Blame it on our colonial history that kickstarted our unending fascination with light eyes and fair skin, but you’ve probably noticed an uptick in the number of close-up selfies Bollywood stars disseminate across the ‘gram that feature them wearing coloured contact lenses.
“It was in the ’80s and the ’90s that the trend of wearing coloured contact lenses first emerged in Bollywood,” says celebrity stylist Mohit Rai, whose clientele includes Sonakshi Sinha, Shilpa Shetty Kundra, Huma Qureshi and Disha Patani. “But it’s not something I encourage my clients to try — I feel it’s a very old-school look, and if done wrong, can result in a major fashion faux pas,” he says. Still, Rai admits the reason behind the trend is more practical than fantastical. “Wearing coloured lenses definitely give you a glamourous look, and is great for photography as the eyes catch light better,” he explains.
While celebrities like Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone and more recently, Janhvi Kapoor, are nailing the look, the secret behind their approach is picking a colour that tints your iris and highlights your eye’s natural colour rather than dramatically changing your eye colour. “It’s safer to opt for natural colours like honey, hazel or a lighter brown that accentuates your natural eye, rather than giving in to the blue/green/grey eye colour that can end up defeating the purpose,” says Mohit.
He continues, “But I don’t think young celebrities necessarily need to pull it off — they’re so naturally beautiful, so why would you want to mess with that? Everyone should take a cue from Alia Bhatt, who has embraced herself fully. She’s not curvy and she doesn’t try to show off cleavage — she’s secure in her own skin.”
