> What you should know, and how to care for them Brittney MacDonald Life & Style Editor o doubt about it, the witching hour is upon us—Halloween is officially here! As decorations go up, and people begin to stockpile candy for the coming horde of costumed children, we are constantly reminded that we are on the clock to come up with our own outfit to wear. As someone who makes and wears a lot of costumes for various reasons, I can tell you that one of the easiest ways to make your costume look next level is to go out and buy a pair of costume contact lenses. Creepy or cute, there’s no faster way to making your costume look polished and impressive. But there are a couple things you should know before hand. Many costume lenses don’t come with any instructions on care or how to put them in—so if you've never worn contacts before, it might bea good idea to go to your optometrist and pick up some pamphlets about care. For lazy people, like me, just talk toa friend who wears contacts daily. They can tell you what you'll need, and even give you a demonstration on how to get them in your eye safely. The next thing you should know is that there are 2 basic kinds of costume lenses, GP (or hard) contact lenses and soft contact lenses. GP lenses are the more traditional ones that are similar to medical grade vision correcting lenses. Soft lenses are offered in some prescriptions, but their main purpose is cosmetic. Soft lenses are the ones that make your eyes appear bigger, and were popularized by Japanese and Korean media. Depending on the look youre going for you might want to take a look at both of these kinds to see which one better suits your needs. However, GP lenses retain their shape even outside the eye, and don’t contain water, so they are significantly easier to put in if you've never worn contact lenses before. Next, and probably my most important point—DO NOT WEAR CONTACT LENSES FRESH OUT OF THE PACKAGE! Contact lenses are usually packed in a sterile solution that contains alcohol. This means that if you open them up, and put them directly in your eye, they will burn and irritate it. To stop this from happening, get a lens case and some contact lens solution. Open the contacts up one at a time, as they will be packaged individually, and rinse them in the solution in the palm of your hand. Make sure your hands are clean first. Create a puddle of contact lens solution, and swirl the lens in it for a few seconds. You can see instructions and tutorials on how to do this on YouTube. Next, place the lens in one of the case trays, and fill the tray with clean solution. Do this with both lenses, keeping them separate. Then you leave them in there for at least 12 hours before wearing them—I’m a little bit of a worry- Fall favourites > Vegetarian hazelnut soup Brittney MacDonald Life & Style Editor Ingredients: 2, cups hazelnuts, roasted and skinned (you can get these pre- done at any organic food market) 1/4 cup diced raw hazelnuts 4 cups water 1/2 tsp salt 3 tbsp butter (use margarine to make this recipe vegan) 1/2 cup diced leeks 1 cup small peeled and diced parsnips 1 cup vegetable stock Bx" you begin with this recipe, you will need two specific items—a cheese cloth, and a standing blender. You could probably use an immersion blender or a food processor as well, but I can’t guarantee how the soup’s texture will turn out, as | have never used either of them. The first think youll need to do is make the base, which will be a hazelnut milk. To do this, soak the 2 cups of roasted and skinned hazelnuts in a large bow] with a little bit of salt. Leave at room temperature, covered, for 12 hours or overnight. The next day, strain out the water and place the now softened hazelnuts in the blender with 2 cups of fresh water. Blend until it begins to look like slightly chunky milk. Strain this through the cheese cloth, squeezing out as much of the liquid as you can into a bowl or measuring cup. You'll want about 2 cups of the hazelnut milk. The bits of hazelnut left in the cheese cloth can be composted or re-purposed for something else. Set the hazelnut milk aside and begin melting the butter in a medium pot on medium to high heat. Once the pot is warm, add the leeks. You want the leeks to become tender, but not browned, so stir them everyone so often. Once done, mix in the hazelnut milk, vegetable stock, and parsnips. Cover the pot, and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. Puree the soup in your blender, then re-heat on the stove if necessary. Serve and garnish each bowl with some of the chopped, raw hazelnuts. EN -W-lOM(o(-t- Mich mB cela ee M lifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca wort, so I let mine soak for 24 hours. This will ensure that no alcohol remains. My last piece of advice if for people who intend these lenses to be worn more than once. Once opened, most lenses are good for a year—but only if you take proper care of them. The solution in each case should be changed every two weeks. You need to take the lenses out, rinse them in contact lens solution, then rinse out the case in the solution. Never use soap or regular tap water to clean out your lens case. Always keep the (¥ Cocktail science and superstitions And more! lenses separate, and never confuse the left side and right side. Not only do you run the risk of passing bacteria between the two, it will also be uncomfortable. The lenses themselves with begin to take on the shape of your eye; Each eye is shaped differently, so swapping them could lead to irritation and discomfort. Keep in mind that certain costume lenses might restrict or affect your vision depending on their colour and/or the shape of the iris. So it’s a good idea to test them out before the big night. (¥ Halloween’s forgotten meaning (¥Y Fan Expo Vancouver's guest list part two Image via spookyeyes.com Image via perrysplate.com