On Saudi National Day, green is everywhere. It lights up the streets of Riyadh and Jeddah after sunset, and it is in what almost everyone chooses to wear. The day marks the unification of the Kingdom under King Abdulaziz. Saudi families celebrate it, and so do many of their friends and neighbors across the Gulf.
Many women plan their look for it weeks ahead, the way they would for Eid. Most of that planning goes into the abaya and the jewelry. The eyes come last, if they come at all. At Youmi Beauty, we believe they belong in the plan from the start, which is why our colored lenses include greens for the day and golden shades for the evening.
Green, and then gold
Green belongs to the day. Gold belongs to the way people celebrate it, in the embroidery on a dark abaya and the bracelets that come out on special occasions.
A green lens puts the color of the day in your eyes. A golden lens picks up the gold you are already wearing, so your eyes and your jewelry match.
Start with the outfit. A deep green abaya with green eyes can be a lot of green. A black or beige abaya with green eyes is where the color shows best.
La Bali
The day starts at home, with a long family lunch or a visit to relatives. The light is bright, people sit close, and you will be seen from a few feet away for hours.
For that, La Bali is the easier green. It mixes brown with a touch of green, so on dark eyes it reads as a warm green brown. The person sitting next to you will see the green. Someone across the room will only notice that your eyes look lighter than usual.
It is also a good first green if you have never worn colored lenses, because the change is small enough to still feel like your own eyes.
If you wear kohl, keep it soft and brown with this shade. A thick black line can make La Bali look darker than it is.
It is a monthly lens, so the pair you open for National Day can stay in your routine for the rest of the month.
La Marrakech
The evening is different. The streets fill up and the fireworks start.
La Marrakech is our light green, with notes of mint tea and olive. Under evening lights it is the shade people notice first. Keep the rest of your eye makeup simple, a warm brown or gold shadow and nothing more, so the green stands out.
Some women wear La Marrakech from lunch until the last firework and never think about switching. That works too.
La Ibiza
Not everyone wants green eyes, even on National Day.
If that is you, let your outfit carry the green and keep your eyes gold. La Ibiza is a warm caramel inspired by golden sand and the Mediterranean sun. With an emerald abaya and gold bracelets, it ties the look together better than any green lens could. For a shade closer to your own eye color, La Capri is a rich golden brown that does the same job more softly.
If you wear glasses
Every one of these shades also comes with power, from -0.5 to -8. You can see the fireworks clearly and still wear green.
Nine hours
National Day is long, and our lenses are made to be worn for nine hours a day at most. A day that starts at lunch and ends after the fireworks can go well past that.
So decide which part of the day matters most to you. If the family lunch starts at two and the fireworks end close to midnight, that is ten hours, which is one hour too many. Put your lenses in at four instead, after lunch, and you can wear them until one in the morning without going over. If lunch is the part you care about, wear them from noon and take them out by nine.
Make sure your eyes feel hydrated before you put them in. Keep your lenses away from heat, which means never leaving them in a parked car. If you will be out until late, carry your lens case and a small bottle of Youmi Beauty Lens Solution in your bag.
When you get home, take them out before you sleep, however late it is. Store them in fresh solution, change it every day, and replace an opened bottle after 90 days.
After the fireworks
Late at night, the lenses go back in their case and the gold goes back in its box. Both will come out again next year.