On Instagram, vendors command a network of hundreds of thousands of followers built on sponsored posts and affiliate marketing. And these contacts aren’t just worn by beauty gurus, makeup artists, and micro-influencers trying to become big-name influencers, but also your regular consumer. Since it’s 2019, the marketing platform of choice is now Instagram instead of YouTube. Pinky Paradise A collage-like ad for blue contacts. They cater to specific customers: TTD Eye is popular among beauty influencers who prefer lenses in striking shades of hazel and gray, while Uniqso is a haven for cosplayers who aim for vibrant, distorted-looking circle lenses.Īn ad for red circle lenses. Within the past two years, there’s been a subtle resurgence of colored contact lenses from overseas vendors with whimsical names like TTD Eye, Ohmykitty4u, Uniqso, and Pinky Paradise. While I was told they would last me a year, I threw out the contacts after a few months because they dried out my eyes and I have been skeptical of them since. Luckily for me, I didn’t seriously injure myself. They warn of the potential for severe eye infections and even partial blindness. Widespread concern over these unregulated lenses subsided over time, but every year, the FDA, Federal Trade Commission, and American Academy of Ophthalmology remind customers to be wary of purchasing colored lenses without a prescription, usually around Halloween. (The FDA requires vendors to register products on its site before they can be commercially distributed it’s a process overseas vendors can afford to neglect since their businesses don’t rely solely on American customers.) Months after Phan’s viral video, the New York Times published a story on the risk behind eye-enhancing circle lenses, which are not approved by the FDA. The cosmetic lens fad began more than a decade ago in Asia, and through YouTube, blogs, and online forums, the trend proliferated - spreading among young women and cosplayers, people who dress up as characters from pop culture.

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