Function

• Nowadays, you are more than able to change the color of your eyes even if you have perfect vision. Although contact lenses were originally created for the purpose of vision correction, you can also use them as a purely fashion-forward device. If you find the brown eyes that you were born with too dark, you can effortlessly switch to a lighter blue, green, gray or even violet every time you want to capture more attention. The opposite is also true--if you have stunningly light eyes and want to appear more low key from time to time, you can do so by slipping on a pair of contacts darker than your natural eye color.
  
  

Considerations

• Make sure that you get properly fitted by an eye-care professional even if you have perfect vision and only want to wear colored contacts as a style statement. There are market vendors and beauty supply shops that sell contacts to consumers with no prescriptions. These can cause irritation or scratch the lens of your eye if they are the wrong size or type for you. If you've never worn contacts prior to deciding you'd like to try colored ones, you especially need to visit an eye doctor who can determine the kind best suited for you.
  
  

Types

• There are three basic tints added to contact lenses. A "visibility" tint does not affect the color of your eyes, but makes spotting your lens easier in case you drop it or it pops out of your eye. An "enhancement" tint does not completely change your eye color; it merely intensifies light eyes. The colored contacts most consumers are familiar with have a "color" tint. These are more opaque, and can make even the darkest of eyes considerably lighter. While there are "extended wear" colored contacts that can be worn on a daily basis for about a year or thereabouts before they need to be disposed of, some types can only be used anywhere from in between a day to a week. It all depends on the kind that you buy, along with the care that you give your lenses. As for specialized needs, such as bifocal correction and astigmatism, colored contacts can also be prescribed for you by your eye-care practitioner.
  
  

Features

• In films, on TV and for Halloween and costume parties, colored contact lenses are a convenient special effects tool. For a more theatrical and exaggerated change in eye color, there are lenses that appear unearthly and even supernatural. For example, to amplify the scare factor of a devil costume, you can wear reptilian or blood-red contact lenses. Specialty contacts can be custom-made as well for actors to depict such illusions as aging, bloody eyes, convulsions and blindness (see Additional Resources, below).
  
  

Warning

• Do not continue wearing your lenses, colored or clear, longer than prescribed. To prevent eye infections and possible injuries, throw them away after the established period for you to wear them has passed. Always practice good hygiene with your contacts. Being careless with them can lead to the growth of a sty--or worse--in your eye. Remove them before you go to bed and follow the instructions that come with the contact lens care solution you use to soak them in. Make sure that your contact lens case has been cleaned since you took your lenses out to wear, and that there are no traces of soap or any other harsh cleaning substances lining the container. Once a lens gives you trouble, if taking it out and cleaning it does not make the irritation go away, it is possible that the lens is ripped and you should not repeatedly attempt to put it back in as you could inflict damage on your eye.