I’ve received product samples and compensation for my time and effort in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #sponsored @ACUVUE
I’ve always been pretty adventurous when it comes to experimenting with hair, clothes and makeup (and food!). I’ll jump in feet first! A bright green gloss, you say?? Temporary magenta streaks in my hair? SURE, why not!?
But when it came to cosmetic content lenses? Different story.
They just never really appealed to me. I couldn’t picture my brown eyes (dark chocolate brown with a navy blue ring to be exact! — they’re my dad’s eyes) as a completely different color. I dunno… Different strokes for different folks, I guess.
It wasn’t just that they look unnatural sometimes, especially when you know someone very well and you totally know what their eyes naturally look like. I can get behind most dramatic cosmetic changes like hair (seriously, what’s natural about pink streaks?!), but when it comes to my eyes? I just can’t picture looking at myself in the mirror and seeing bright green eyes. It freaks me out!
But that was also one of the reasons I wanted to try the new 1-DAY ACUVUE® DEFINE® prescription contact lenses. They’re subtle — not at all like full-on colorful contacts — and they don’t change the color of your eyes.
They’re not just subtle. They’re SUPER subtle, but the beauty benefit was very clear once I tried them on.
What they actually do is a little hard to explain, but it’s easier to see in pics…
See how my eye on the right looks a little bigger?
Once you notice it, I think the difference stands out more. My iris looks larger, and there are amber flecks around the edges.
It’s more obvious when I open my eyes REALLY wide and effectively look like a crazy person, LOL! So please excuse the crazy eyes below. They’re strictly for demonstration purposes, although I am thinking about walking around town like this just to see what kind of friends I’d make. 🙂
Unlike tinted contact lenses, these don’t change the overall color of your eyes, but I love the subtle difference.
There are a couple things going on here…
- First, the outline around my iris (also known as the limbal ring) looks larger and more defined, which makes my overall eye look bigger.
- Second, the iris-inspired designes that have light-effect patterns add depth and dimension without changing the natural color of my eye.
As soon as I put one of these on, my eyes seemed bigger and brighter to me, but not in a cray-cray silly way. El Hub, however, didn’t notice a difference at all.
At first.
Granted, the man walks around without his contacts or glasses half the time, so I’m not exactly sure WHAT he sees… Yeah, there’s a very good chance that Baby Girl is going to need glasses one of these days, LOL!
1-DAY ACUVUE® DEFINE® lenses are prescription lenses, so you’ll need to go to an eye care professional for an appointment. I had a fitting with an optometrist to get them in my prescription. The lenses are sold in boxes of 30 or 90. Prices vary by doc, but they’re as low as $65 for a month’s supply.
There are three different effects available- NATURAL SPARKLE®, NATURAL SHIMMER® and NATURAL SHINE®. They range from super subtle, to slightly more impact, to even MORE impact (but still not too obvious), and complement all eye colors — green, blue, hazel, gray and, yes, brown like moi.
ACUVUE® worked with Celebrity Makeup Artist Julianne Kaye to create some simple, how-to makeup tips that complement all three effects, and you can check ’em out in the links below…
Makeup How To NATURAL SPARKLE®
Makeup How To NATURAL SHIMMER®
Makeup How To NATURAL SHINE®
Because I have dark eyes, I really like the lens with the most dramatic effect, NATURAL SHINE®.
You can really see the difference in closeups. Have a moment with my eyeballz for a sec…
I SEE YOU!
Subtlety. That’s the key here. If you’re looking for a dramatic, jaw-dropping change, these probably aren’t for you, but if you’re looking for a subtle enhancing effect for everyday wear or fabulous special occasions, give ’em a try.
Check out Acuvue.com/Define to learn more.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Important Information for Contact Lens Wearers: 1-DAY ACUVUE® DEFINE® Brand Contact Lenses are available with and without vision correction. An eye care professional will determine whether contact lenses are right for you. Although rare, serious eye problems can develop while wearing contact lenses. To help avoid these problems, follow the wear and replacement schedule and the lens care instructions provided by your eye doctor. Do not wear contact lenses if you have an eye infection, or experience eye discomfort, excessive tearing, vision changes, redness or other eye problems. If one of these conditions occurs, contact your eye doctor immediately. You should never share your lenses with anyone else. For more information on proper wear, care and safety, talk to your eye care professional and ask for a Patient Instruction Guide, call 1-800-843-2020 or visit www.Acuvue.com.
LindaLibraLoca says
I like Acuvue for my everyday lenses, but I never tried colored ones.
Karen says
These aren’t colored contacts so they don’t change the color of your eyes. Your eye color still stays the same. 🙂
Kim says
You’re right, they make your irises look bigger and the color looks “richer”. But, it’s definitely subtle. I wore colored contacts for years in HS/college. Purple, in fact. They gave a really cool effect over my green eyes and no one but my close friends realized what was different until I told them. Which I always did. I even had some people who argued that it couldn’t be true (they were kinda new back then). 🙂 Anyway, I didn’t wear them for important pics like senior photos or graduation or anything. Mostly for fun. And then I had laser eye surgery, which was the best decision EVAH! I’ve been 20/15 ever since and not having to deal with contacts or glasses has been fabulous. It’s been over 15 years. 🙂
Karen says
Ahh, so jealous! I’ve asked the optometrist about laser surgery and apparently I’m not a good candidate. You’re so lucky! It must be nice to wake up in the morning and, ya know, *see* everything from the get go.
Kim says
I know! It’s been so awesome. I actually couldn’t do the Lasik because my corneas were too thin, so I had to do the PRK. I will be honest that the recovery was difficult. My Dad had the Lasik and his was nothing in comparison. That said, I’m really glad I did it. And both eyes at once was key because it would have taken me a long time to go back and do it again, knowing what the healing would be like. 🙂 Oh, and the other downside was that it was a one-time-only thing. There is not enough cornea to ever do it again (which was stressful because if something went wrong…). Sorry, that was a long story. You could check into it – I’m sure there are excellent surgeons in SF. I had mine done in Montreal and they were great. Don’t read up on the details of procedure, though. I seem to recall that you and I both have the same squeamishness about eye stuff. HAHA!
PS Sorry to make this longer but, funny story before the surgery. Going to sleep without contacts/glasses and the Hubs (bf at the time) was flipping through the channels. I was like “hey, is that an old episode of the X-Files?”. His stunned reply “what?! That’s not Mulder.. it’s BIGFOOT”. My eyesight was NOT good. 🙂
Jane says
I can’t say that I see a real difference in your eyes. I will say that your makeup look in this video is my favorite. It is simple and compliments your look. What shades are you wearing?
Karen says
It’s pretty subtle and that’s what I think the beauty of it is. Thank you re: the makeup! I’m wearing a lot of Clinique in this look. The eyes are the Chubby Sticks in Ample Amber and Bountiful Beige on the lids and Fuller Fudge on the lower lash line, and the cheeks are Ginger Pop. The lips are MAC — Fast Play Lipstick blotted down to a stain. 🙂 Let me know if you have any other questions!
Jessica says
I really don’t see much change to be honest.
Don’t bother with contacts unless you need them for vision correction.
Karen says
They’re very subtle, which I like!
Ashleigh says
These would be handy for bloggers or other people who photograph their face a lot. I have horrendous vision, so I haven’t ever been able to get colored/specialty contacts. I’ve always wanted to try fun lenses though.
Karen says
They’re fun for a night out! 🙂 I feel you on the vision thing…I’m a mess without my glasses, LOL!
Kiss & Make-up says
Now that you’ve pointed it out I can spot the difference, but if you hadn’t said anything I probably wouldn’t have noticed. I mean, your eyes look really clear and nice with the contacts, definitely, but I don’t think you really NEED them, ya know.
Karen says
They’re a fun extra to have!
hanna says
Looks really pretty!
Karen says
Thanks!
Bree says
I have green eyes and when I got contacts in Jr. High I got the turquoise tinted ones. They were really neat, made my eyes a turquoise green. I then switched to evergreen, which made my eyes super green and pretty. I have a senior pic we took in front of our big banana tree and it looks like my eyes were edited to match. Wore those until contacts became a pita. They just didn’t wear or last like they use to. I had lasek 2 1/2 years ago and love it. I’m all for enhancing contacts. If you have to wear them might as well have fun. On another note…I never feel like I can wear blue, since my eyes are green.
Ruchita says
These are kinda cool! I like the subtle difference with the Natural Shine. I replace my current lenses about once a month so these would be fun to try for a change!
cindy says
Subtle but very nice Karen! Could you do a youtube tutorial on this look with the Clinique chubby sticks you mentioned? This look is beautiful and I’m thinking very work appropriate. thank you!
sarahc says
I like these! I can definitely tell on you but it is subtle. I wish it was more acceptable in society to be as outrageous as we want with our makeup and fashion whenever we want to. That’s one thing I love about the Capital in Hunger Games.
Barbara B says
Can’t wear contacts anymore and really miss them! Can’t have surgery either so stuck with glasses.
Totally off-topic but your skin looks so nice and glowy! I had horrible skin when I was pregnant!
denise S says
I was curious about these contacts . So glad you reviewed them. I wear glasses for reading, driving and watching tv. But I probably need to start wearing them all the time and think I’ll give contacts a try soon. These look like a great option. Pretty but not phony looking like some colored contacts. Are they comfortable to wear?
Rana says
I just wanted to comment that you skin looks extra beautiful in these pics! Very glowy 🙂
Lulle says
Interesting! I’ve never been attracted to color contacts – to be honest I think most of them look horrendous, you see people wearing them and they look like they have artificial eyes… The worst are the ones that makes the iris super big, so creepy!! :/
That being said these ones are a whole different approach and I find the result kind of cool. It’s like your eyes but better, in a more defined and refreshed version. I’d love to try ’em, and the fact that they come with correction is all good for me (I’m very near-sighted). They’re a bit pricey though, and I don’t think I could wear them daily because my eyes are kind of demanding – I need silicone-gel contacts, that’s not what they are, is it?
Stephanie says
I like these, but I bet they don’t come in a toric lens. I have problems with my left eye as it is (the lens has to be special ordered and no one makes them strong enough so my doc always has to tweak the prescription so they work) I would get these in a heartbeat if they were available in a toric lens.
gabby says
I wish I could wear contacts but my eyes are so sensitive. Love this post. You are so cute!!! Love the makeup by the way. Your face is glowing!
Anastassia says
They seem very interesting. I can tell the difference. You look nice with contacts.
Krystal Brown says
They actually look very nice and natural on you. You have pretty eyes anyway. I did a contact lens review as well for Pure Colors here. https://krystalbrownblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/13/review-of-color-contact-lens-pure-colors-in-amethyst/. Hopefully, I can get my blog to the same level as you!