Acuvue Colored Contacts – 1 Day Acuvue Define Review

As the leading player in the contact lens industry, you are probably wondering if Acuvue makes a colored contact. The answer is yes! Acuvue has a line of contacts called 1-Day Acuvue Define Daily. These contacts enhance your natural eye color for a more convincing look. This is referred to as “enhancing color,” and they are available in the desired effect to heighten your eye color.

Acuvue color contacts are a great way to temporarily and safely change your eyes’ appearance and experiment with different styles. This color-enhancing effect differs from a “color tint,” which aims to entirely change your eye’s color. These daily contacts have become increasingly popular because they are made with safety in mind and are a fun way to change your appearance.

However, Alcon has historically been the dominant player when it comes to color contacts, and they make our top picks for blue contacts for brown eyes for a reason!

Acuvue Define – Acuvue’s Daily Colored Contact Lens

product image of 1 day acuvue define contact lenses

Acuvue released a line of daily disposable contact lenses meant to intensify your natural eye color called ‘Acuvue Define.’ There are different enhancement tints: Natural Shine, Accent Style, and Vivid Style.

This is the type of subtle, yet noticeable, enhancement these contact lenses provide:

comparison between acuvue accent vs shine vs vivid

  • Vivid Style highlights your natural color by providing varying translucency and a natural pattern that radiates and creates depth.
  • Natural Shine highlights medium eyes by creating contrast around the iris to enhance the beauty of your natural color.
  • Accent Style naturally distinguishes your eyes by providing smooth edges, varying translucency & a natural pattern that already exists in your natural iris.

Acuvue Define are enhancement lenses, which are also known as circle lenses. Circle lenses are used to enhance a person’s eyes by making them look brighter and bigger. Circle lenses are able to do this by having a colored ring around the outside edge. Their aim is NOT to change the color of your eyes altogether but to make your natural eyes appear more distinguished. If you are looking for subtle beauty that looks natural, this is a good fit.

These lenses are daily disposable, meaning they should be thrown away after one day of use. They are made of hydrogel material, which is commonly used in daily contacts. This lens material is less breathable than the best-in-class silicone hydrogel materials on the market. With that said, they are still safe to wear and comfortable if you stick to their daily use schedule. 

Compare the prices of Acuvue 1 Day Define contacts to see where you can get them for the lowest price currently available.

Acuvue Define Technical Details

Acuvue Define lenses are made of a hydrogel material. This material is a flexible plastic that allows oxygen to pass through to your eye. Oxygen transmission is a measure of how breathable the lens material is (aka how much oxygen passes through the lens). This is important because our eyes need lots of oxygen to stay healthy.

Acuvue Define lenses’ oxygen transmission is 25 dk/t, meaning that overwearing these lenses can quickly lead to swelling and irritation on the front of the eye. These lenses also have a high water content for comfort and, like all Acuvue lenses, have built-in UV protection.

Acuvue Define Specifications

  • Lens material: etafilcon A
  • Water content: 58%
  • Visibility tint: yes
  • UV Blocking: Yes; 97% of UVB
  • BC / Dia: 8.5/14.2
  • Power Range (D): Plano, +1.00D to -0.50D (in 0.50D steps), -0.75 to -6.00D (in 0.25D steps), and -6.50D to -9.00D (in 0.50D steps)

Overview Of Color Contact Lenses

Colored contacts were first developed over 40 years ago in 1981. Since then, several contact lenses have hit the market to offer unique options for patients. Color contact lenses are available in different colors, effects, and replacement modalities. These options allow a safe and convenient way to accessorize, and modify your appearance.

There are daily replacement, bi-monthly replacement, and monthly replacement color contact lenses. You can use this page to see the lowest price available for any contact lens online.

There are various mechanisms in which the color is added to the lens–either sandwiched between the front and back surface or imprinted within the material itself. This can sometimes make the lenses themselves feel thick or uncomfortable. This is why you might have to try a few different brands to find the best fit. This is generally true of any kind of contact.

Similar to all contact lenses, using proper hygiene with color contacts is critical to avoid infection. It is vital to always replace your color contact lenses at the proper interval and only handle lenses with clean, dry hands. You should also know that wearing expired contacts isn’t safe.

Contact lenses are a medical device, and you must be fit in them by your eye care provider. Make sure to store your contact lenses in fresh multipurpose solution inside a clean contact lens case every night. Never sleep, shower, or swim in your color contact lenses.

Some brands of color contact lenses have power (“prescription“) in them to correct your vision, but the power ranges tend to be limited. ToriColors are the only colored contact lenses with correction for astigmatism, for example, and none for presbyopia (far-sightedness at near caused by aging). Astigmatism is caused by irregularities in the shape of the eye.

Some patients will put color contact lenses with no prescription underneath a pair of their glasses to get the functionality of vision and the appeal of the appearance change. There are a few brands of contacts that allow you to customize the color tint itself –but these tend to be extremely expensive and are more common in movies and live theater.

Do you need a prescription for contact lenses even if they don’t have any vision correction? Yes! You still need a prescription to be contact lenses, even if they have no power. This is because it’s against the law for you to purchase any contact lens without a prescription.

Besides Acuvue Define, What Is The Best Colored Contact Lens Band?

The other leading contact lens brands available are Freshlook Colors, Air Optix Colors, and Dailies Colors. All three of these brands are made by the same manufacturer: Alcon (formerly Ciba Vision), one of the world’s leading contact lens manufacturers. We will review these three brands below.

Freshlook Colors – Most Color Options

freshlook colors box

  • These lenses are 2-week replacement and made out of hydrogel material. This means that they are less breathable and should not be overworn.
  • Freshlook colors are unique in that there are three rings of color in the lenses: a primary color, an outer ring, and an inner ring. This adds an extra layer of dimension to the color that sets these lenses apart for several patients.
  • These come in prescriptions for near-sightedness, far-sightedness, and in no prescription / “plano.”
  • These lenses have options for dark eyes (colors), light eyes (dimensions), and to enhance your natural eye color (Colorblends).
  • Some of the available colors are Sterling Grey, Brilliant Blue, Gemstone Green, Honey, True Sapphire, Gray, Blue, Green, Pure Hazel, Brown, Amethyst, Turquoise, Violet, Caribbean Aqua, Pacific Blue, and Sea Green. This means that they have the most color options out of the other color lens brands listed below.
  • Compare the prices of Freshlook Colors here.

Air Optix Colors – Top Brand

air optix colors box

  • These are monthly replacement lenses and are made out of silicone hydrogel material. This means that the lenses are a lot more breathable and, when used properly, are less likely to lead to symptoms of oxygen deprivation (corneal swelling, eye redness, and irritation).
  • The colors are sandwiched between the lenses’ front and back surface in a method described as SmartShield Technology. They also use a 3-in-1 blend to create a more natural color profile to transform the eyes.
  • These come in prescriptions for near-sightedness, far-sightedness, and in no prescription / “plano.”
  • There are 12 available colors: Blue, Brilliant Blue, Sterling Gray, Gemstone Green, Green, Grey, Hazel, Honey, Brown, Amethyst, True Sapphire, and Turquoise.
  • These are the top color contact lens brand because of their high oxygen transmission (a measure of how breathable a pair of contact lenses is), the acceptable range of power options, and a wide range of fun and natural color lenses to spice things up.
  • They also come in 2-packs if you want to try a color only for a couple of months before switching things up again.
  • Compare the prices of Air Optix colors here.

Dailies Colors- Top Daily Color Contact Lenses

Dailies Colors

  • These are daily replacement lenses and are made out of hydrogel material. This means that they, like the Freshlook Colors, are less breathable and should not be overworn.
  • The colors are meant to look more natural, as they are described as “color enhancement,” and come in a limited range of colors. Similar to the Air Optix Colors, they use a 3-in-1 blend of rings to produce the color effect. The outer ring of the contact lenses is designed to make the eyes look bigger–similar to the effects of the Acuvue Define daily contact lenses.
  • These come in prescriptions for near-sightedness and in no prescription / “plano” powers. This makes it the most limiting in terms of visual needs.
  • There are 4 available colors: mystic gray, mystic green, mystic blue, and mystic hazel.
  • These are the top daily color contact lens brand due to their wear schedule–daily lenses are a clean and convenient way to change up your look. There is no need for contact lens solution or the frequent care schedule required with 2 week and monthly lenses.
  • Hopefully, they will soon add a broader range of colors and prescriptions to their lens inventory.
  • Compare and see the lowest prices for Dailies Colors 30 Pack and Dailies Colors 90 Pack.

Are Color Contact Lenses Dangerous?

Color contact lenses are medical devices and are approved by the FDA for use in the United States. As long as you get them fit by an eye care provider and use your lenses properly, they are perfectly safe. 

Proper care includes always inserting and removing contact lenses with clean, dry hands and storing them in fresh solution every night. Never wear your contact lenses for longer than recommended by your doctor, and make sure to return yearly for your contact lens fitting.

Remember that the risk of serious complications increases when you sleep in your contact lenses or overwear them.

Can I Order Acuvue Colored Contacts Online? 

Yes! Acuvue Define, Alcon Freshlook, Air Optix Colors, and Dailies Colors are all available to purchase online with a valid prescription from an eye-care provider. Most offices also have plano/no prescription Air Optix Colors lenses, so you can test how they look before deciding to purchase.

You can use our price match tool to compare the costs of these colored contact lenses.

Is It Safe To Share Colored Contact Lenses?

Though it may seem tempting to share colored contact lenses with friends or family–especially if they don’t have a prescription in them. However, there are several reasons why you should never share contact lenses. For one, contact lenses are medical devices and must be fit to you by your eye care provider.

When sharing lenses, there is no way of ensuring that the lenses will fit the person you’re sharing with–not to mention the bacteria from your eyes will then enter theirs. This means there is a higher chance of infection. Contact lenses are just like any other medical device and should not be shared.