Which coloured contact lenses will suit me best?

Fashion frames can make bold and personal statements about the style of people who wear glasses. However, if you prefer a more subtle statement, there are fashionable coloured contact lenses available to you too. Even if you don’t need prescription contact lenses, changing the colour of your eyes can still make a bold statement.

Prescription and non-prescription coloured contact lenses

Coloured contact lenses are available for prescription and non-prescription needs. If you are looking at non-prescription coloured contact lenses you should still have an eye test at a qualified optometrist before starting to use the lenses. This will ensure you don’t have any underlying eye conditions which may require treatment or could be exacerbated. Since you’ve probably never worn contact lenses before if you don’t have a prescription you may not know what to expect. Don’t worry about the common myths of contact lenses getting stuck in your eye. They sit comfortably on your eye and are designed to be easily inserted and removed. Your optometrist will be able to provide you with a wetting solution to help. Also make sure you use only recommended cleaning products on your coloured contact lenses and maintain a regular hygiene routine to avoid infection and irritation.

If you have a prescription from your optometrist, you can get coloured contact lenses for your needs.

Types of coloured contact lenses

When you’re shopping for coloured contact lenses you have several choices which are available in both prescription and non-prescription options:
- Visibility tint. Is a faint blue or green tint added to contact lenses which won’t affect your eye colour. The tint is there to help you see the lens better when you are inserting or removing it.
- Enhancement tint. Is a translucent coloured lens which will slightly enhance the colour of your eyes if you have naturally light-coloured eyes. This is a good option if you are looking for a subtle coloured contact lens.
- Opaque tint. Is an opaque coloured lens which will completely change your eye colour regardless of its natural colour. 

How to choose the best coloured contact lenses for you

The choice of coloured contact lenses is open to you whether you have a prescription to fill or not. Therefore, the choice depends on the look you want to achieve and how subtle or dramatic you want that look to be.

If you want a natural but slightly enhanced look from your coloured contact lenses, consider a visibility or enhancement tint. These lenses will make your eyes look more vibrant and enhance your natural eye colour. Therefore, people may not notice exactly what you’ve changed about yourself, but they will notice a more bright-eyed you.

To completely change the colour of your eyes you will need to choose an opaque coloured contact lens. Opaque lenses are also the only way to change the colour of your eyes if you have naturally dark eyes. With opaque lenses you can have several different colours to match your mood or your outfit for the day.

When you are choosing opaque coloured contact lenses also consider your hair colour and skin tone. Your skin tone is not only somewhere between light and dark, you’ll also need to determine whether you have a cool or warm skin tone. Cool skin tones will have a pink or blue undertone, while warm skin will have a yellow or olive undertone. Choose blue or violet coloured contact lenses if you have a cool skin tone. For warm skin tones, honey, brown or green lenses will look the most natural while still being striking.

At the same time consider your hair colour, as blondes will be best suited to blues and green or some light brown coloured contact lenses. If you have dark brown hair you may be able to choose darker lenses in blue, honey or green or with light brown hair choose darker violet lenses. If you have black hair you can really make your eyes pop with blue of green lenses. Green lenses also suit redheads, as do blue, as neither will clash with your hair colour.

By taking your skin tone and hair colour into account, and considering enhancement tints vs opaque tints, you can find your ideal contact lens colour.