Eye-yi, yi!
Keye Luke wore them for the role of Shaolin master Po in David Carradine's "Kung Fu" series. Michael Jackson donned a pair in his "Thriller" video. Goth rocker Marilyn Manson wears them all the time. Eye-yi, yi!
New contact lenses get crazy
"What the ...?" you ask?
Long a staple in a makeup artist's special effects arsenal, colored contact lenses do more than make your brown eyes blue, lavender or green. Newer colors and hand-painted designs have trickled down to the streets where vampire types haunt raves and night spots with red, white, black or cat's eyes. More positive types might dot their eyes with a smiley face.
Optometrist Charles Dean recently started offering the eye-altering lenses in his Kailua office, where he said they're a hit with those who want to be different -- "mostly young people, well, exclusively young people," he said.
Such individuality doesn't come cheap. Lenses run $295 to $425 each, which means sacrificing a whole lotta CDs for a look. Because of the cost, Dean does not keep them in stock. All must be special ordered.
Women are most interested in the cat-eye look, Dean said, whereas men go for the red eye because they want to look like vampires.
Men also like the ghastly looking white, opaque lens that compliment Manson's deathly pallor so well.
Men in the military ask for the skull and crossbone look, Dean said, and this has led to some concern among the brass.
But it's not the look that's in question. Instead, he said, "They asked how it would be for night driving."
The specifics are: The hand-painted lenses -- prescription or nonprescription -- have a 4-1/2 millimeter clear zone in the center which allows for adequate peripheral vision. They are permanent daily-wear soft lenses that can be worn 12 to 14 hours a day. With proper care, the lenses will keep scaring people for about two years.
Proper care means cleaning the lenses after wear and storing them in a disinfecting solution. Even if the lenses are not in use, the solution should be changed twice a week.
They could be worn every day, but Dean said people treat them as a special occasion lens.
And it's not all about fright. There are butterfly, floral and American flag designs available.
If you have an original design in mind, mainland artists can recreate it for you.
Call 261-9735 for more information.
By Nadine Kam, Star-Bulletin
