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Whether you’re Tom Cruise rocking tinted aviators in Top Gun or a regular Joe cruising down the sidewalk wearing amber-tinted wayfarers, tinted sunglasses can add some serious panache to your style.

But did you know a vibrant lens color does more than make you the hippest-looking cat on the block? 

Yes, color does matter when it comes to tinted sunglasses. In addition to elevating your style, lens color plays a big role in your overall eye health and performance in certain activities. That means that finding the perfect colored lens depends on you and your needs.

Yes, Color Matters—But Why?

Colored lenses can add a splash of vibrance to your eyewear, but they also have an important job—filtering light to help protect your eyes from UV rays and to help you see. 

How do color-tinted glasses help us to shine a light on our world? Think about the old adage “rose-colored glasses.” It means when you look through them, you see a rosier, happier world than you would without them. There’s a bit of truth in the metaphor—when you put color on a lens and look through it, your perspective takes on a new, colorful hue that may help you see certain things better based on the properties of that individual color. 

Different colors on the color spectrum can help create contrast with other colors to make them more visible. They can also block out colors to help put things into a particular perspective. 

For example, let’s hypothetically grab a pair of red or pink-tinted glasses (not metaphorical ones this time). While the world may take on a rosier hue, this particular shade of sunglass tint can also help wearers detect contrast and depth more easily. This makes red or pink-tinted sunglasses a favorite of snowboarders who may struggle to see the paths and banks on a bright snowy-white landscape. Pretty cool, right?

Each color offers a unique set of benefits to sunglasses. Choosing the right pair, however, depends on you.  

How Do I Choose The Right Shade Of Sunglasses?

It’s important to take several factors into account when choosing the right shade of sunglasses. These factors include:

  • Your activities
  • Where you live
  • Your ocular health
  • Your style
We’ve broken down each of these factors below.

 

Activities

Wearing the right colored sunglasses while participating in sports and activities can take your game to the next level. For example, the best sunglasses for watersports differ from golfing sunglasses due to location and physical activity. Here are the best tint colors for a few popular activities:

Emerald Green

A favorite of tennis stars, baseball sluggers, and scratch golfers, green-tinted lenses shield your eyes from the sun without altering a landscape’s light. In other words, this sunglass lens allows you to see where you’re going without casting your world in a dark, shadowy shade. Green lenses balance the UV light, allowing you to return a tennis serve like a pro or bunt a baseball right down the first baseline. For sports that require perfect visual acuity, a green lens hit it out of the park.

Midnight Sun or Fire Red

If you’ve ever seen snowboarding phenomenon Shaun White land a backside triple cork 1620 in a halfpipe beaming with snow, he’s likely wearing red-tinted goggles. As we mentioned, red or pink-tinted lenses help increase visual depth and contrast. As a result, these lenses help you see more detail in landscapes that show little variability. In addition to winter sports, these lenses are ideal for cyclists and drivers.

Ice Blue or Plasma Purple

The lower end of the color spectrum consists of blues, indigos, and purples. Blue or purple lenses help block out “bluer” lights, allowing wearers to reduce light glare and increase visual perception. That means these lenses are especially ideal for fishermen who need to see the slightest movement of a fish on a sunlit lake.

Stealth Black or Gray Green

Black or grey lenses are a smart choice for most activities. Like green lenses, the darker tint of grey or black lenses balance light rather than enhance its contrasts. They also reduce glare like blue or purple lenses. However, you’ll want to leave your grey or black shades at home if you’re participating in activities that require a heightened sense of visual depth. 

Dark Brown

Like red and pink lenses, brown lenses help soften the light, making them ideal for landscapes draped in white light. But visual depth is where they really make a difference. By greatly elevating depth perception, brown lenses are perfect for activities that require athletes to look downrange. Archers, shooters, and golfers will love the visual acuity brown lenses provide.

 

Where You Live

While it’s wise to choose lens color based on activity, it’s also important to choose the right shade of lens tint for where you live. From Seattle’s gray, rainy mornings to San Antonio’s sun-drenched afternoons, regions differ in terms of light availability, tone, and color perception. As a result, your lens color needs will vary based on where you live.

Below, you’ll find the perfect lens color for each region.

  • For snowy mountains, think red, pink, or purple – Ideal for landscapes that experience a lot of snow and rain, red, pink, and purple-tinted lenses offer amazing benefits for people who live in mountainous areas. These cheery lenses reduce the glare coming off snow mounds while making you look cooler than a professional skier on a Tuesday in Park City.

  • For sunnier regions, opt for black, gray, or brown – Wondering what lens color is best for bright days? If you live in an area that receives a ton of sunlight, you know eye protection is essential. Black, gray, or brown lenses are perfect for absorbing sunlight. What’s more, darker lenses are good for nearly every activity. That means after strutting down Ventura Boulevard like a movie star, you can head to the tennis courts to show off your backhand shot that would make even Serena swoon.

    • Although a region’s weather is somewhat static throughout the year, sometimes months of similar weather can be punctuated by unexpected rainy days or bursts of sunshine. Even sun-swamped L.A. experiences the occasional afternoon shower.

    As a result, it’s important to be ready for all weather conditions. By having a set of different colored replacement lenses, you can look and feel your best no matter what the day brings. 

    Ocular Health

    The right colored lenses can improve your ocular health. Colored lenses may be especially helpful for people who have the following conditions:

  • Macular degeneration – Brown and amber lenses have been shown to greatly help people who have macular degeneration. Brown-toned lenses increase visual depth, helping you see further down the road—and on the golf course. With brown or amber lenses, you can say hello to birdies and goodbye to blurred vision.

  • Migraines – Light is a common migraine trigger. Fortunately, with blue-tinted lenses, you can block out harsh light and start blocking shots on the basketball court. 

  • Blurred vision – Most of us spend many hours looking at screens. As a result, our vision can suffer from too much blue light. This is where yellow lenses shine. Perfect for softening harsh blue light, yellow lenses are ideal for people who work indoors around fluorescent light.

    • If you’re seeking tinted lenses for your ocular health, consult with your optometrist to find the right colored lenses for you.

    Style

    Some days, you may feel like Mad Men’s Don Draper, galavanting down the street with a black coffee and a pair of vintage gray sunglasses. On other days you may feel like Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock, your air guitar strumming a chord as fun and funky as your orange shades. Whatever your vibe, choosing the right colored sunglasses can turn your style up a notch.

    The perfect tinted lenses for your inner rockstar include:

  • Neutral tones – Neutral tones never go out of style. For that classic vintage look, go with neutral tinted lenses like black, brown, and gray. In addition to making you look timeless, neutral tones help you excel in activities that take place in bright light.

  • Vibrant tones – While neutral tones have their place, sometimes you want to look at the world with rose-colored glasses. Wearing lenses with vibrant colors such as blue, pink, yellow, and purple shows your creative, spunky side. These tones also help you perform well in activities that demand visual perception. Grab those pink sunglasses and strap into your snowboard. Your next adventure awaits.

    • Take Your Complexion Into Account

    If you have a cool skin tone, it doesn’t mean you’re in line to be the next sub-zero superhero. It simply means your complexion is blueish in tone. Similarly, a warm skin tone denotes a yellowish hue.

    Choosing lens colors based on your complexion can make heads turn as you stroll down the street with the swag of Joan Didion.

    For cool skin tones, blue, gray, and green lenses will work wonders. For warm skin tones, choose yellow, amber, and orange.

    Style is important. But so is your health. Read on to discover the best lens color for your ocular health needs.

    What Color Tint Is Best For Light Sensitivity?

    Although our eyes developed to capture light, sometimes too much light can trigger a negative response. Fortunately, tinted lenses can reduce the discomforts of light sensitivity, getting you back in the game quicker than you can say “fore.”

    The best tints for light sensitivity include:

  • Red – If you work or play in areas with intense sunlight, you may want to grab a pair of red lenses. In addition to blocking blue light, red lenses help reduce light reflecting off white surfaces.

  • Gray – Gray lenses block most light, making them perfect for people with light sensitivity. They also keep the world’s colors as they are, allowing you to see objects as they actually appear.

    • Your Lenses, Your Lifestyle: Choose Revant

    From red-tinted lenses that show off your wild side to black lenses that convey confidence and poise, tinted replacement lenses can help elevate your style and performance.

    But with all the lens colors out there, how can you choose the right tint for every occasion without owning more designer shades than a famous rapper?

    The answer: Revant replaceable lenses.

    A leader in making you look and feel your best, Revant has 18 different colored lenses that fit all your favorite brands. Check out our sunglass lens color guide to browse each of the 16 lens shades. That means you can easily swap out your black lenses for work with your gold lenses when it’s time to relax. Whatever your flow, there’s a pair of shades in the perfect shade for you.