Hi all! I haven't seen any topics on coloured contacts, or even about contacts at all actually.

I started using contacts last year so I thought it might be a good idea to have a place to discuss such things since we always need to take care of our eyes (so important), haha.

So I wanted to find out from our lovely forumers:

1) What's your favourite brand for contacts(coloured and non-coloured)?
2) Best solution to clean?
3) How long do your contacts usually last? (Do you prefer daily/fortnightly/monthly) And why?
4) What you like about contacts?
5) Any particular dislike?
6) For coloured lens, what colour do you like best?

What I Have Used:

1-Day Acuvue Moist
Daily Acuvue Clear
FreshLook Colourblend Monthly Contacts (3 Months)
Bausch + Lomb Soflens (Monthly)
Bausch + Lomb Renu (Solution)
Solo Care Aqua (Solution)


My Experience so far

I bought my coloured contacts and my B + L lenses straight from my optometrist. The rest were over-the-counter places like optical shops. I quite like my B + L lenses compared to Acuvue because it feels more comfortable to me.

When I used Acuvue in the beginning (well, it might be due to my inherent noobness with contacts at the time), I felt like I had double vision at times, and this did not happen when I switched lenses to B+L. Maybe it was due to the difference between daily and monthly lenses, but then again, shouldn't daily lenses be more comfortable?

For coloured lenses, since I have only tried FreshLook, I can't give much comparison on that. But overall it's not as comfortable as clear contact lenses. I didn't expect my vision to be as reduced as when I wear coloured contacts and my eyes got tired a lot faster.

For comparison's sake, I could wear my clear lenses with close to zero discomfort (felt as if I wasn't wearing it at all) for almost 16 hours. On the other hand, my coloured contacts could only last me about 8 hours before the effects started to set in. I guess you strain your eyes a lot more trying to see through coloured contacts and I'm wondering, has anyone else experienced this? Please comment~

PS: I wore amethyst and steel grey. Amethyst is less distinctive for Asian eyes (on the poster it was almost reddish-purple, LOL) and it is one of the more "subtle" shades out there. (At first my mum couldn't even tell the difference between my coloured contacts and my natural eye colour -.-)





On another note, for solutions I would recommend getting smaller bottles and buying a lot of them at one go, if you can. Try to get it from your optometrist's clinic since it'll be cheaper to order through them. I tried buying one BIG bottle because I thought it will last me longer, but sometimes they expire before you use the whole bottle. If you get smaller bottles, you will open as the need arises = less wastage. And small bottles are convenient to carry around in case of any emergencies. Also, NEVER let the nozzle of your solution bottle touch anything else, even your hand. This is to prevent contamination by foreign particles. It is essential that good hygiene plays a part in your daily eye-contact routine.

A big question for me was daily vs. monthly. Both have their obvious pros and cons, but I'll just tell you about my experience with each of them and also transitioning from daily to monthly.

In the beginning, I was encouraged to use daily contact lenses as they were considered a more hygienic method of wearing contacts. Reason being, you don't need to be responsible for washing them/ re-wearing them. However, I have also heard about people wearing these daily contacts for about a week, maybe treating it as "no pain, no problem". But this, I must stress, is VERY DANGEROUS TO YOUR EYES. Especially if you don't even buy solution to clean them during that period. I think it's better safe than sorry since I only have one pair of eyes, so I never keep mine for more than a day.

Daily contacts are also for people who feel they don't need to wear them everyday/prefer glasses sometimes. I wore these when I was a student, but only for special occasions. In the end, it was also a hassle deciding when to wear my contacts as I only had a limited number of pairs and once you wear contacts...it's quite hard to get back into glasses. (the confidence level drops). I think dailies should be fine for people who are not used to wearing them, but don't buy too many. Compared to daily, the cost of monthly contacts is really pay-per-wear. The more you wear, the more value added to the cost. You can't use this to measure daily contacts, so.. sometimes the cost of daily vs. monthly is really not as vast as you think. Sometimes monthly can be cheaper! (If you're like me, I wear them almost everyday, haha and no hassle deciding)

About transitioning, just be prepared to clean, clean, clean since now we introduce Solution to your contact routine, haha. Your best friend in keeping your eyes safe from dirt and irritation! Try not to slack, as now we can't just throw the lenses away, so yes, some diligence required. But for me, it wasn't so much cleaning the lenses as making sure I don't sleep with them on, lol. Make sure your hands are free from water when you clean your lenses/ touch your eyes! Specially tap water, it's really not safe to touch your eyes/lenses as there are amoeba present in the liquid. You wouldn't want your eyes to get infected. (confirmed by my optometrist). Instead, try drying your hands with paper towels/ tissues after washing them or your eyes might get a little red and irritated when you put your lenses in.

A little tip, if you have bought coloured contacts + clear lenses at the same time and like to alternate between them (for professional purposes + partying, free time purposes), don't worry about wasting your contact's expiry date because you can't wear both at the same time and you already opened em together.

What I do is, I make sure that I always store them in a cool place (preferably the fridge, not the freezer) when I'm not using them. This keeps bacterial activity to a minimum (kind of like how you increase a food's lifespan with refrigeration). Keep a record of how many days you use them, ONLY when you use them, Don't count the days you kept them in your fridge without using them and it should be fine as long as your eyes are not uncomfortable and you don't go past a month using this method. I've done this before and, so far it works to keep both me and my eyes happy. Always listen to your eyes though, so if they tell you that it doesn't feel nice anymore, don't use those contacts/ buy new ones.

Remember that however much you loveeeeeeeee your new contacts, it's also important to wear glasses occasionally (unless..you don't need them and are only wearing contacts for fun?) It gives your eyes a much needed rest. Treat your peepers with respect, and they will shine like anything.

I think this is about it.
Whew! Such a long post, lol.

I hoped this helped some people

1) What's your favourite brand for contacts(coloured and non-coloured)?
Softlens.

2) Best solution to clean?
I keep mine pretty consistent. I use either Renu or COMPLETE.

3) How long do your contacts usually last? (Do you prefer daily/fortnightly/monthly) And why?
I use the monthly lenses and they last me about 3 or so months .. maybe longer, I don't keep track.

4) What you like about contacts?
I like my eyes. I have big, round eyes and my mom thought it was a waste to hide them behind classes. Also, I don't have to worry about glasses sliding down my face.

5) Any particular dislike?
Your eyes get really tired and sleepy fast if you have them on.

6) For coloured lens, what colour do you like best?
I like the browns and hazels. Anything else on an Asian looks too f***ing fake. my prescription is too high for colored lenses, however, so I don't wear them. I've tried gray before ... meh.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the red marks glasses usually leave on the bridge of your nose. Contacts just eliminate them, muahaha.

About our eyes getting tired and sleepy, does anyone know if contacts increase the power of your eyes? My power has been pretty stagnant for awhile since I started wearing glasses, but I'm not sure if contacts affect it.

I agree about the right colour suitable for our Asian features lol, so I stuck to grays and stuff. Hazel looks so bright, I don't know how it would look. But I have a friend who wears light blue ones, and it suits her. I think it's really about liking what you wear and having fun with it. If you really want the natural look, you should just stick to clear contacts.

Now they have contacts with patterns and stripes, fake skulls. Cartoons in our eyes, LOL.

Does anyone know where to get red contacts, hmm?

actually my eye power has definitely leveled out since I started wearing contacts, and I think it's because contacts eliminate the gap between the lens and your eye that glasses have so your eyes are still straining when you're wearing glasses.

light blue is still not a natural asian color, but I suppose your complexion also comes into play. if you're tanned/dark, blue is definitely not right.