The main purpose of sunglasses is to reduce the brightness of ambient light to a more comfortable level.  The color you choose for your lenses is up to you.  However, be aware that bright or unusual lens colors may alter your color perception significantly.  For this reason, it's usually best (from a visual standpoint) to choose lenses that are gray, brown or green.

The color and the darkness of the tint in your lenses affects only the amount of visible light that passes through your lenses.  You cannot determine how much ultraviolet (UV) light passes through a sunglass lens by looking at its color.  The level of UV protection sunglasses provide is determined by the lens material and whether any UV-absorbing lens coatings have been applied to the lens.  Regardless of the color and darkness of the lenses you choose, make sure your sunglasses provide 100 percent protection from the sun's harmful UV rays.     

Lens Color Considerations

Gray

Gray sunglass lenses reduce light intensity without altering the color of objects.  Thus, they provide the most natural color vision.  Gray is the most popular sunglass lens color in the United States.

Brown

Brown lenses enhance contrast by blocking a larger percentage of blue light than gray lenses do.  Brown lenses provide a warmer appearance to colors and make greens more vibrant. 

Green

Green sunglass lenses provide a cool, soothing tone to colors.  Though not as popular as gray or brown lenses, green lenses are often used to create the classic look of aviator-style sunglasses.

Amber

Amber sunglass lenses block all or nearly all blue light for superior contrast.  Amber-colored lenses are frequently referred to as "blue blocker" lenses or "shooter's sunglasses."  (Amber-colored lenses are popular among hunters because they provide enhanced contrast when looking at birds and clay targets against the sky.)  Though these lenses enhance contrast, they also distort colors and may not be suitable for driving and other activities that require accurate color recognition.

Pink, Orange, Rose and Blue

These and other vibrant colors are available for fashion sunglasses.  These lens colors can cause severe color distortion and are unsuitable for driving and other tasks when color recognition is important.

Color Density Considerations