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By: Tanya Turner

Decided to change your eye color with colored contacts and don’t know which ones to choose? Find out what the color contacts market has to offer and which lenses will make your eyes look most striking and beautiful.

Color contact lens types

You can get disposable (1 day, 2 weeks or 1 month replacement schedule) color contact lenses as well as traditional (annual replacement) lenses. Each type has its advantages and disadvantages.

Disposable lenses are healthier for your eyes. First, they are thinner so the lens lets more oxygen through to your cornea. Second, protein build-ups are less of a problem with disposable contact lenses - it doesn’t have enough time to build up. And third, if you replace your contact lenses often, the risk of bacterial infection is much less. So from the health point of view, disposable color contacts like Freshlook or Acuvue 2 Colors are better. Disposable color lenses are especially recommended if you want to wear your color contacts every day for longer than 8 hours.

On the other hand, the best annual replacement color contact lenses are hand painted, while all disposable contacts are digitally printed. For a color contact it is very important not only to give you a brilliant vibrant color, but also to look natural. If you look very closely at your eyes, you will see that your iris isn’t a solid color but has various colors and patterns. Some people have a starburst pattern, while others have tiny rays of yellow or black in a blue or green iris. These patterns and colors give your eyes a feeling of depth. Hand painted lenses, like Durasoft 2, include subtle details and varied colors. This helps to simulate depth and gives your eyes a very natural appearance.

As you can imagine, hand-painted color contacts are more difficult to produce, so they are more expensive. This is actually the reason they don’t come as monthly disposables - very few people would pay 50 dollars or more for color contacts that only last a month!

Best color contacts for dark eyes

If you eyes are dark brown, blue or green your only option is opaque contact lenses.
Enhancement color lenses will only disappoint you.

The best options for dark eyes are:

Freshlook Colorblends - opaque, monthly disposable lenses with bright, brilliant color and natural looking patterns. The most popular shades are Amethyst, Blue Sapphire and Green

Acuvue 2 Colors Opaque - 2 week disposable color lenses that create soft looking color

Durasoft 2 and Durasoft 3 Opaques - strikingly bright, yet natural looking, color. Durasoft is a hand-painted annual replacement contact lens. Durasoft 3 looks best, but it is expensive

Illusions - also annual replacement, hand-painted color contacts. For a soft, light color chose Soft Green of Soft Blue. If you want a striking color, go for Violet, Deep Blue or Deep Green

If your eyes and skin are dark, be careful not to get a color that is very light. Light green or blue eyes won’t look natural with bronze skin. Instead go for deep blue, green or amethyst.

Best color contacts for light eyes

If your eyes are light, you can wear both opaque and enhancer color contact lenses. To change your color select opaque contacts, because green enhancers over blue eyes, or vice versa, can give unpredictable result.

Recommended color contacts for light eyes:

Freshlook Dimensions - monthly disposable contacts that don’t change your natural color, but add depth and make your eyes appear larger

Freshlook Radiance - also monthly disposables, which make your eyes appear bright and sparkling. Radiance comes in Eden, Moonlight, Sunrise and Autumn. The Radiance effect is really striking.

Durasoft 2 for light eyes - annual replacement color lenses. The lens looks very natural because of the carefully painted pattern and blend of colors. You can get Aquamarine, Sky Blue, Jade Green, Violet Blue

Illusions Soft Blue and Soft Green - opaque annual replacement color lenses that create beautiful, very light, natural looking color.

People with very light eyes should be particularly careful. Some enhancement color contacts tend to make light eyes look darker. The solution here can be quite unusual - go for opaque lenses that simulate light color, rather than enhancers. Soft Green or Soft Blue Illusions can be a good choice.

If you feel like you want to change something in your appearance, trying color contact lenses is a good choice. Get yourself a pair of brilliant color contacts and enjoy watching heads turn as you pass.

Tanya Turner is a contact lens expert and a founder of Contact Lenses Consumer Guide where you can find unbiased information about best colored contact lenses, and special effect contact lenses with reviews and photos.