I remember being a teen, wrapped up in the latest trends. In my day, the trend involved sky high hair, acid washed pegged jeans, and blue eyeliner (Don't judge me! I know exactly what YOU looked like in the 80's!).
Well, Good Morning America covered a story last week about the "Lady Gaga Circle Contacts trend" that has become popular with teen girls...Yeah, I never heard of it either. Let's take a page from Alice in Wonderland and begin at the beginning.
This is an example of Japanese anime (or "animation"):
This is Lady Gaga...take particular notice of her eyes.
Inspired by the "anime look", Lady Gaga's eyes were enhanced through computer editing to make them look larger and more cartoon-like for her Bad Romance music video.
Circle Contact Lenses have been developed to create that doe-eyed, childlike look at home. Though these contact lenses are not legal in the U.S., teens are able to purchase these contacts online for as little as $20. Yep, $20 for a black market, unfitted, unregulated pair of contacts designed to make you look like a cartoon.
The FDA states: "ill-fitting contacts can scratch the cornea and cause a slew of problems, not least of which is infection, and in the worst case, blindness."
Check out this super-popular You Tube video describing how to transform yourself into human anime using make up and these illegal contact lenses:
Okay, at this point, I don't even know what the heck I want to ask you about this, so you decide! I want your impressions, your thoughts, your questions.
It's Feedback Friday, and Circle Contacts Lenses are all the rage!
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It's Feedback Friday, and Circle Contacts Lenses are all the rage!
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When I was in high school colored contacts were first introduced and were all the rage. People who didn't need contacts were begging their parents for purple contact lenses and getting them. You had to have a prescription but most eye doctors didn't mind and a lot of people had contacts already also. Same problem started happening with kids sharing their contacts (some with prescriptions and some without) and at the time it was a major deal. LOL It blew over with every other trend. I am surprised that it is illegal here which just makes it all the more popular. As a parent I would probably be totally against it for my kid although with their genes it won't be long before they are needing glasses so I'm sure the contact conversation is only a few years off and I'm not even sure what we think about that for kids.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how different this is to regular coloured contacts that are not prescribed.... are those illegal in the US? I just see these as contacts with rings around them.... am I missing something here? can't see why they'd be illegal?
ReplyDeleteIMHO, this just falls in line with the biting thing that's the rage now with teens. It will always be something and there will always be stupid, um, trend-inspired teens who will follow whatever is popular. I just hope its not my offspring. :)
ReplyDeletethere are a ton of make-up tutorials on you-tube and many of them are geared towards halloween/costume make-up. I doubt teens who are trying this out are doing it on any kind of regular basis. I also have three teenage cousins and I have never heard of this.
ReplyDeleteI don't think any teen trend goes un-scrutinized, and while some are alarming, i think a lot of things (like this one) are over blown.
I don't know...I'm glad to have boys (even though it sounds like they are having a cage fight downstairs at the moment). It seems like every generation finds their extreme definition--hello--rib removal, nose and boob jobs, piercings?
ReplyDeleteThe first time the contact goes all wonky and the tears make that boat load of makeup run like a black niagra falls down their cheek, most of those girls will stop ;)
Ok...You crack me up! At this point I don't even know what I want to say either!
ReplyDeleteLets just start by saying you should have seen my RAD perm back in the day.... bangs and all! I was rockin' (along with the tight rolled, acid wash jeans and I'm sure my makeup was fabulous as well)! Yep, trends come and go ~ however, I hate trends that have to do with contacts, especially if they are unnecessary. Without the proper precautions your eyes can become seriously infected and scratched just to name a few. Yep me being a downer. Ha! I say do the makeup, skip the contacts. Althought the make up isn't for me, but could you imagine me walking throught the grocery store with all that on and my 3 young kids in tow. This too will come and go.
ReplyDeleteOh my, never heard of this... how bizarre. I think South Africa is a bit slow with stuff like this, kind of glad about that!
ReplyDeleteAs my hubby said the other day when he saw Lady Gaga on t.v. "She's really not an attractive lady is she?" Why anyone would want to look like her, I don't know. I do have to admit, though, that I liked the way the girls eyes looked up to the point of the purple and white highlighting eyeshadow (not the part underneath the eye) minus a couple layers of the false eyelashes.
ReplyDeletefreaky for sure. Sad, too.
ReplyDeleteThat Michelle Phan sure is a good video maker tho, don't you think?
I love watching videos of makeup applications...I am so bad at it. As far as the circle contacts go...I don't have a problem since if you polled legal contact users I bet you would find many of them don't clean them properly or often enough..wear them for too long and for too many days with out changing to fresh lenses. They are already at a greater risk of infection and damage. My husband is so guilty of that...and I am sure he is not alone. Use common sense folks and this is such a fad anyway...will be forgotten next week.
ReplyDeleteI did enjoy her video...well done!
Janet xox
I just think it's WEIRD. That's about it. Why would you want to look like a cartoon?
ReplyDeleteThe world is beginning to make more sense since many of you have also never heard of this...I was feeling like such a mondo dork :)
ReplyDeleteI saw this on the news and thought it was weird. I don't know why you'd want your eyes to look that freakishly huge, but yeah, I've never seen it done in real life.
ReplyDeleteBlech.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of this. I am totally creeped out by anime characters, so I understand this in no way. But in the video, those illegal circle contacts didn't seem to make her eyes all that bigger, not a noticeable difference for me. I was impressed that she could do her own computer animation to amply the big eye effect.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Adrianna. They're the same fad as colored contacts. You risk your eye health using old mascara and eyeliner too (or sharing it like we did in Jr. High).
ReplyDeleteI've seen the contacts and the results seem subtle, but close-up look a little weird just as colored contacts do (eyes don't "light up").
I believe eye health must come first! I am afraid that the trend might be dangerous to your eyes and that is not a good thing.
ReplyDeleteThat being said...
I thought that was cool! I was impressed with how she did it AND how she did the tutorial.
I am always amazed at the creativity that just keeps coming along in kids. I like it that they seem to be trying new things. Trust me, I work with enough that are damaging themselves and their futures in horrible ways that you cannot see on the inside and adults have no clue.
If they are doing something and it is not unhealthy or damaging to themselves...I say go for it.
lol..but then again, I like goth and emo kids.
Please don't egg me. ~grins weakly~
That looks creepy and I'm sure they'll have fun with their antibiotic drops to heal their scratched corneas.
ReplyDeleteI agree with a lot of you to some extent, but then again, what about the crazy, theatrical contact lens that you can also buy right off the internet? How different would those be from the circle contact lens?
ReplyDelete