A few months ago I bought I decided to try colored contacts again after a disaster a few years ago.

Back then I bought a colored pair, sight unseen, with my regular contact lens order. It was Acuvue 2 Colors in hazel. And it was horrible. The colored area looked like it was painted on harshly and the crazy pupil hole made it appear as if I was looking off in different directions.

My regular eye color is very dark, basically black, and unless there’s bright light right in my eye, you really can’t tell my iris from my pupil.

Now this isn’t me, but this is what I looked like with my hazel contacts:

Ugh! Well after a lot of research, joining a messageboard, and looking at before and after pictures of various colored contact lenses, I decided on a Brazilian brand called Solotica. They are well-known for having high-quality lens that focus on replicating the depth seen on natural eyes.  They were especially recommended for dark eyes.

Solotica contact lenses come in 3 different types: Natural Colors, Hidrocor, and Hidrocharme. That’s also the order of their opacity, with NC being the most see-through. Additionally, Natural Colors and Hidrocharme both have limbal rings while Hidrocor does not. (The limbal ring is the ring of darker color around the iris.)

I decided on the Hidrocharme in the “mel” shade. Now although mel means “honey” and is shown as a golden yellow lens, I read that on brown and dark eyes, the resulting blend looks more green. With my eyes being so dark, I was worried that I would be wasting my money, but I was feeling impulsive and bought a pair anyway.

Well they are green! I really like the results:

Solotica Hidrocharme Mel on Black Eyes

I do have a few issues with it though.

1. They’re not as comfortable as my regular Acuvue 2 lenses that I wear daily for vision correction. These Solotica lenses are much thicker, which I guess is necessary in order for that color to show up. I can’t wear them for more than 4 or 5 hours without getting really tired eyes.
2. There seems to be manufacturing inconsistencies.  One of the lenses is about 30% thicker than the other. If you’re a regular contact lens wearer, you’ll notice the difference right away not only on your finger but also in your eyes.
3. It makes me look like I have a huge pupil.  Most well-designed colored contact lenses create an “unpainted” circle in the middle for your pupil to show through.  Around this circle they may fade the dominant lens color and add in touches of other colors to create a nice blend with the lens and your natural eye color for a natural looking starburst around your pupil.  Well, since my natural eye color is basically the same color as my pupil, that “starburst” is just a big black pupil.  It looks kinda weird to me, but I don’t think most people even notice.  Example:
   

   Big Pupil Hole on Solotica Hidrocharme Mel

Despite all these, Solotica gives me the most natural look I think I can get with colored contacts.  It’s been a lot of fun being able to change my eye color so dramatically.  It’s like changing your hair color or painting you fingernail—quite quick and easy, but makes a huge difference.

Anyway, I was so impressed with my Hidrocharme Mels that I decided to buy another pair of Soloticas.  This time I wanted to try something without the limbal ring so I ordered the Hidrocor in ocre.  Ocre is supposed to be a grayish brown color.

Well, I received the order last week and I’m on the fence about it.  It’s a much lighter color than my Hidrocharme Mels, and I don’t know if I like it.  It almost makes my eyes look milky or cloudy, and I think I kinda miss having a limbal ring that define my eyes.

I had a few pics of me wearing the Hidrocor Ocres, but I accidentally deleted them.  I’ll take new ones soon; I need an excuse to try them out again.  I haven’t worn my new Hidrocor Ocres often enough to say definitively if I like them or not.  For now though, with it being fall allergy season and the wildfires filling the air with smoke, I’m sticking to my glasses and my comfortable clear lenses.

Where to buy Solotica Colored Contact Lenses and other Contacts:

While shopping for contacts, I found some great deals online, though you can’t really find the Solotica brand here you can browse for other types of colored or regular contact lenses:

• Get $20 off a $200 order. Use coupon code DCL20 at checkout. Expires 2/11/09.
• Same site, but coupon code DCL5 is for $5 off an order of $50. This is good until 12/31/09.
• Get free shipping on contact lens orders over $89 at ACLens.
• Contacts America and Lens Mart have a lot lower prices than most eye doctors and a good selection too.
• Free shipping plus $5 off on all orders of $199 or more at at 1-800-GET-LENS. Use code 1800-OL09. Expires 1/31/09.
• Just Lenses has a similar deal. Their code is JUST-FK09.
• Lens.com has free shipping on all orders of $99 or more if you use the code AF09-MZIX. Offer expires 1/31/09.

If you really want the Solotica, you can try to buy them from this Brazilian site: Viallure. Shipping takes a while and it’s pretty pricey compared to most other sites. Not really worth it for me since I don’t wear my contacts that often, but might be for you.

Update: A photo of my hidrocor ocres can be seen here.

Update #2: New pic of my Solotica Hidrocharme Mel contacts on my nearly black eyes, taken 12/08:

Love them but wish they were more comfy!

Update 09/08/09: A comment about soloticastore.com can be found at the bottom of the page.