Whether you want to add subtlety to your natural eye color or to make a dramatic change, colored contact lenses can do it for you. The different styles are even available with non-corrective lenses, so they can be worn merely for their appearance. Colored contact lenses make it quick, easy and cheap to have the eyes of your choosing.

After you've decided to get colored contact lenses, you need to decide what effect you want to achieve. If you like the color of your eyes but want them a little richer or deeper looking, then you need an enhancement lens. An enhancement lens contains a light tint which complements or accents your natural color. And even though the tint is over your pupil, it's transparent to your eye and doesn't color your sight.

To change your eye color you need opaque colored contact lenses. The tint for these contacts is non-transparent and since they cover your iris, your eyes assume the color of the lens. The center portion of the lens is, of course left clear, so you sight isn't blocked. The most sophisticated of these lenses use more than one color or have layered patterns to create a realistic impression of the look of an iris.

Although enhancement and opaque lenses are made for creating a natural appearance, some colored contact lenses are meant to create an unnatural appearance. These lenses range from those that give your eyes extra sparkle or shine, to special effects lenses which make you look like you came from another planet.

Some colored contact lenses are made for reasons other than appearance. For instance there's a lens made just for tennis players. By muting certain background colors, it makes a yellow tennis ball easier to see. A UV lens blocks ultraviolet light to protect the eyes of people who are outdoors for long periods.

The one thing that all colored contact lenses have in common, is that they're a medical product and need a prescription even if there's no vision correction. And like clear contacts, they must be kept clean as specified by their instructions.