Celebrities like Naomi Campbell and Paris Hilton do it.

Increasingly, so do Singaporeans – change their eye colour, that is. And not just blue, but grey and any other hue that makes you green with envy.

Urban is talking coloured contact lenses. Lionel Boh, the chairman of eyewear boutique Seen@Dempsey who has more than 30 years experience in the industry, says he has seen a small but definite increase of about 10 per cent in sales of coloured contact lenses in the past year.

Even customers with perfect eyesight come in to get a different look in the flash of an eye. Indeed, such style pupils believe that changing the colour of their eyes makes them look more attractive, Boh observes, noting that “70 per cent of customers will buy plano (non-prescription) colour lenses”.

Changing your eye colour has become as easy as changing your hair shade. But it was not always so.

Steven Chong, an optometrist with 26 years’ experience, recalls that coloured contact lenses were first available in Singapore around 1992 and they came in blue and hazel colours.

They were popular among the “night-club singer” set, as well as women who simply
wanted to look different. United States company Durasoft was the sole manufacturer – unlike today, where they are made in several countries including Germany and Japan. Then, the contacts were non-disposable, which meant they could be worn for a whole year.

LOOKING NATURAL

Nowadays, you can get daily and monthly disposable options.

For trendy types who do not need spectacles but who want some serious eye power, lens providers such as FreshKon and FreshLook have a wide range of coloured lenses.

United States-based brand FreshLook has 12 shades to choose from in their ColorBlends range. Prices are $42 per box, which include one pair of monthly lenses.

Four of the most popular colours – pure hazel, green, grey and blue – also come as one-day lenses, so you can sport a different colour every day. A box of five daily wear lenses is $28.

Another leading brand is Singapore-based FreshKon, which has two ranges of coloured contacts. The Colors Fusion range has nine colours, including Romantic Violet, Sky Blue and Cool Green. Prices are $25 per box for one pair of monthly lenses.

The new Mosaic range has four colours designed to make cosmetic lenses look as
natural as possible. A pair of monthly lenses is $38.

A FreshKon Singapore spokesman says:

“The most popular colour at the moment is Mosaic Urban Grey because it suits all skin tones.”

Over at Seen@dempsey, hazel is a popular colour because it suits Singaporean Chinese girls best, says Boh.

Chong adds that the main buyers of coloured lenses now tend to be women aged
between 16 and 35 years old. Colour contact wearer Jenny Foo, an 18-year-old student, says: “I like to try different shades.

“I wear light brown, grey and blue because they give me a subtle but different look.”

>> How to pick your contacts?