Mako eyes is a store located in South Korea that sells urethane eyes. It’s well known for selling at a lower price compared to more popular brands like Enchanted.
About the products
This is my first time handling urethane eyes, so I can’t say how they compare to pricier eyes, but I can say that their quality is way superior than silicone or glass eyes. I imagine that more expensive eyes probably look a bit better than this, but for the price I’m really happy with the quality.
I bought 3 pairs of eyes, all from the Amaryllis collection. Colors I bought are AM-008, AM-014 and AM-010. Here they are:
It’s worth noting that the stock photos in their website are usually not true to their real color, and they can be very deceiving. For a more accurate description and photos of the eyes I recommend to check Den of Angel’s reference photo thread or the Flickr Mako eyes group.
Amaryllis 008:
AM-008 in natural light (indoors)
AM-008 with flash (indoors)
They are brown. In the Mako website they look quite lighter than they really are and they look more like honey when in reality they are just brown. It’s a lovely color nonetheless and it was what I was looking for.
Amaryllis 010:
AM-010 in natural light (indoors)
AM-010 with flash (indoors)
They are grey, but have a blueish hue in some lights I guess, because these are the only photos of the eyes were they look that blue. They photograph gray when they are in my dolls.
Amaryllis 014:
AM-014 in natural light (indoors)
AM-014 with flash (indoors)
I knew they were more blue than green when I got them, though they look very green on the website. There’s nothing green about them, but what I wanted was a light blue and they looked perfect in owner photos. I haven’t tried them on Lucas, but I’m hoping I like the size in him.
I read somewhere that Mako eyes tend to run smaller than other eyes but I really didn’t find any difference. Having this into account, I got them in 14mm when Lucas uses 12mm. so I’m not sure how they are going to look. I saw another Dia boy with 12mm eyes from Mako and they looked way too small for my taste, so they might be just right.
All three eyes have sparkles inside.
Shipping
Since they products are pre order it takes some time to get a shipping notice. The store says it takes 2-3 weeks, but I waited around 6. So that’s worth considering. I don’t mind the wait though, they seem to have quite a lot of orders lately.
Mako offers EMS and airmail. The airmail option is small packet with no tracking number, but they say it is very reliable. I was going to choose EMS, but it costed the same as a pair of eyes so I went with airmail instead. I got them in 4 weeks which is pretty standard for any airmail package here, with or without tracking number.
Conclusion
Left: Mako eyes (top) compared to glass eyes (bottom) in natural light. Right: Mako eyes (top) compared to glass eyes (bottom) with flash.
I never thought the difference with the eyes I currently have would be too big and I was quite scared to buy expensive eyes, but they are totally worth their price!! I mean, just look at that comparison between Mako and glass eyes!
The black circle in the middle seems bigger than my other eyes too and that makes them look better in Ailene at least. Now I understand when people say that the eyes seem like they follow you haha, before I never could see it.
And that’s it for this review. Hope you find it useful!
Related links:
Mako eyes english website
Den of Angel’s photo reference thread
Mako eyes flickr group
Great review dear! 🙂 Loved hearing your thoughts on Makoeyes, I just love them and think they’re the best~ I’ve had some more expensive urethane eyes as well, but somehow I didn’t like them as much :/ Makos are such awesome quality for their price, some glass eyes can cost over $20 and the quality isn’t often that great… It’s true that the colors on Mako website often look darker than in person, but I think that’s because they take the photos in very bright light.
Loving Ailene with her new eyes~ Lulu has Amaryllis 015 :3
Thanks!!! I think that more than lighting the color seems off in some pictures too, so it’s good to have reference threads to check just in case :D!!! Lulu and Ailene might have been sisters in a previous life lol! well at least the eyes are super different since Ailene is currently wearing brown ones :D!!!
First of all congrats on getting the eyes! The comparison with glass eyes is incredible, to be honest!
Ailene looks too adorable and so cute!! I can’t wait to see how Lucas looks with his new eyes :3
Thanks so much for doing the review! 😀
Thanks and no problem!!! I’m impressed with the difference too!!! I think I’ll get makos for everyone except Hana because her eyes look black anyways XDDDD
Awesome review! I’m waiting on some myself, so its great to read other peoples thoughts. *^^*
I just love how clear and deep the urethane eyes are compared to other types.
The ones you chose are gorgeous! Hope we get to see them in some more heads soon ;D
It was nice that you wrote how long it took for them to ship, because I was honestly getting a little nervous about my order XD’
But now I know it is normal, so I can relax about it and oogle at yours in the meantime 😀
Thanks!!! Yay for more PW beauties in mako eyes maybe? XD Hope you do a review too! I’m curious to see which colors you chose 😀
I’m glad my review could relax you a bit about the waiting times, they do have a lot of orders!
Haha yeah, well, not this time. I only had money for two pairs after I went crazy in Taobao land XD’
I’ve ordered two pairs of Iberis. The number 021 and 006. They are for my Iplehouse boys. ;D
Uhh, well then I’ll be sure to give my thoughts on them when they arrive ^^
I’m planning on giving my PW girls some Dandelion eyes with black pupils…once I have money again 😉
Dandelion eyes are supper pretty too :D!!! Hope you iple boys get their eyes soon *u*
An excellent review Alejandra. It’s good to see the glass and the Mako eyes side by side like that so you can really see the difference.
I really need to order more eyes, but it will probably have to wait until the new year ~ yes, I’m broke again, spent far too much on dolls this year.
The colours you sellected are lovely, Ailene looks gorgeous and I can’t wait to see the other two dolls wearing them.
Hugs,
X
Thank you!!!
You had an amazing dolly year, I really love seeing all your new dolls get to you and become part of the family 🙂
Hope you get more budget for your dolls soon!
Thanks for the review! I am glad to hear they are still good to deal with. I haven’t as yet ordered directly from them. The last Mako Eyes I ordered were through Nine9Style and the wait time was 6 weeks even back then.
I actually thought that second pair were purple so was surprised when you said they were supposed to be grey. And they do tend to photograph a lot darker than they appear on the website. I don’t use flash in my doll photography so I always have to relay on natural daylight to really show off those eyes. They do look lovely up close though and have such nice details. I think the ones I ordered are from the same line as yours.
No problem! I’m glad some people find it helpful!
I see them more like blue than purple haha but yeah nothing like the website XD
I don’t take photos with flash usually but sometimes it helps, I put a piece of paper or a napkin on the flash to make it less harsh 🙂
Ohh, this shop seems great! Thank you for the review of your experience, I’d love to order some eyes here too some day @o@
By the way, you took such gorgeous and professional photos ~ I think Mako should hire you as product photographer XD LOL
HA! You are the one that should be hired by PW :D!!!!
Thank you ~
I love eye reviews because the sites can be a tad limited. These are beautiful eyes too! *_* Your girl looks so sweet!!!!
I’m glad you like it!
Mako Eyes are indeed lovely! Thank you for sharing, I really like the AM-008~ Ailene looks really good with her new eyes. ;D
Thank you~~~~~~ I love Ailene’s new eyes too :D! The other day I tried the AM014 on Lucas and he looked fab too!hehe, I’ll post photos someday xD
Ahh! Those are really pretty! I love Mako Eyes! I rarely see owner photos of new line of eyes so thanks for this review. <3
No prob!! Their eyes are amazing, I plan on getting a few more in the future!