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| Via columbiaeyeclinic.com |
Glasses are so cool these days. I'm going to date myself as a cranky ol' broad, but glasses were never this cool back in my day! Let's be real, they are pretty damn fashionable nowadays, fearless in their silhouettes, styles and colours. They've gone from corrective medical device to fashion statement! And on the technical side, lenses have become so advanced that instead of coke bottles, a high prescription doesn't suffer from fish-eyes or, worse, raisin eyes. I speak from experience; I started wearing glasses when I was 8 years old and by the time I was 13, I was wearing a strong enough prescription that my eyes were shrunken little marbles, and my frame? It was a (non)beauty - clear plastic with red, white and black embellishments. Viva the '80's!!!!
Very similar to my glasses, aka the reason I NEEDED contacts!
Via forsythiahill.storenvy.com
After a solid five years of honing my spectacle-wearing skills, I begged my folks to let me get contact lenses. I was beyond ecstatic to finally be rid of the monkey on my back (or in this case, my face!) and in the days leading up to my contact lens fitting and training, I fantasized about the eyeshadows I could wear, the blue mascara that would make my eyes pop (Blue mascara = Viva the 80's? Yes, but don't laugh too hard because guess what's on-trend for makeup this spring 2016? It's all about being BLUE; blue eyeliner, blue eyeshadow, BLUE MASCARA!) I dreamed of the simple things, like walking indoors from the rain and not having fogged-up glasses, and no more indents on the bridge of my nose. But the reality was, I hadn't really thought of the mechanics of the thing, ie - getting those teeny silicone freedom-discs onto my eyeball.
Reality bites. For serious.
It took me over an hour to get them in under the ever-patient and encouraging watch of my contact lens guru (this was after she put them in and took them out, just to give me A) a point of reference when it came to having a lens inserted into/removed from my eye; and B) a motivational glimpse of crisp vision with none of the pesky plastic affixed to my face. I left the office, triumphant in my eventual success and believe me, it would all come crashing down when left to my own devices later that afternoon at home when I had to remove them under my own baleful glare and no help* if I needed it.
(* - ok, my mom wore contact lenses and would have helped me but at 13, who wants help from mommy.... Especially if she's not the most patient)
This ever-so-challenging dance of pry on/pry off continued for two weeks before I was able to pop those babies in and out under 15 minutes and this process was my first real lesson in the truth behind the saying 'pain is beauty' because my learning process? Such a pain in the arse!
Years later, I would find myself working with optometrists, and one of our services was contact lens fittings and teachings. The doctors did the fittings and we assistants would do the teachings. It was always exciting to do teaches for people who were ready to take the plunge and jettison their bespectacled ways, ready to embrace them as a visual necessity in sports, teenagerdom, just life in general, but my favourite - and most stressful - teaches were brides and grooms-to-be who wanted to leave the glasses at home on the biggest day of their lives. They were my favourite because we knew that our students would eventually get the hang of the whole thing, and they would walk down that aisle with their heads held high. But the stress came in due to time constraints (usually decided within a month or two of their wedding date) and folks underestimating just how the whole process works.
Dr. Angela Yoon is an optometrist who works in Toronto and here, she details what factors go into determining if a person is a good candidate contact lenses:
*~Are they in or out (of the question) for your eyes? ~*
She also outlines the importance of the fitting and evaluation of contacts here:
*~You've been accepted to the Contact Lens Club: This is your initiation!~*
If you are thinking of contact lenses for your wedding day, remember that they are secondarily an amazing vision option, but primarily a medical device that needs to be matched to your individual eye needs and measurements, for proper prescription and safe fit. If you're a candidate for them, don't be afraid at all - just be prepared! As your wedding day approaches, you might start to feel stressed the closer you get to the ceremony. That's a rough time to throw in learning how to be cool with poking around your eye sockets! So set aside time for yourself at least a few months prior to your walk down the aisle to get the process rolling, become a pro at insertion and removal, and of course, get in practice with all the great makeup you'll be able to wear unhidden by your specs!
#bluemascaraforyouamdme
Wishing you a day as limitless as you are~
Lisa and April
