Beauty Dish: Limbal Ring Lenses for Brighter Eyes

If you haven’t heard about limbal ring lenses as the newest innovation in the eyesight category, get ready– they’re about to be everywhere.

Almost everyone has a limbal ring, or the outer darkened ring around the iris, in each eye. What most people don’t know is that much of how our beauty is perceived is based on the contrast and depth of this ring, which is exactly why limbal ring lenses were created. Hold on to your makeup brushes, because limbal ring lenses are about to take the beauty world by storm.

I had a chance to be one of the first people in the US to try the limbal ring lenses at an Acuvue event in NYC today, and could immediately notice the difference in the brightness and radiance of my eyes upon popping them in. I was wearing minimal eye makeup (just some mascara), had never worn any type of contacts before in my life (a total virgin!), and didn’t believe that it’d be possible to see any significant difference in my eye. Worse yet, I expected whatever difference I did see to look like that weird I-really-have-brownish-eyes-but-I-layered-these-faux-blue-ones kind of effect. Totally, totally wrong. The Acuvue limbal ring lenses were so subtly significant that I saw an immediate difference.

So here’s how limbal ring lenses work, and why you might want to try them even if you have perfect vision:

1. About 80% of the focus on your face in conversation is directly on your eyes. That means focusing your attention on perfecting your eye game will result in people actually perceiving you as prettier, nicer, and more congenial. In other words, it’s worth the time investment to put a little hustle into your eye beauty game.

2. The contrast between the whites and irises. There’s a significant contrast between where the whites of your eyes stop and the iris begins, but if you don’t have a deep, dark limbal ring (the basis of that contrast), you may appear more tired, older, or generally less radiant. Adding contrast helps give you some oomph. As soon as I popped mine in I looked like I had a full night of rest, which is never the case because I have three young children. Rest is something I did in the early 2000’s.

3. Less of a need for significant eye makeup. I noticed instantly that my eyes didn’t really require as much shadow or linger– the limbal ring lenses created the depth and eye volume that I try to mimic with makeup. For a person who is normally correcting their vision with lenses anyway, this is a huge bonus.

4. They’re 1 day disposables. So, there’s no commitment, and I consider the limbal ring lenses sort of special occasion fare, like faux lashes. Since other people generally can’t detect them on your eyes (they’re basically invisible unless someone flat out tells you they’re wearing them), they’re great to pop in for a job interview, a first date, or when you’re so tired you can’t function but can’t let the rest of the world know that. You look entirely the same as your regular self, the limbal ring lenses just add a little behind-the-scenes hayyyyy gurl.

5. The color doesn’t irritate the eye. Most colored lenses have the pigment printed on the top or the inside of the lenses, meaning either the inside of your eyelid is being irritated or your eyeball is causally being pumiced away with wear– either way, gross. Limbal ring lenses have the mild amount of pigment enclosed inside the lens itself.

6. Three different shades. I tried the medium shade to accent my hazel eyes at first, but saw the most dramatic effect from the meant-for-brown-or-black-eyes version. There’s also a version that’s meant for light-eyed people that turns up blue, green, or pale hazel eyes in an instant.

Here’s the what my own eyes looked like after giving the limbal ring lenses a try:

The eye on the left has a slightly thicker, more pronounced limbal ring. Whether you realize it or not, your brain is subtly suggesting to you that this eye is younger, better looking, and better rested. The eye on the right is my natural one, I like to think it’s still fun, but you’d probably prefer to hang out with the left-eyed girl if you let your brain do the choosing. The most important factor, however, is that the difference isn’t noticeable to the average person sitting next to you at dinner– it’s a subtle cue to the brains around you to perceive you as more beautiful.

For more info on Acuvue Limbal Ring Contacts go here.