Colored contact lenses are great for elevating your everyday look. They’re great additions to your morning beauty routine, and there are plenty of ways you can wear makeup to bring out the color in your contact lenses.
Interested in trying out colored contact lenses? Here are four things you need to know first.
1. There are both vision-correcting and Plano colored contact lenses.
Before buying colored contact lenses, you need to ask yourself whether you need vision-correcting colored lenses or Plano colored lenses.
If you already wear contact lenses for an existing vision problem, then you need vision-correcting colored contact lenses. Meanwhile, if you have clear vision and have never worn contact lenses before, you can opt for Plano colored contact lenses.
Plano colored contact lenses do not provide vision correction. People wear these types of contact lenses for purely cosmetic reasons.
Regardless of which one you want to buy, keep in mind that you need to get a valid prescription before you can purchase your desired contact lenses.
The FDA considers all contact lenses (included colored ones) as medical devices. Therefore, you need to get a valid prescription if you want to buy and wear colored contact lenses.
The easiest way to get a prescription is to take an online eye exam. These exams are accurate because licensed eye care professionals review your results before providing you with a prescription. Online eye exams are also 100% safe and hassle-free because you take the exams in the comfort of your own home.
2. Colored contact lenses come in different tints.
Colored contact lenses are available in three different tints, namely:
1. Visibility tint:
Visibility tint contact lenses have just a faint green or blue tint. The color on visibility tint contact lenses isn’t sufficient to change your eye color. The only purpose of the color on this type of contact lens is so that they’re more visible when you’re putting them in or removing them from your eyes. The color on visibility tint contact lenses also makes them much easier to find if you drop them.
2. Enhancement tint:
Compared to visibility tint contact lenses, enhancement tint contact lenses have a darker tint. This type of colored contact lens doesn’t change your eye color. As their name suggests, these contact lenses only enhance your natural eye color.
3. Opaque tint:
Also known as non-transparent tint contact lenses, this type of contact lens has a dark, solid color. Among the three tints, this is the only tint that can change your eye color completely.
Understanding the different tints available to you is crucial when it comes to choosing the right contact lenses. If you have light brown eyes and you want them to look more vibrant, then go for enhancement tint contact lenses. On the other hand, if you have brown eyes and you want to change your eye color to blue, then wear opaque tint contact lenses.
3. Colored contact lenses work best when they match your skin tone.
The key to maximizing the effect of colored contact lenses is to wear a color that matches your skin tone. While no written rule says you can’t choose any color you want, not every color will suit your specific skin tone.
Choosing a color that matches your complexion can be somewhat complicated if it’s your first time buying colored contact lenses. However, following these tried and tested guidelines will make the decision-making process much easier for you.
Light or fair skin: If you have a fair complexion, wearing contact lenses in shades of either blue or gray will brighten your eyes further and make you look more alluring. Wear contact lenses with shades like aqua, turquoise, sky blue, ivory, or misty gray so that your eyes appear more vibrant.
Medium or tan skin: If you have medium or tan skin, you have a wide range of colors to choose from. Having olive skin means you can wear contact lenses in shades of hazel, beige, green, and even darker shades of blue and violet.
Warm skin: If the color of your skin ranges from light to dark brown, then you have a warm skin tone. You’ll look great wearing contact lenses in shades like toffee brown, honey, autumn, or chestnut brown.
4. Using the right makeup techniques is everything.
Wearing colored contact lenses will indeed take your look to another level. To enhance your look even further, though, you’ll also have to use the right makeup techniques. Here are some simple eye makeup techniques that will complement your colored contact lenses.
- Use earth tones. – Wearing blue contact lenses? Try wearing eyeshadow with colors such as copper, bronze, brown, or gold.
- Wear smokey eye makeup. – You can use this technique if you’re wearing contact lenses in shades like brown, turquoise, emerald, and gray.
- Use bright eyeshadow. – The great thing about wearing contact lenses in shades of brown is that you can wear almost any color of eyeshadow. Make your eyes pop by taking advantage of contrasts and wearing blue or purple eyeshadow.
Don’t be afraid to wear colored contact lenses to change your look. You just have to keep the following in mind:
- Decide whether you want vision-correcting or Plano contact lenses.
- You need a prescription before you can buy them.
- Consider whether to wear enhancement tint contact lenses or opaque tint contact lenses.
- Complement your colored contact lenses with different eye makeup techniques.