The best glasses for your face shape and skin tone

Why do some eyeglasses look attractive on display in the optical shop, but not so great when you try them on?

It could be that the frames are the wrong style for your face shape. Your face shape plays a significant role in whether a certain style of glasses will look good on you.

What is my face shape?

To determine your face shape and which eyeglass styles will look best on you, pull your hair away from your face and look directly into a mirror. Take a close look at the overall shape and contours of your face and head.
Here are the seven primary face shapes and the type of eyeglass frames that look best on each shape:

Oval face shape
An oval face shape is ideal because of its balanced proportions.
To maintain the natural balance of an oval face shape, look for eyeglass frames that are as wide as (or wider than) the broadest part of the face. Walnut-shaped frames that are not too deep or narrow are a very good choice.

Heart-shaped face
A heart-shaped face has a wide top third and a narrow bottom third.
To reduce the apparent width of the top of the face, choose frame shapes that are wider at the bottom. Thin, light-coloured frames and rimless frames that have a light, airy appearance also are good choices.

Oblong face shape
An oblong face shape is longer than it is wide and has a long, straight cheek line.
To make an oblong face appear shorter and more balanced, try frames that have more depth than width. Frames with decorative or contrasting temples also add width to the face.

Square face shape
A square face shape has a strong jaw and a broad forehead, and the width and length of the face have roughly the same proportions.
To make a square face look longer and soften its angles, try narrow frame styles, frames that have more width than depth, and narrow ovals.

Diamond face shape
Diamond-shaped faces are narrow at the forehead and jawline and have broad cheekbones that may be high and dramatic. This is the rarest face shape.
To highlight the eyes and soften the cheekbones, try frames that have detailing or distinctive brow lines. Rimless eyeglasses and frames with oval or cat-eye shapes also can be good choices.

Round face shape
A round face shape has curved lines with the width and length in the same proportions and no angles.To make a round face appear thinner and longer, try angular narrow eyeglass frames to lengthen the face. Frames with a clear bridge and rectangular frames that are wider than they are deep also can be good choices.

Base-down triangle
A base-down triangular face shape has a narrow forehead and widens at the cheek and chin areas.To add width and emphasize the narrow upper third of the face, try frames that are heavily accented with colour and detailing on the top half (brow) of the frame. Frames with cat-eye shapes also can be good choices.

Skin tones, eye colour and hair colour

When choosing eyeglasses, face shape isn’t the only factor that determines which frames will look best on you — your skin tone, eye colour and hair colour also play important roles.
The best frames will complement the coloration of your face, eyes and hair.

Skin tone
Regardless of the colour of your skin, skin tones are categorized as either “cool” or “warm”.A cool complexion has blue or pink undertones, and a warm complexion has a “peaches and cream” or yellow cast. Olive skin is considered cool because it is a mixture of blue and yellow.

Eye colour
Eye colours usually are a secondary element in determining your colouring because of the many variations of eye colour. For example, blue eyes can range from a cool almost-violet to a pale blue-grey, which is warm. Brown eyes can vary from a light cider shade (warm) through a medium brown to a cool almost-black.

Hair colour
Hair colours also are considered warm or cool. Strawberry blond, platinum, blue-black, white, auburn, salt-and-pepper and ash brown are cool. Warm hair colours include golden blond, brownish black, brown-gold and “dirty grey”.

Eyeglass frame colours
Once you have determined if you are “warm” or “cool,” then you can find the eyeglass frame colours that will suit you the best.
Examples of frame colours best for warm colouring are camel, khaki, gold, copper, peach, orange, coral, off-white, fire-engine red, warm blue and blond tortoise.
For cool colouring, the best eyeglass frame hues are black, silver, rose-brown, blue-grey, plum, magenta, pink, jade, blue and demi-amber (darker) tortoise.