How to Choose the Perfect Colored Contact Lenses

Colored contact lenses are a great way to change your look. You can enhance your eyes on an everyday basis or transform them for Halloween or a Comic-Con event into alien, monster, or animal eyes. Whatever your ultimate goal is, in this article that 5-Minute Crafts has put together, you can learn how to choose the perfect colored contact lenses.

1. Different types of colored contacts

Your eyes have natural vivid shapes and lines in their iris, and colored contact lenses have similar patterns. They mimic the natural texture and design of the iris and thus achieve an authentic natural eye color. The center of each contact lens remains clear, so you can see through them. They also come in different sizes. In order to choose the best colored contact lenses, it is important to know which different types exist.

• Opaque lenses — These lenses completely hide your natural eye color.
• Theatrical lenses (or cosmetic lenses) — These contact lenses give a specific effect to your eyes. Your eyes could become like those of a cat or a snake, completely black, etc. They are usually worn for special occasions, like Halloween or for a performance.
• Equinox lenses (or circle lenses) — These lenses have a dark ring around the iris that subtly gives a dramatic effect. They are powerful with bright eyes.
• Sports-tinted (or custom-tinted) lenses — They are used mainly by athletes because the choice of color helps to reduce glare and increase depth perception.
• Color-enhancement tints — They adjust your natural eye color. For example, if you have blue eyes, they can darken or lighten them.

2. Define your skin tone.

Before you get colored lenses, determine what kind of complexion you have. Your skin can have a cool, warm, or neutral tone.

• Warm skin tone has golden, yellow, or peach undertones.
• Cool skin tone has pinkish, reddish, or bluish undertones.
• Neutral skin tone has a mixture of both cool and warm tones.

You can determine your skin tone in a couple of ways:

• According to the color of the jewelry that suits you better. If gold jewelry suits you better, then you have a warm undertone. If silver suits you better, then you have a cool undertone. In case all these colors suit you well, then you have a neutral undertone.
• Based on the color of your veins. If they are blue, then you have a cool undertone. If they are green, then you have a warm undertone. If they are colorless or match your skin color, then you have a neutral undertone.

3. Pick colored contacts that match your skin tone.

It’s normal for contact lenses to move when we blink. However, if they do it too much, they can create an unnatural look. You will also lose that naturalness if the colored part of the lens does not overlap well with the iris. These colored contact lenses look good on the following skin tones:

• Cool skin tone — Bright gray, purple, and blue lenses will suit you well because they will complete your undertones. Choose colors like turquoise, amethyst, and aqua.
• Neutral skin tone — Neutral skin tones vary from light brown to light olive. Therefore, any color you choose will suit you. You can choose between brown, honey, and hazelnut to gray, green, and purple.
• Warm skin tone — Choose lenses in shades of honey, hazelnut, brown, or light blue. With those, you will attain a great contrast with your skin.

Tip: Check to see how colored contact lenses will look in both low and bright light conditions with the help of a handheld mirror.

4. Pick colored contacts that complement your hair color.

In addition to the complexion of your skin, pay attention to the color of your hair when choosing tinted contact lenses.

• Blonde hair — A wide range of eye colors suit you. For best results, choose blue, green, or purple lenses.
• Red hair — Any shade of red goes well with green. If you have light red hair, choose darker green lenses, and with deep shades of red hair, you can choose light green lenses. You can also choose blue if you want.
• Brown hair — Choose brown or hazelnut contact lenses because they will give you a natural look. If you want a more dramatic look, then choose blue lenses.
• Black hair — You can wear all the colors you want, from lighter shades of green to darker shades of brown.

5. Taking care of colored contact lenses

You need to follow a specific cleaning process to maintain your eye health. Purchase an appropriate eye care solution and a container for your contact lenses, and follow all recommended cleaning and storage procedures. Also, find out from your eye care provider how often you will need to change your lenses. In case your eyes look red, or feel irritated, take a break from them. You should not feel any discomfort while wearing contact lenses. If you notice any changes or complications, consult your eye care provider.

Tip: Do not share lenses with anyone so as not to infect your eyes. Your tinted contact lenses will be custom-tailored to fit your eyes, so they will only suit you.