I am no stranger to enhancing my appearance for fun and to feel good about how I look. While I try to keep my makeup routine simple (or #nomakeup) I’m always changing my hair color — and the color of my eyes is no exception either! Particularly for someone with dark eyes, like me, color contacts can have a powerful impact on how someone looks.

Early May was time for me to restock on contact lenses which meant an opportunity to reconsider Air Optix Colors. I’m no stranger to color contacts. I used Freshlook Colorblends briefly 13 years ago, and most recently I tried out the rightfully popular and popping Solotica and Desio lenses. However, as a Registered Nurse that works at a hospital, I have to be able to wear my contacts for over 12 hours and Solotica or Desio are good for 4-6 hours at best OUTSIDE of the dry hospital air. More importantly, my optometrist said the only FDA approved colored contacts are Air Optix and Freshlook, and he recommended Air Optix. I have since looked into this and Solotica received FDA approval in 2017 and Desio FDA approval for hioxifilicon D lenses (newer monthly 1-tone) in 2018 and Desio’s Polymacon in 2014. HOWEVER — these lenses do have poor permeability (ability for oxygen to pass to your eyes and keep your eyes healthy!) and Dr. Rupa Wong, an eye surgeon and lover of beauty, does a great job explaining this in her video Why I’ll Never Wear Solotica Colored Contacts. Which explains why I can only tolerate them for short periods of time, and why I’ll probably never buy them again.

Back on track — AIR OPTIX — As I set out to purchase my lenses I had a hard time finding examples of the two colors I was newly curious about and weren’t previously available: Amethyst and Turquoise. I’ve known people with Freshlook Colorblends in Amethyst, but I wanted to see what it looked like for Air Optix, and what it would look like on my brown eyes. I found two videos at most, and they didn’t make me feel as though I had enough information for my decision, so I just ordered the lenses and decided to make this post and video it as well :)

As a little background: I am half white and half filipina. My dad had blue eyes and my mother has very dark brown eyes, leaving me with brown eyes. I have mild astigmatism, and my correction is -1.50.

Here’s what the three contacts look like in the case, so you can see the different shades in the lens. From left to right: Gray, Amethyst, and Turquoise.

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AIR OPTIX COLORS in Gray

I really like the way gray lightens the appearance of my eyes. From a socially acceptable distance my eyes are brighter. My right pupil is slightly covered by the print on the lens, a problem I always have with color contacts. Maybe my cornea is off on my right eye, related to astigmatism I’ve had since my early twenties. The lens was soft and easy to blink into my eye.

AIR OPTIX COLORS in Amethyst

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These contacts are very subtle on my dark eyes. It’s still very pretty, and because of the brown shades printed on the center, the eyes give off a hazel appearance. It takes looking closely to see the amethyst shade is there. This is a good thing if I don’t want to look like an anime character (probably smart as a working professional). I had the same pupil offset issue on my right eye. I like the color, though.

AIR OPTIX COLORS in Turquoise

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I love these! LOVE LOVE LOVE! You see, when I went down the colored contacts rabbit hole and discovered Solotica colored lenses and Desio color contact lenses was when Chris and I were watching Black Sails. With Max and her gorgeous hazel eyes and John Silver’s aqua eyes, like my favorite shade of the sea!

Yeah, I love the turquoise.
They’re my favorite.

What’s the difference between FreshLook Colorblends and AIR OPTIX COLORS?

When I realized some online stores using the same stock images I wondered what’s the difference between the two, especially after seeing they had the exact same line up now. Both lines are by the same company, Alcon. When you go directly to Alcon’s website they list Air Optix whereas FreshLooks are on a website of their own.

Study about Freshlook versus AIR OPTIX

A study with 370 participants comparing Air Optix Colors vs Freshlook Color Blends was sponsored by the manufacturer, Alcon. It looked into comfort, vision, and preference. The participants wore the lenses for 8 hours per day, five days a week for three months. The results were very close:

		AIR OPTIX COLORS	FreshLook Colorblends
Comfort	Day 14	8.7	8.6
	Day 28	8.7	8.5
Vision	Day 14	8.8	8.7
	Day 28	8.9	8.7

Conclusion

Overall, I would recommend AIR OPTIX COLORS, especially if it is what your optometrist will prescribe or insurance will cover and you’d like to try different colors on your eyes.

On dark eyes

On my dark eyes, they looked great, adding a pop of color. Amethyst was subtle, but gray and especially turquoise matched my skin and preference well.

Comfort

After trying the contacts on and a night’s sleep I wore them comfortably for 13 hours! I used eye drops once in the morning after an hour because I did swap contacts for still photos on my right eye, but my left was fine. I’ll update this post after my 12-hour shift in the hospital’s dry air!

Cost

You can buy a single box (one pair) that lasts you a month for MSRP $39.99 (cheaper than that all over the internet). As always, buying in bulk saves you money, too.

I ordered my contacts with free shipping from ezcontacts.com, where you can give them a photo or scan of your prescription or have them contact your eye doctor. Free shipping is 5-7 days regardless of how much you spend, and shipping on my regular lenses was right away, but my Air Optix Colors took a couple of extra days. They’ll also email you coupons but their site right now has 5% off with coupon code EXTRA5.

Eye Care

I use Clean Care Cleaning and Disinfecting Solutions (Amazon, I get it at Costco) for my contacts and it really extends the longevity for my normal lenses (it comes with a special lens case). NEVER USE IT UNDER 8 HOURS! The sting is reeeeeeeeeeeeal. That was a very painful lesson! However, the process removes dirt and grime from the lenses and I’ve had monthly lenses last me well past a month without drying my eyes.

I also use contacts lens friendly Systane eye drops (Amazon). I think they’re so much more effective than Refresh!

This concludes my review of AIR OPTIX COLORS in Turquoise, Gray, and Amethyst. I definitely love the Turquoise and will be wearing this one for a while. I hope you found this helpful and I would love to hear your feedback.