Contact lenses are convenient alternatives to eyeglasses to help people get clearer vision with certain limitations. Many of them correct refractive errors by adding or subtracting focusing power, aiding those with eye problems such as astigmatism, hyperopia, and myopia.
Of course, contact lenses have other uses.
They allow people to change the color of their eyes and improve their overall appearance. Contacts either enhance the color that is already there or alter the eye tint completely.
Moreover, people who use colored contact lenses have various reasons. Some do it to boost their confidence, while others use colored contacts to match costumes and complete a cosplay look.
Whatever the case, picking the right kind of colored lenses should be taken as seriously as you would any eye product. To determine which ones are most suited for you, below are the five most important factors you need to consider:
Your Purpose
Why you wish to change the color of your eyes is one of the most critical factors you must consider when choosing a colored lens. This will define the parameters of your search and can help make the purchase decision easier.
For example, if you’re planning to enhance what you already have and use the lenses on a daily basis, you’ll want to look closely into the original color of your eyes to see what tones can make it stand out. You also need to match the color of the lenses with your skin tone and hair color (more on this later).
But if you’re looking for eye color change to match a costume you’ll be using for a single day only, you may want to look into daily colored contact lenses in Dubai. The intensity of the tint also varies on where and how you plan to use your contacts.
The bottom line is that you need to define your purpose for wearing colored lenses first.
The Available Choices
Colored contact lenses come in various tints, each offering a different effect when worn. These include:
Enhancement Tint Lenses
As the name suggests, these lenses enhance the natural color of the eyes. Usually, they deepen an already existing color or add a bit of vibrancy to it.
Enhancement contacts also have translucent tints, which only slightly change the actual color of the eyes. They are a bit darker than visibility tint lenses (those that don’t change eye color and are only tinted very lightly to help users find them if dropped).
Color-changing Lenses
These are opaque tint lenses with darker shades and can change the color of the eyes. They give the iris a totally different hue and can alter even the darkest natural eye colors.
Color tints usually come in specialty colors, such as violet, green, and amethyst. They also have a clear center to let users see clearly.
Light-filtering Tinted Lenses
These lenses help filter light to improve vision for athletic and sports purposes. They can enhance specific colors while muting others to make it easier to see certain objects, like the optic yellow for tennis balls.
Party Lenses
These contact lenses also change the color of the iris, though sometimes they can cover the entire eye. They usually have unnatural colors or patterns, which makes them perfect for theatrical uses.
Party lenses are used for movies and TV shows and special events like Halloween, costume parties, and cosplay events.
Equinox Lenses
These lenses are distinguishable by a dark ring around the iris. While subtle, this creates a dramatic effect and is best for those with light-colored eyes.
Your Eyes
Like choosing pieces of clothing, you also need to match contact lenses to the specific body part that you’ll be wearing it on (i.e., the eyes).
Generally, you’ll want contacts that will offer a natural yet enhanced look (if that’s what you’re going for).
For subtle changes, you’ll want to stick to enhancement lenses as they only deepen the already-existing eye color. Use lenses that add definition to the iris, especially if you have lighter natural eye color.
For those with darker eyes who wish only a slight change, opaque tints like blue or hazel should work as lighter lenses that still look natural.
On the other hand, if you want an eye-popping color (literally and figuratively), you should go with bolder color-changing lenses with violet or deep blue tints.
Your Skin Tone
Picking contact lenses isn’t just about choosing your favorite color; you need to match it with your skin tone as well.
To do so, you must first identify the kind of skin tone you have. Below are a few ways how you can figure this out and determine the contact lens color that works best for you:
Cool skin tone
People with cool skin tones look better with silver accessories. Their veins also tend to look bluish underneath their skin.
When you have this type of skin tone, you’ll need a pair of contacts that complement the cool undertone of the skin, like purple, grey, or blue. People with this skin tone are also advised to go with more vibrant lenses, like aqua, amethyst, and turquoise.
Warm skin tone
You can confirm whether you have a warm skin tone if you look better with gold accessories than silver and have greenish-looking veins underneath your skin.
For this skin tone, brown, hazel, honey, and light blue contact lenses offer the best results, as they create gorgeous contrast with the skin tone.
Neutral skin tone
If you look good in both gold and silver accessories and have near-colorless veins (i.e., veins match your skin color), you most likely have a neutral skin tone.
People with light brown to olive complexion can wear any color they prefer, be it hazel, honey, brown, green, grey, or violet.
Your Hair Color
Like your skin tone, your hair color can also affect the look you’ll achieve with color contact lenses. Here are the recommended hues for different hair colors:
Blonde
Blonde hair looks great with and enhances a wide range of eye colors. However, green, blue, and violet lenses offer the best results.
Red
Choose green contact lenses for any shade of red hair, though you should consider opting for bright green eye tints for deep red hair and vice versa. Blue contacts also work if you’re not keen on using green contacts.
Brown
Brown hair matches contact lenses with other shades of brown, like hazel or brown, because they enhance the natural beauty of the eyes. However, if you’re after a more drastic change in look, blue contact lenses should do the trick.
Black
Like blonde hair, black tresses pair well with all eye colors. From light green and dark brown to more whimsical violets and pinks, all contact lens colors look wonderful with black hair.
The Perfect Eye Color
Changing the colors of your eyes is now possible with colored contact lenses. You only need to know what you’re looking for to get that perfect eye color you want.