• by Les Luchter , Staff Writer, March 5, 2026

As someone who wears neither contact lenses nor eye makeup, I came in fairly blind to a recent joint interview with top marketing execs from Johnson & Johnson’s Acuvue and Estée Lauder’s Clinique.

A month ago, the two brands launched a first-of-its-kind educational campaign to let women know it's okay to wear the two together, so first I wanted to know why.

Turns out there’s been “pretty significant” growth in the wearing of contact lenses, especially among young people, said Christie Sclater, Clinique’s senior vice president of global marketing, but many Gen Z-ers and milllennials “don’t know they can also wear eye makeup.”

Three years after Clinique named Dr. Ashley Brissette as its “guiding ophthalmologist,” the pair has released research with 40% of study respondents saying their eyes have become more sensitive during that time period, Sclater said, and 60% of those with vision prescriptions “talking about how important it is for makeup to be ophthalmologist-tested.”

The latter is a source of pride for Clinique, which Sclater said has brandished an “Eye Safety Promise” since the brand’s launch by a dermatologist and beauty editor over 55 years ago. “Every single piece of makeup is ophthalmologist-tested, safe for sensitive eyes and safe for contact lens wearers,” she explained.

That commitment from Clinique helped bring the two brands together, added Acuvue Vice President of Marketing Christopher Yarashas, noting that Acuvue has its own long-standing “Comfort Promise,” which commits to 100% satisfaction within 90 days.

So far, the joint Acuvue/Clinique campaign consists of a couple of collaborative social media posts (this initial announcement followed by this "Get Ready With Me" video) and individual landing pages (Clinique’s touting a 'visionary collaboration' and Acuvue’s promising 'beauty that's seen, comfort that's felt').

Acuvue is also offering a free trial, which must be prescribed by an eyecare professional, which comes with a 20%-off Clinique.com discount code.

The offer is good through October, by which time the two brands expect to have added many more elements to their educational effort.

“We didn’t even realize how much of a need there was until we started,” related Sclater.

Indeed, “engagement’s been so high” already, reported Yarashas, that “it’s requiring us to act really quickly to continue to look at the partnership opportunities.”

“This is not one-and-done,” declared Sclater. “This is not just a big splash. This is an ongoing commitment that we both have. We’re talking about how people can feel confident with their self-expression.”

She added, “We have products that are all safe for contact lens users, but people don’t know that." With Acuvue, the aim is to help “people understand that you can wear contact lenses and express yourself in a way that you want to.”

Upcoming activities will include posts from influencers (contact lens wearers who use eye makeup, of course, per Sclater) and increased outreach to eye care professionals (per Yarashas).

You can also expect activations around key life moments for Gen Z-ers and millennials, such as spring marriages and college graduations: “Those moments where they’re looking for some help and learning, and to celebrate some great things happening in their lives," Sclater said.

The aim, according to Sclater, is to reach people “who are making the switch, whether they’re switching their makeup or switching into contact lenses" -- or, as Yarashas put it, to reach “today’s contact lens wearers who are looking to express themselves comfortably and also creatively…to advance eye education overall, not only from a vision standpoint, but also beauty.”