Color Contacts A-Z

Core Collection

The Core Collection expands on the Classic designs with 3 Colour Enrichment Patterns that add subtle depth and dimension:

• Natural Sparkle
• Natural Shimmer
• Natural Shine

Like all Define lenses, these Core variants feature the same edge-thin profile for comfort, the layered print process for a natural look, embedded LACREON moisture cushion, and Class 2 UV protection.

Radiant Collection

The Radiant Collection uses advanced Iris Enrichment Patterns - multi-layer colour gradients designed to catch the light and add a soft glow. Four radiant designs are available:

• Radiant Bright
• Radiant Charm
• Radiant Sweet
• Radiant Chic

Fresh Collection

Nature-inspired, hand-drawn designs that brighten and lighten.
Available in six new palettes - each pattern drawn from nature’s color stories - to bring a playful yet natural enhancement:

• Blue Sky
• Gray Skies
• Green Nature
• Golden Amber
• Latte Brown
• Lilac

Fresh Collection lenses feature Beauty Wrapped in Comfort Technology, which seals pigments within the material so there’s no compromise on lens safety or moisture (up to 20 hours of cushion)^1. They blend translucent layers to both brighten and lighten the iris without masking its natural beauty

Lens Material and Moisture Technology

1-Day ACUVUE Define is built on the proven 1-Day ACUVUE Moist platform, sharing the same material and core features for comfort and biocompatibility. The lens is made from Etafilcon A, a soft hydrogel with 58% water content, known for its long track record of safe daily wear. It incorporates Acuvue’s LACREON Technology, which permanently embeds a moisture-rich wetting agent (polyvinylpyrrolidone, PVP) into the lens matrix. This creates a “long-lasting cushion of moisture” that isn’t blinked away, providing all-day hydration and comfort for the wearer In practical terms, the moisture technology helps the Define lenses maintain 20+ hours of hydration for sustained comfort throughout the day. The lens also features a thin edge design (borrowed from ACUVUE’s patented “Invisible Edge” design) so that eyelids can glide over the lens smoothly, minimizing lid irritation. The low modulus (softness) of etafilcon A and the optimized edge profile mean the lens “feels” very similar to a regular 1-Day ACUVUE Moist on the eye, despite the addition of cosmetic pigments. These material and design choices ensure that the lens remains highly biocompatible and comfortable, even as a cosmetic lens.

Clinical studies and extensive wearer trials have demonstrated the safety of the etafilcon A material in daily use. For example, one long-term study of daily disposable etafilcon lenses (the same material used in 1-Day ACUVUE Moist and Define) reported exceptionally low rates of adverse responses, with only 3 non-significant contact lens-related events over 471 patient-years of wear and no serious complications. This underscores the high biocompatibility and safety profile of the lens material in 1-Day ACUVUE Define.

Pigment Encapsulation (“Beauty Wrapped in Comfort” Technology)

A key technical innovation of ACUVUE Define is how the color pigment is integrated into the lens. These lenses use Beauty Wrapped-In-Comfort technology, which encapsulates the pigments within the lens material so that the colorants never directly contact the wearer’s eye. In the manufacturing process, the pigment is printed as part of the lens and then “sandwiched” between two transparent layers of the hydrogel. This ensures that the printed design is completely enclosed in the lens matrix. By sealing the pigment inside the lens, ACUVUE Define prevents any pigment particles from rubbing against the cornea or eyelid, thereby avoiding irritation or staining of the ocular surface. No other major U.S. contact lens manufacturer had achieved a fully enclosed pigment design at the time of Define’s introduction, making this a unique safety feature of the product.

Importantly, the pigment encapsulation does not alter the lens’s surface smoothness or permeability. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope analyses have shown that the surface of the Acuvue Define lens in pigmented areas is as smooth as in the clear areas, with no raised ink or rough texture. In contrast, many traditional cosmetic lenses have pigment printed on the surface, which can create micro-roughness and potentially affect blink comfort. By keeping the pigment below the lens surface, Define maintains a uniform surface that supports comfortable lens wear. The pigments themselves are medical-grade and inert; they are chosen for ophthalmic use and are non-toxic and FDA-approved for contact lens coloration, adding an extra layer of assurance for biocompatibility (as noted in regulatory filings and standards for cosmetic contact lenses).

Oxygen Permeability, UV Protection, and Eye Health

Because 1-Day ACUVUE Define uses the same etafilcon A material and thickness profile as 1-Day ACUVUE Moist, its oxygen transmissibility is essentially identical to the clear lens. The lenses have a measured oxygen permeability/transmissibility (Dk/t) of around 25.5 × 10^−9 (edge-corrected, at -3.00 D), which meets the published criteria for daily-wear oxygen needs. Notably, enclosing the pigment in the lens does not hinder oxygen flow to the cornea. Researchers confirmed that oxygen molecules can diffuse around the pigment particles; thus, the Define lens delivers the same oxygen availability to the eye as the non-tinted Acuvue Moist lens under equivalent conditions. This means the wearer’s cornea still gets about 88% of available atmospheric oxygen when the lens is in place (a typical level for thin daily hydrogel lenses), supporting corneal health during daily wear.

In addition to oxygen, the lenses promote eye health through UV protection. 1-Day ACUVUE Define provides Class 2 UV blocking, built into each lens. Specifically, it blocks approximately 97% of UVB and 81% of UVA rays that reach the lens. While not a substitute for sunglasses (because contact lenses don’t cover the entire eye area), this UV-absorbing feature adds a measure of protection for the cornea and interior of the eye from harmful ultraviolet radiation. Johnson & Johnson has long made UV blocking a standard in its ACUVUE line, and Define continues that tradition – a point particularly relevant for beauty lens users, as it combines cosmetic enhancement with health protection in one product.

Clinical safety studies have shown that adding the cosmetic pigment to the lens does not compromise ocular health or vision. In fact, head-to-head studies comparing 1-Day ACUVUE Define (with Lacreon) to the clear 1-Day ACUVUE Moist lens found no significant differences in clinical performance. Eye care researchers reported that the Define lens “behaves similar to the clear MOIST lens” in essentially every measure evaluated. Comfort, corneal physiology, and visual acuity remained on par with the clear lens. Notably, no increase in corneal staining or adverse ocular effects was observed with Define; the pigments (being sealed away from the surface) did not cause any additional corneal stress. “Researchers found the pigments enclosed within the 1-DAY ACUVUE DEFINE lens do not affect lens fit, corneal staining or visual acuity,” one report notes. This is an important distinction, as many traditional colored contacts have been associated with reduced comfort or occasional vision artifacts. For example, if a color print encroaches too close to the pupil zone on a cosmetic lens, wearers might notice the pattern in their vision (especially in low light when pupils dilate), or if pigment sits on the surface, it could cause more lens awareness or dryness. ACUVUE Define’s design avoids these issues – the optic zone is clear and wide, and the enclosed pigment keeps the lens feeling and performing like a clear lens in daily wear. Overall, the combination of high oxygen flux, embedded moisture, UV protection, and pigment encapsulation yields a lens that meets the core safety and comfort values of the ACUVUE brand, despite its cosmetic enhancements.