to be able to take advantage of this) offers:

• Cheap Tickets - Take advantage of a 20% saving, off the price of an adult ticket
• Teen Screen - To coincide with Mother and Baby, and OAP Clubs, Vue Cinemas are launching a brand-new weekly film club, aimed at 13-18 year olds. Running after school, tickets cost £2 for a standard ticket, or £3 for a 3D ticket. But, the best part is, that you get to decide what films are shown each week!

For more information, check out the Vue Teen Screen Facebook page, or check out your local Vue Cinema.

Are you 13-18 years old? Or maybe you're the parent of a teenager? What are your thoughts on both of these new schemes, brought to you by Optical Express and Vue Cinemas? Personally, I think they're both great, and I just wish we'd had this sort of stuff around when I was at School!