Theatrical Contacts Turn Heads

In the past, theatrical contacts were used only by the top Hollywood producers to enhance the look of scary characters in horror movies. These days, however, anyone can find a wide range of crazy contacts for just about any occasion or purpose.

Of course, one of the main reasons people buy these contacts is for Halloween costumes. Here are a few examples of theatrical contacts that can add authenticity to your costume:

• Vampire contact lenses: This classic costume can become even better with a modern-day twist. With the help of glow-in-the-dark UV contact lenses, your eyes can literally glow; and what vampire can’t benefit from that? Plus, you can use them long after Halloween is gone, by wearing them to clubs, raves, or parties. 

Of course, other classic vampire looks include colors such as red, yellow, or white contact lenses.

• Patterned Lenses: Today’s technology has resulted in almost no limit to how crazy contacts can be. With everything from leopard to zebra patterns, plus any combination of spots, spirals, and stars, you can find pretty much any look you’re after.

• Sclera Lenses: These lenses cover your entire eye, not just the irises (the colored part of your eye).  The most popular are black sclera contact lenses, which make your entire eye look like a void of black liquid; this is used most often for zombie costumes. There are also bloodshot lenses and numerous other patterns available in sclera. Be forewarned, however, that these lenses are not meant for daily wear, and usually do not come with corrective power.

However, theatrical contacts aren’t just used for Halloween anymore. As fashion trends get a little crazier and competition for attention gets tougher, people are able to experiment more and push the envelope of what is considered acceptable for daily wear.

For example, in “the old days” it was enough to just have a pair of coloured contacts to change out your look. If you normally have blue eyes and you showed up to school or to a party with bright green eyes,that was enough to keep people talking for weeks.

But these days, thanks in part to Hollywood and attention-seeking personalities such as Lady Gaga, it takes a bit more to get people talking. Lenses that used to be considered appropriate only as Halloween contacts can now be worn as daily lenses, if it fits your personality and style. Here are two examples of wild contacts that have crossed over from Halloween-only to daily wear:

• Gothic contact lenses:  Goth is a way of life, and few groups express their lifestyle through clothing and style in the same way.  Gothic contact lenses can include everything from white to black lenses, and anything else that fits your personality.

• Unusual Colors:  With the explosive growth of anime in pop culture, it is becoming more desirable to have unusual colors for eyes, such as amber, pink, purple, or gray. These unusual colors aren’t quite as extreme as other special effects contacts, but still are unique enough to capture attention and turn heads.

Whatever your purpose might be, if your end result is to get attention or change your look, then theatrical contacts are the way to go.