Contact Lenses

[nikkiolie]

So I saw this on the cosplay.com forms and I wanted to see what kumoricon people though.

So here are a few questions:

What is your opinion on using costume contacts for cosplay?

Do you think a cosplayer should wear lenses if their natural eye color does not match the character's?

How strict are you about eye color when judging a cosplay?

Do you usually purchase lenses for your personal cosplays?

[StarryShay]

Short response warning orz
I've heard lots of stories of them causing infections.

[nikkiolie]

Short response warning orz
I've heard lots of stories of them causing infections.

If not properly taken care of or if you get the wrong kind. It is highly advised to see an eye doctor before getting them. So you know your base curve and what not. I have had several colored contacts and never had any issues, but it could be due to the fact that I wear contacts everyday. I was also lectured for about half an hour when I first got them. People vary too, Anna and Marie spend 15 to 20 minutes getting in color contacts and I can put them in in seconds.

[LtCommanderRichie]

I have two pairs, in purple and green. I use them when a cosplay calls for them.

[majinekochan]

I wear perscription lenses so I'm used to putting them in. Generally I don't care what color eyes the cosplayer has, so it's a pleasent suprise when someone goes that extra ways to do the correct color.
Of course there are characters that just wouldn't be complete withou FX contacts, characters in Naruto come to mind.

I also have green and violet contacts, and will wear them when teh character i'm playing has those color eyes but otherwise i'll just use my plain contacts and let my pretty blue eyes shine. Of course i tend toward characters with blue eyes anyways, but it's not a criteria in choosing who i cosplay

[Trumby]

I want to get some for my twi'lek, I just need to get an eye exam here soon so I can get them.

As for the questions: I honestly don't care if their eye color doesn't match, unless the character has the custom lense looking kind of eyes.

Short response warning orz
I've heard lots of stories of them causing infections.

If not properly taken care of or if you get the wrong kind. It is highly advised to see an eye doctor before getting them.

THIS. Anyone who is thinking of getting contacts should do this. There *are* people out there who can't wear contacts at all.

[66stripedboots]

Love my contacts. wear then with all my cosplays unless
i dont have anymore (1 yr use only) or i don't have enough money then i
wont wear them ;A; lol but yeah if you don't
take care of them they will affect your eyes and you have to
be careful where you buy them because sometime if the
contact is screwed up or you bought them from a bad place
they can scratch the surface of your eye and you can go
blind! D:

[Kuu]

Personally I love the look a contact would give, but rarely have the money for the correct color. So my personal way of thinking is: If the character has an extreme eye color or, like it has been stated, an EFX eye, then go for contacts for the whole look.

Contacts would make my like 9001 times easier (since I myself wear glasses and not everyone I play wears them, plus they get in the way) But then for characters, like next year I plan to do a humanoid Toothless, I want contacts because it would bring everything together and look that much cooler.

[nikkiolie]

Ok here is a new question. If money wasn't an issue would you get contacts for all your costumes, only a few, or none at all?

[Cyprus]

I would wear contacts when possible for a costume...however for me it's not that easy. Many FX lenses that match a cosplay aren't available with a prescription. Since I wear contacts just to see, I would have to be blind in order to have that look. If that issue weren't there, I would definately love to wear them for cosplays when the eyes were important to the overall look of the character.

[Kuu]

I would love to wear contacts for most of my costumes. Usually because I like to do characters with non normal eyes, or very different colors then my own. I don't see that it's needed for ALL cosplay, but it has a really nice touch for others. But again, I have glasses so perscription contacts would be the bomb XD and if more contacts came witht he perscription I just might use them for all of my costumes.

[ainekatt]

If the character has distinctive eyes that are really quite different from your own, they're awesome.

Or if you're like me, who can't see four feet from her face once she takes her glasses off, they're even more awesome. At that point, the colour is just a plus.

[Savvy-kins]

I have blue, green, aqua, and red. They're awesome!

The key is to get GEO lenses and make sure they come from a good source. They should have a seal of approval and all that jazz.

[Felix]

It hasn't been an issue yet since my eyes happened to be close enough, but I would like to have them if they weren't. Contacts aren't the first thing I notice about a cosplayer unless the character has very unusual eyes.

[Ticra]

I WOULD wear them if my character had really unique colored eyes. But I'm a little tentitive to do so since I've a) never worn them before and b) would like to get an eye check up before I attempted to do so. My immune system sucks. If contact lenses ever screwed with anyone's eye's, they would screw with mine.

I'd have to REAALLY want them. But I'm sure it'll happen one of these days. Although it would be fun to have a blown pupil for my Two-Face.

[princessmoon]

If the character I cosplay has distinct eyes that differ from mine, I would get colored contacts. So far, I have not chosen any that don't have brownish eyes.

[camname21]

People vary too, Anna and Marie spend 15 to 20 minutes getting in color contacts and I can put them in in seconds.

That's called skill.

[Spontaneous]

I have prescription contacts that I use occasionally, and I'm thinking of getting a pair of prescription "circle lenses" (the contacts that make your pupil larger) for cosplay purposes. Does anyone know of a good site/place to buy some quality prescription ones?

[nikkiolie]

Well I got my contacts from youknowit.com and I am quite impressed. It was about $21 for two contacts and they don't feel uncomfortable and look great.

[wolfy2491]

Yeah, I just got some from youknowit (thank you nikkiolie for the refrence~), and they had tons of choices! And they aren't a huge amount of money. Although sadly, they weren't prescription, so I'll be wearing glasses, unless someone wants a picture, then the glasses come off for a moment. Hahaha

But yeah, I think the contacts look amazing if a person goes that far. (this is my first year getting colored contacts) And I agree with the majority, that you should only feel obligated to get the contacts if your character has crazy stand-out-ish eyes. Otherwise it's just kinda like "...oh, well the outfit looks cool at least." lol.

[Savvy-kins]

I have prescription contacts that I use occasionally, and I'm thinking of getting a pair of prescription "circle lenses" (the contacts that make your pupil larger) for cosplay purposes. Does anyone know of a good site/place to buy some quality prescription ones?

www.geocontactlens.net

The site is down until the 25th though. DX They do have a blogspot though.