Are gold contact lenses something you can find? Sort of, but perhaps not quite like you picture.
Most contacts that are marketed as gold colored are more like yellow or brown. A few try to replicate the metallic look you think of when you imagine “gold.” But the effect is from patterns printed on the lenses instead of a real metallic finish.
I’ll walk you through what’s available and alternatives to gold contacts to try!
At a Glance
- True metallic-gold contact lenses aren’t really a thing. Contacts marketed as gold usually use printed yellow, amber, honey, or similar pigments and patterns. They create a gold-like look instead of using real gold metal.
- Your natural eye color changes the way contacts look. Dark eyes often turn yellow lenses into a warm amber-gold, while light eyes can make the lenses look brighter.
- Product photos on some websites can be misleading. It’s best to check real customer photos for your own eye color before buying.
Why Is It So Hard To Make Gold Contact Lenses?
The problem is that gold isn’t only a color. Real gold (as in the expensive metal) has its characteristic appearance because of the way the metal interacts with light. Gold absorbs some blue light while reflecting more red and green, which produces its familiar yellow-gold color.
Colored contacts just don’t behave in the same way since they aren’t made of metal. Instead, you’re seeing pigments and printed patterns that sit over the eye.
So a contact lens can reproduce the color you associate with gold fairly easily. Reproducing the reflective, metallic quality of actual gold is much harder.
And that’s why so many products marketed as “gold” end up looking more like yellow, honey, amber, or brown-gold once they’re actually on the eye.
There’s another problem, too. A shade that looks bright yellow on blue eyes might not look as good on dark brown eyes. It depends on the brand, but some can end up looking a bit muted and dull. Lighting can also affect the result.
Don’t take online product photos of “gold” contacts too literally
The photos you see on colored-contact websites aren’t always a perfect representation of what you’ll see in the mirror.
Some product images are computer-generated or digitally enhanced in some way. Other photos use studio lighting or editing.
My advice is to look at the real customer photos, especially those from people with a similar eye color to yours.
Gold Contact Lenses To Consider
If you want to try out some gold contacts, here are a few that are popular online.
| Feature / Specification | Max Elegance Tri-Tone Gold | G&G Shimmer Yellow | AIR OPTIX COLORS Honey |
| Color profile | Warm gold pattern | Vivid yellow / warm copper | Golden-amber (3-in-1 print) |
| Wear schedule | Yearly | Yearly | Monthly |
| Material / technology | Hydrogel | Hydrogel | Lotrafilcon B silicone hydrogel |
| Prescription availability | 0.00 to -8.00 | 0.00 to -8.00 | Plano (0.00), -8.00 to +6.00 |
Max Elegance Tri-Tone Gold
Max Elegance Tri-Tone Gold uses a pattern made up of different colors to try to replicate a metallic quality.
It can look very different depending on your natural eye color. On the HONEYCOLOR website, the reviews are good, but people do talk about the color not quite being “gold.” People with dark brown eyes say that they’re more yellow. People with blue eyes say they get a more muted, brownish result.
These contacts are sold as yearly replacement lenses. You can get them as both non-prescription and prescription lenses ranging from 0.00 to -8.00.
G&G Shimmer Yellow
I suggest looking into this one even though it’s not sold as a “gold” contact lens. G&G Shimmer Yellow uses a pattern that contains a natural brown, so it may work better on brown eyes.
It’s a bright yellow that can end up looking more convincing as gold than some contacts actually sold as “gold contacts.” But still, some reviews say the color isn’t as super vivid as the pictures portray it. It’s available in prescription powers from 0.00 through -8.00. They’re sold as yearly lenses.
Why Yellow Contacts May Get You Closer to Gold
If you search for gold contacts, you’ll find a lot of lenses that lean more toward brown, amber, or honey. That’s partly because those colors look more natural, and most people want to attain a natural color with their colored lenses.
If you really want a bright, intense color that gets you closer to gold, yellow can be a much better starting point.
To get the reflective, metallic quality of real gold, you’ll want to pick a contact lens that has a pattern. This helps to give the illusion that the contact is reflecting as metal does.
If you choose a lens with a solid yellow color, it will give you an unnatural (cosplay) look like in the image above. But perhaps that’s what you’re trying to achieve!
How To Get a More Natural Gold Look
Want a more natural gold look? One good option to try is a ‘honey’ shade of colored contacts.
AIR OPTIX COLORS offers a Honey shade that gives the eyes a much softer golden-amber effect. No, it’s not gold, but it does give you a sort of warmth associated with gold. It’s also much less like a cosplay lens, if you’re looking for something that could pass as your natural eye color.
AIR OPTIX COLORS uses a three-ring color design to blend different tones across the eye, so you don’t just get a solid block of color. The Honey shade can serve as an alternative to the brighter gold and yellow lenses above.
The result still heavily depends on your natural eye color, though. AIR OPTIX COLORS Honey on dark eyes will blend with your natural brown to create a soft, realistic amber-gold. On light eyes, the lack of a dark backdrop makes the golden pigments pop much brighter into a light honey-yellow or olive-gold.
All AIR OPTIX COLORS are monthly lenses, and they come in prescription powers ranging from -8.00 to +6.00.
On EZContacts, you can currently get an AIR OPTIX COLOR 2 Pack and an AIR OPTIX COLORS 6 Pack.
FAQs
Are gold contact lenses made with real gold?
No. Gold-colored contacts use pigments and patterns to create the appearance of gold. They aren’t made with real gold metal.
Are gold contact lenses safe?
They can be, as long as you do your research. Colored contacts are medical devices, even when they don’t correct your vision. Make sure you only purchase FDA-cleared brands with a valid prescription from an eye care professional.
Can you get prescription gold contact lenses?
Yes, you can get prescription versions of many colored contacts. Just make sure you buy your lenses from a retailer that requires a valid prescription. All the contacts discussed in this post have prescription options. EZContacts sells AIR OPTIX COLORS in prescription powers ranging from -8.00 to +6.00.
Check out all the colored contact lenses available on EZContacts.
