I have been a cosplayer for 15 years, wearing cosplays is part of my daily job, and I’ve had the chance to test my fair share of coloured contacts for cosplay coming from lots of different companies. Some of them were great, and some others were… not so great. If you are in the road looking for the best coloured contact company I want to save you some time choosing the best contact lenses shops for you.
To be completely transparent, you should know I got sent samples from all of these companies and even got sponsors for some of my videos. This post however is NOT sponsored and I am sharing my own personal opinion and experiences with all of these companies.
If you wish to purchase from any of the companies below, I do have a discount code ‘ALICECOS’ . Contrary to what you would expect, I don’t necessarily get a commission if you use my discount (I do in some cases) but you will get up to to 20% off in some cases or a little extra gift.
Before you buy contacts
Wearing coloured contacts looks awesome, but you should keep in mind they are not a toy and you run the risk of damaging your eyes if you don’t use them properly or if you don’t use a quality product. Always follow the recommendations and instructions in the box and make sure your lenses are certified.
In some countries like the USA, you will need a prescription to be able to purchase them. Don’t trust a company who does not ask for this prescription. Even if it is not required where you live, you should visit your eye doctor first just to make sure you are able to wear contacts. Even if you have a 10/10 eyesight!
Good and not so good Small Shops
In this section I will show you a few less known brands. They may not have huge catalogues but they may surprise you as you can find here some very specific contacts for some specific characters that are not easy to find anywhere else.
Fresh Lady
This company isn’t very big nor very impressive but I never had an issue with their contacts. Their short catalogue doesn’t have many contacts specifically for cosplay but they do have a few character specific options that you may not find anywhere else.
Their style is mostly suited for natural looks, with very few options for the enlarged anime eye effect. In general, they have quite simple contacts which are usually 2 to 3 colours, this can vary from very natural to very bold in some cases which is absolutely fine if that’s what you are looking for.
They ship from China but also have a US Warehouse, which can be useful if you are located in America. Otherwise, expect a couple of weeks for them to arrive to places like Europe.
MisLens
My personal experience with MisLens was not the best. In general, I found their contacts slightly less comfortable than other brands, but I did have a big issue with one pair in particular.
One of their pairs of contacts (Hu Tao) I would never recommend. Mesh contacts that cover your pupil can create a blurry vision which is absolutely normal, however this pair completely made me feel blind. Taking off contacts while completely blind was a very stressful experience and they are one of the reasons why I stopped accepting contact reviews. I comfronted the company about the issue and they fully admitted that this particular design is faulty, but the fact that they knew and did not fix it makes me question the brand.
In a second incident, they took my video review and uploaded it to their own video channel without permission, so, make sure you keep an eye on them if you share their contacts and are not happy for them to use your image without consent.
Nevertheless, they still have some lenses in their catalogue some people may be interested in. They have mostly natural looking contacts with a few crazy shapes like hearts, squares or hello kitty contacts that make them unique. They also have character specific contacts for certain anime characters but not many big eye anime style options.
They are located in China so feel free to calculate times of arrivals depending on your location.
Known brands I have not tried
It wouldn’t be fair to post this list without two of the biggest companies of contact lenses that I hear everyone talking about all the time. I have personally not tested their contacts but I did gather some information for you to save you some time.
TTDEye
I have not tried this brand and I personally don’t have any intentions of trying it. Unfortunately I have heard some terror stories coming from cosplayers. But also found a notification from the FDA in the past saying that some of their contacts were indeed not certified and had to be recalled. I believe in the past they were selling contacts without prescription in the US (which is illegal). This may not be the case anymore but it makes me question the reputation of a company which has had so many oopsies in the past. I don’t oopsie with my eyes.
I have indeed declined collaborations with them. This is however my own choice based on the information I found on the internet (always check your sources, don’t trust me) and you are free to test their lenses as they do seem to have a varied catalogue of contact lenses of all styles.
PinkyParadise
This brand is perhaps one of the go tos for cosplayers, and no wonder as they have a huge catalogue of contacts for all tastes. From natural looking, to crazy styles to anime large eye effect. If you can’t find anything here, you probably can’t find anything
I have personaly not tried them yet as I always found their page stressful with so many things popping up and moving and shouting at you all the time. But this does not mean they are a bad brand. They do have a huge catalogue but sometimes that only makes it difficult to choose. However, I must also say their items are not always in stock which can become a bit frustrating as you don’t know if they will ever be back.
My TOP 3
These are the shops I continue to go back to for their quality, reliability and excellent customer service.
3. Coloured Contacts
I have reviewed this brand in the past, and they may not have a huge catalogue of contacts, nore be super known and popular, but the contacts I got from them have always been good quality and comfortable. They have an assortment of lenses, mostly focused on natural ones but with a few striking ones as well. Unfortunately not much of the anime style effect.
Bonus point, this is the only company in my list I know is based in Europe which means you will get your contact lenses fast if you are in this side of the planet as they have a warehouse in the UK. They do have options for Free Delivery in the US as well so something to keep them in mind.
Bonus Bonus point, their prices are very competitive, and probably some of the cheapest I have seen for the quality. Only the shipping cost is much lower than most of the competitors that ship to Europe. So if you are looking for good price and good quality, maybe this is your brand.
Bonus bonus bonus points, their customer service has always been super kind to me and that is something I really appreciate.
2. Uniqso
I was an ambassador of Uniqso for many many years (they do not do long term collabs anymore) I still advocate for them as they have a huge catalogue of contact lenses and they constantly release new ones, often inspired by they newest animes and series.
Not only they have lots of contacts to choose from in any style you can imagine, their contacts are actually very comfortable as well. And they don’t sell only contacts, they offer a variety of good quality wigs as well, so this may be your place to go if you want a one stop shop.
I have continued to use their products even after I stopped getting sponsored by them. And the only reason why they are not number one in my list is because of their stock issues. I find it very difficult to purchase contacts that I have bought in the past and even if you see a huge catalogue in their page, I am often disappointed to see they do not stock my prescription (0,0 Plano) for many lenses, which causes me to check their catalogue one by one trying to find something in stock. You can fix it by clicking the filter in the side, but it still annoys me how difficult is to buy the same pair twice.
Another reason why they are not number one in my list is they have recently changed their system and they now sell individual lenses and not pairs, which makes it look like the contacts are cheaper than what they actually are. T
Expect at least three to 4 pop ups before you can even check their catalogue.
1. Moco Queen
It is to noone’s surprise Moco Queen is my number one contact lens brand at the moment.
Am I biased? Probably yes. After all, I have been sponsored by them for a long time now and I have been quite spoilt to be honest. However, believe me when I say I wouldn’t risk my eyes with a bad company. After testing several not so good brands in the past, this company was a revelation of what good contact lenses should feel like.
They may not have the huge catalogue of Uniqso or PinkyParadise and they are definitely more expensive than colouredcontacts.com, but they have just enough to make everyone happy.
From this brand you can expect comfort, a stocked and varied catalogue, and reliability. And also very fast shipping if you are located in the US! I am not, but I still get my contacts pretty fast. And I know you will not use my discount code because they have an almost permanent 2 for 1 code available in their page.
Further advice
Never EVER buy cheap contact lenses for cosplay from dubious places like Temu, Shein or eBay unless you are absolutely sure the lenses are certified to be safe for you (spoiler alert, most of the time they aren’t).
You should ONLY get contacts for cosplay that have been approved by the appropriate health commissions. You will know your contacts are safe if they have FDA and or CE stamps. These certify they have gone through rigourous testing and they are safe to wear. But can’t guarantee your complete safety so do make sure to follow the instructions in the packages. The companies above are FDA and/or CE certified to the best of my knowledge.
Finally, remember some of the basic rules when you wear contacts. Soak your lenses in All in one contact lens solution for 6 HOURS before you wear them for the first time and also to store them. Never EVER use water to clean or store them. If they look damaged, still feel itchy after a few minutes or something feels wrong, BIN THEM, your eyes are not worth the risk.
