What About Novelty Colored Contacts Lenses?

Scoring colored contacts lenses from your local eye doctor is easy, but novelty lenses — think cat or vampire-like eyes — are where the tricky part comes in. According to Hamada, lenses created to cover more than just the iris (like traditional contact lenses), are, usually, unregulated and unapproved by the FDA. They’re also harder to get by way of doctor’s prescription. Hamada’s best advice is to do your research and, once you feel like you’ve found some that are safe, get a gut check from your eye doctor before buying. “Anything put near your eyes should be medically safe and FDA-approved,” she says. “Stores that don’t require an Rx are selling the contacts illegally.”

The FDA also warns against purchasing novelty lenses without a prescription. “Never buy contact lenses from a street vendor, a beauty supply store, flea market, novelty store or Halloween store, or from unknown online distributors,” the FDA website reads. “They may be contaminated or counterfeit and therefore not safe to use.”