Contact Lenses

[Joanne]

Hi girls
does anyone here wear contact lenses and if so, are they easy to put in after make-up has been applied?
I wear glasses at the moment but I feel they spoil my girlish good looks despite them being ladies glasses. (Hey, we can all fantasise, right?)
The problem is that I couldn't wear them for close-up work, i.e. applying make-up, so I could only put them in after I'd finished.
I used to wear them about ten years agon and as I recall it's just a matter of opening the lids and popping the lens in. I'm worried about not gettig them in properly and contaminating them with mascara or eyeliner. Taking them out is where the trouble begins, but that won't matter make-up wise.
I don't want to go to the expense of buying lenses only to find that I ruin my make-up putting them in or give myself an eye infection.
Any thoughts girls?

Joanne

[jackiejones]

I would say put them in and then do your makeup,and then have some reading glasses or a magnified mirror,never wore them so do not know? i always struggle doing makeup on one eye as i need glasses and one eye vision is not as good as the other,but to be honest i find it easyer myself to do the makeup without my glasses on,but i can almost do it in the dark anyway(plenty of practice been vain i would say):D

Do not worry about the glasses hun,its not for me to say if you look better with or without? but myself i think i look better with,but it does give me a bit more of a School mam or Mrs Merton look:D

[Joanne]

I would say put them in and then do your makeup,and then have some reading glasses or a magnified mirror

Oohhhh, good point Jackie. I do have a magnifying mirror, so tonight I put my normal glasses on and tried the mirror. I can see! So I could get some lenses of the same prescription, put them in first and still be able to see to do my make-up. I wouldn't have thought to do that.

You look damn good in yours Jackie, but I need all the help I can get!

thanks hon

Joanne

[Kate P]

I wear contacts and I find it makes no odds in terms of the performance of the lenses. I tend to put them in first as if I screw up putting a lense in then my eyes smart and that can potentially ruin eye make-up. Also if you are like me and you need to hold the eyelids open, you are then touching the applied make-up and that nots good either. I suppose that there is also a greater risk of infection too.

Kara

[Joanne]

I wear contacts and I find it makes no odds in terms of the performance of the lenses.
Kara

Ah, another contacts girl. Thanks for replying hun. You don't look anywhere near my age, but I got to that time in life quite a few years ago where I went from just needing the one prescription to needing one for distance and one for reading. Fine when wearing glasses, I just peer over the top of my glasses to read; not so easy when wearing contacts as I found one night out when trying to read a bus timetable!

As Jackie mentioned, a magnifying mirror helps and I tried it wearing my normal glasses and can see easily to apply make-up; so lenses of the same prescription should be ok, as long as I use the mirror.

love
Joanne

[Petra Susan]

Hello,

Never catch me wearing contact lenses, too fiddly and too expensive and you have to remember to take them out at night otherwise could end up glueing you eyes together or something. I'll stick to the old glasses, as they can help disguise tired eyes plus dodgy eye make up at times.Also you can change glasses to go with a particular look and can add character to your face.

Ohh and I can put on my make up with out glasses or other aids as I put so little on these days, just a quick going over with a tinted moisturiser and lippy. I can now put my mascara on whilst driving these days so that is not a problem (not that I do like)

Petra

[Joanne]

Hello,

Never catch me wearing contact lenses, too fiddly and too expensive and you have to remember to take them out at night otherwise could end up glueing you eyes together or something. I'll stick to the old glasses, as they can help disguise tired eyes plus dodgy eye make up at times.Also you can change glasses to go with a particular look and can add character to your face.

Ohh and I can put on my make up with out glasses or other aids as I put so little on these days, just a quick going over with a tinted moisturiser and lippy. I can now put my mascara on whilst driving these days so that is not a problem (not that I do like)

Petra

When God was giving out Good Looks, I was still waiting at the back of the Brains, Tact and Diplomacy queue (which closed before I got to the front), so I need all the help I can get. My only real asset are my long eyelashes, which I think would get a better outing if they weren't behind glasses. A girl is allowed to be vain, isn't she? :)

I take your point about dodgy eye make-up, it's rather a speciality of mine. I'm rather hoping that the 'dogs back leg' eyeliner look will come into vogue really soon!

You may also have a point about removing the lenses. When I wore them years ago, I had very short nails. Now that I keep them longer, I'm not sure how this would affect taking the lenses out. However, you do get the chance to try them in at the opticians before you buy.

Joanne

[pauline]

Hi all

I wear them all the time as I cannot see to put makeup on without them and feel for girls who must have to poke it up between eyes and a piece of glass, gosh it's hard enough anyway. can't see how it could be any trouble putting them in after applying makeup though cos there is none on your eyeballs unless that is a new fashion.

as a matter of interest I leave mine in for a full month as I could not cope with taking daily ones out, especially after a drink, never knew wether they were out or not.

I say give it a go!

Pauline x

[jackiejones]

Glad this thread has been some help to you:) i forgot to say youn can buy a special pair of glasses just for doing eye makeup,makes you look like Davros or you are having an eye test, but i hear they do the job quite well.you set them so that one eye looks at the other when applying makeup.

I think if i win the Lotto i will have my own personal makeup artist and stylist LOL so who cares if i can see? i normaly can not see straight anyway after a night out with the girls LOL(when not driving)

P.S thanks for your comment about me x.I think we are our own worst critics! so you may not look bad at all with spectacles.Post some pics if you dare LOL

I have a lot to say on how we see ourselfs,and hangups on Spectacles so rather than mess up your thread and go off topic i will start a fresh one of my own.

[Kate P]

I got my contacts at my local Asda in southport. The optician put the first set in and asked me to go do my shopping or get a coffee. After about an hour I went back and he asked me how they felt and did I wish to continue. As I did he then went through the various types and I chose daily disposable. He also set up a lesson with one of the staff to train me to put them in and take out. They showed me a couple of ways of doing this and were really patient.
The thing is that as long as I got them from any Asda they would never charge for eyetests and aftercare. I've been back on the odd occasion when I thought that I may have damaged an eye and they have seen me straight away and no question of payment. So whilst the lenses may cost me about fifteen quid a month if I wear them everyday, I think the aftercare makes it worthwhile. Also I found that the dearest disposables whilst being a bit more comfortable were harder to put in and they were just too flexible. I settle for the cheaper Dailies and shunned the dearer Johnsons Acuvu. Asda also do a slightly cheaper own brand lense and even these I have found to be good for 12 hours wear.
I hope this helps.

[Reggie]

OK here comes Granny Reggie,

I have different prescriptions for seeing and reading (tried varifocals not good !! I only use them when I can't be bothered to swap specs over).

However with a magnifying mirror such as Joanne has mentioned I can see well enough to do makeup as I only use eye makeup these days and a bit of lippy sometimes (after all I am an old age pensioner) I asked my optician; also at my local Asda about contacts and she advised me against as my sight is not too bad

[Diana Richards]

Hi Joanne,

I do wear contact lenses (for the same reasons you want to !) and have no trouble putting them in after slap application. I've been doing it for years though, and it takes a little practice not to interfere with your artwork.

I'm actually terribly short sighted and also, like Reggie, need a distance and closeup prescription. This also limits my choice of specs (since a large lens soon becomes massively thick) - not a good look.
However, for the contacts, I use what's called a monovision prescription if anyone's interested. This means that the dominant eye gets the distance prescription, the other the closeup.
Sounds silly, but actually works tremendously well for me - I can read menus and drive, though not at the same time.
Oh, and I use Asda these days also - seem OK and pretty competitive price wise unless you go online.

It's a rare day you'll see me out in specs, but I just wish I were of an age such that laser would be useful - the ideal solution for us !

[Joanne]

I do wear contact lenses (for the same reasons you want to !) and have no trouble putting them in after slap application.

Thanks for that Diana. I am going for a fitting next Thursday, so I'll see how well I can put them in with minimal 'holding of the eyelids'. If that's a goer, I'll put my make-up on, sans glasses as now and then slip the old contacts in. If not, I'll use the magnifying mirror that Jackie suggested.
I must say your reading and distance contacts seem well weird! Athough someone told me that there were now varifocal contact lenses; and I believed them! How naive am I?

Joanne

[Diana Richards]

Hi Joanne, yes varifocal contacts do exist but I've no experience of them.
As for putting the lenses in, I use the single handed technique whereby the lens is place on the index finger and the first finger of the same hand is used to gently pull down the lower lid i.e. it just gently touches the foundation.
This is after all the eye candy has been applied.
You must be very careful taking them out though if you're prone to wearing stick on claws like I am, especially after the odd refreshment.
Just get them lasered if you can - it saves a smug friend of mine SO much trouble, and it would pay for itself over time.

[Joanne]

Hi Joanne, yes varifocal contacts do exist but I've no experience of them.


Hi Diana
I know! I looked them up today and was shocked. God knows how they work. I thought I was being taken for a ride by the friend that told me.

I grow my nails longer than I used to when I had lenses before, so it may be that I will struggle to get them out. I used to pinch the lens and then pull it out. As you intimated, not so easy with longer nails.

I was told a few years ago, that post 50, ones eyes change so much and so often, that lasering isn't practical. I may ask about that again.

Joanne

[Joanne]

I have been successfully wearing contacts to go out now for several months. Without correction, I can see in close-up, so I apply make-up first.
Due to my advancing years, If I wear distance lenses, I can't see in close-up, so I put the lenses in as the next-to-last thing, my wig goes on last. To put the lenses in, I very carefully place a fingertip on each lid and push the lids apart, then pop the lens in which hopefully goes in first time. This way I find that I don't smudge my eye make-up, especially if it's been applied for 10-15 minutes.
Needless to say, it's essential that the finger tips you use to open your lids are completely dry and that your fingertip doesn't move across your lid.

If the lens doesn't go in and especially if it's then got mascara on it, I pop it back in the solution and give it a quick rinse. I should point out that I use dailies and so they come in their own little container with fluid.
Some people have lenses in of differing strengths, i.e. one for distance and one for close-up, one in each eye and I they can put the lenses in first and then easily apply make-up.

I hope this helps someone considering wearing lenses.

Joanne