Choosing Eyeglass Frames for Your Face Shape

Do you ever read magazine features that are supposed to help you figure out what shape your face is? Do you then stand in front of the mirror, examining every angle of your face, trying to figure out the category yours fits into?

The truth is, most people don’t have a face shape that’s easy to categorize.
Our solution is to pull your hair back, and grab an eye pencil, bar of soap, a light shade of lipstick, or a dry erase marker, and face a mirror. Use your tool of choice and draw on the mirror an outline of your face. Looking at the shape, is it more square, round, diamond, oval, heart (triangle), or long (oblong)? If you can’t decide, grab an honest friend to determine what shape you are.

Square Faces
A person who has a square face has wide cheekbones, a wide forehead, and a strong jaw line. To smooth out the angular features of your face, choose frames with round edges like cat-eye, oval, or round styles.
Celebrities like you: Sandra Bullock and Nick Lachey

Round Faces
If you have a round face, you should avoid frameless glasses, wraparound frames, and round frames. A round face looks great with glasses that, from temple to temple, are a little longer than the width of your face. This long length will make your face look thinner and longer than it is. Glasses that are angular in shape, such as rectangle or square frames, also look good on round faces.
Celebrities like you: Kristen Dunst and Kanye West

Diamond Faces
Someone with a diamond face has prominent cheekbones, but a narrow forehead and jaw line. Oval frames look good on a diamond face because they help to create a balanced look, and rimless frames look great on a diamond face because they display your great cheekbones. Upswept cat-eye or butterfly designs also complement this kind of face very well.
Celebrities like you: Rihanna and Johnny Depp

Oval Faces
People with oval faces are lucky because they look good with any glasses shape; however, you must still keep size proportion in mind. Someone with a large face needs large frames, and a small face calls for petite frames. The best style for an oval face is square frames with softly rounded edges.
Celebrities like you: Elle MacPherson and James Franco

Heart-shaped or Triangle Faces
If you have a wide forehead and narrow jaw, you have a heart-shaped or triangle face. Upswept frames like butterfly or cat-eyes look great on this shape because the wide angles at the top balance your narrow jaw line. Frames that have a rimless bottom or a straight line across the top, like aviators, have the same effect.
Celebrities like you: Christina Ricci and Gerard Way

Oblong Faces
If your face is longer than it is wide, then you have an oblong face. A long face can be softened and shortened with round or square glasses. This type of face can gain added width and dimension through frames that have decorations at the temples, frames that have contrasting colors, or frames that are short in height and long in width.
Celebrities like you: Gwyneth Paltrow and Bruce Lee

Noses
Besides face shape, the other important facial feature to keep in mind when choosing glasses is your nose. For reasons of both style and comfort, your nose type can dictate the type of glasses best for you.

Large Noses
If you have a large or broad nose, you should be sure the bridge of your glasses is not too small, which could lead to discomfort. Keep in mind that small, delicate glasses can make your nose appear larger, while oversized frames can leave your nose looking smaller.
Celebrities like you: Sarah Jessica Parker and Ben Stiller

Long Nose
If you have a long nose, glasses that have a double bridge or a low bridge will make your nose appear shorter. Likewise, glasses that have high sidebars will draw the eye up toward the temples and away from your nose.
Celebrities like you: Blake Lively and Tom Cruise

Small Nose
If you have a small nose and you would like to create length and proportion, glasses with a high bridge can give you that. Also, glasses that have adjustable nose pads are great for a person with a thin nose because you can adjust them so they will not slide down.
Celebrities like you: Brooke Shields and Rob Lowe