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Magazine |
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Shades of blue,
green and grey...
By Ishani
Ranasinghe & Marisa de Silva No, you're
not seeing things. Coloured contact lenses seem to be the latest
trend among many young people today. Many people wear contact lenses
due to poor eyesight (the clear lenses), but increasingly it seems
that wearing coloured contacts is the 'in thing', an emphatic fashion
statement of "hey look at me". So how did
these cosmetic lenses suddenly come into our lives? Why are so many
people opting to wear these lenses and what does the average youth
(non-wearers) think of the concept? Cosmetic lenses,
as the coloured contacts are called, come in two main types: Colour
and Fun. Colour provides the user with a range of different shades
like Verde, Blu, Viola, Aqua or Spice whereas the Fun line is mainly
for the more daring and fun-loving people. Hearts, Ray, Sun and
Cat are some of the options you can choose from in the Fun collection. Says Natasha
(19), "I don't have any eyesight problem. But I think it is
cool and different to wear coloured contacts. Everyone tints and
streaks their hair, but not many people do this. So I guess I just
wanted to do something daring. My parents at first did not really
approve, but eventually they came around. They had to, otherwise
how could I finance it?" Dulip (21),
says that he alternates between three colours - blue, green, and
brown, on a regular basis. As he's in the fashion business, he says
it helps to keep up with the latest trends plus, he likes how he
looks in them 'cos they are different. He's also hoping to launch
his own line of clothing soon. "Well,
I decided to get the contacts because I was getting sick and tired
of wearing glasses and I thought I would look good in them. I ended
up getting blue contacts with a design on it done in black, so once
I wore them it looked like I had blue and black eyes," laughs
Sune (19). "My mother was a bit unsure about the colour but
since I was happy she was alright with it. My father started calling
me Sally because he was convinced I didn't look Sri Lankan but,
later he told me he liked them. Most of my guy friends thought it
looked great. My teachers thought that a screw had gone loose in
my head but a couple of people didn't even notice." "All in
all, it was a great phase I went through considering all the attention
I got and all the fuss people made," concludes Sune. Unfortunately,
she was one of the unlucky ones because her eyes were too sensitive
to the lenses and she had to give up wearing them after contracting
infections. However, wearing
coloured contacts is often just a passing phase. Roshika (20), wore
coloured contacts because she thought they were unique. "I
matched them with what I wore and it really brought out the colour
of my eyes. I don't wear them any more 'cos I couldn't be bothered
changing them and cleaning them regularly. They were nice while
my interest lasted." They can also
work to the wearer's advantage, creating a sense of mystique. Explains
Bernie (24), "I agree that a difference does help to close
a deal sometimes. In my line of work as a manageress of a large
organisation, it helps me to stand out from the rest. It could make
you look different just enough to push the decision in your favour."
According to
Mr. Jehan Rajapakse, Chairman/ Optometrist of Fashion Optics, when
wearing contact lenses many precautions need to be taken by both
the customer and the optician. It is essential that the customer
fully understands the importance of cleaning the lenses properly
and regularly and also not wearing them for a long period of time
on the very first day. The duration of use should increase on a
gradual basis, Mr. Rajapakse advises. He says that
many opticians and retail agents fail to give the customer necessary
instructions on after-sale care. This could be detrimental to the
user's vision, therefore the responsibility is also with the user
to insist on receiving proper after-sale care. Every contact lens
wearer should remember that even if the lenses are not worn regularly,
they must be cleaned once every fortnight. Many people
are under the impression that wearing cosmetic lenses without having
any prior visual problems could lead to adverse effects on the eye.
However, Mr. Rajapakse says this is not so, if the proper after-care
procedure is followed. In the past,
coloured contact wearers have always been people who are in their
late twenties, but now the market has changed and many teenagers
are trying it out too. The main reason for this is that more young
people are becoming aware of the latest trends in the fashion world
and parents too are becoming more open minded. The price range of the contact lenses differs according to their usage period. Lenses are priced from Rs. 2000 to Rs. 9000. There are the monthly disposable lenses and lenses which can be used for over a year. |
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