Sunglasses typically fall into one of three categories: Frames that look absolutely ridiculous, frames that are totally passable, or frames that completely lift and transform your face. Most of us seek out glasses that fall into that last category. We want to find the absolute best sunglasses for our face shape—ones that take our features and make them look even more beautiful. To learn how to do that, we polled a handful of eyewear experts. Keep reading as they explain how to find your face shape and match it to a pair of standout specs.
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How Can I Find My Face Shape?
This is where you should start in your quest for new sunglasses.
"Once you know the general shape of your face, choosing the best frames is usually a matter of opposite attraction," says Hillary Balch, product development and merchandising expert at Blenders Eyewear. "For example, round face shapes are best suited to square and rectangular styles, whereas frames with rounded corners soften a square jawline."
Take a look at the below illustration and the following tips.
iStock/askmenow
Take your measurements
Measure your face from chin to forehead, cheek to cheek, jawline to jawline, and temple to temple to get a sense of your general proportions. Then, compare those measurements to a face-shape diagram like the one above. If your features tend to be uniform, you may have a square shape; if they vary, you may have a rounder shape.
Use an app
You don't need to take your own measurements to find your face shape. Nowadays, there are plenty of apps that can analyze a selfie and tell you where you stand. Try Find Your Face Shape for Apple or Hitface for Google Play.
Assess these three zones
LightFieldStudios / iStock
Look at your face and find the widest part of your face—is it your forehead, cheekbones, or jaw. Then, look at the length of your face—is it long or short? Finally, assess your jawline—is it round, square, or pointed? Compare your results to the diagram above to learn your shape.
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Best Sunglasses for Oval Faces
Try them all: "Most oval face shapes can fit numerous frame shapes due to the balance of the forehead to cheekbones to the chin," says Laura Howard, eyewear designer at Vera Wang. You don't need to balance out any of your features, so you can give anything a go.
Oversized: That said, Howard loves oversized frames on this face shape—think Jackie Kennedy in the '80s and opt for a round or oval shape.
Cat-eye: These frames can give your face some angles, especially if your face is a tiny bit narrower at the chin than the forehead.
Best Sunglasses for Square Faces
LaylaBird / iStock
Round: "While it may be cool to be square, a round or oval frame will help soften your angular features," says Howard. "Try finding a frame that is slightly wider than your cheekbones."
Oval: These frames have a similar effect. "The soft curves help offset the strong angles of a square jawline and create balance," says James Firestein, founder and CEO of the designer resale destination OpenLuxury.
Browline: These glasses are thicker on the top, where they run parallel to your brow bone. By adding volume there, they can minimize the strength of the jaw.
Best Sunglasses for Round Faces
FabrikaCr / iStock
Cat-eye: "If you have a soft baseline that is about the same width all around, you can spice it up with some angles," says Howard. You can't go wrong with a clean-lined cat-eye.
Rectangular: "These frames add a sharp structure," says Howard.
Shield frames: A shield frame can be tricky to pull off, but Balch says people with round faces can wear them with ease. Experiment with a few pairs in person to make sure you get it right.
Best Sunglasses for Oblong Faces
Victoria Fox / Shutterstock
Cat-eye: "The rounded edges help create width and balance out the length of the face," says Firestein. "For example, a mid-sized cat eye with a retro feel helps soften sharp jawlines, adds curves, and creates an uplifting effect that takes focus away from the lower face."
Rounded wayfarers: "For casual, everyday wear, rounded wayfarer-inspired styles work well and provide a stylish, timeless look," says Firestein.
Thick frames: Adding a bit of bulk at your eye level—no matter the shape—can help balance out a longer chin and high forehead.
Best Sunglasses for Diamond Faces
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A / Shutterstock
Horn rim: "A chunky brow line frame, such as a horn rim, would highlight the cheekbones while still being soft to the rest of your face," says Howard.
Oval: This easy-to-wear everyday shape has subtle curves that won't overwhelm any of your other features.
Cat-eye: "The upswept shape complements the narrow forehead and jawline while emphasizing the cheekbones, and the wider top portion of cat eye frames helps create an illusion of width in the upper face," says Firestein.
Best Sunglasses for Heart Faces
Iuliia Fadeeva / Shutterstock
Aviators: "Heart-shaped faces are the only exception to the opposites attract rule in that they require copying (and complementing) the silhouette rather than contrasting it," says Balch. "Since aviator frames are wider at the top and tapered at the bottom, they mirror the outline of a heart-shaped face."
Cat-eye: "The angled top outer corners beautifully complement the natural contours of a heart face by adding balance and symmetry, and I always recommend a cat-eye with a light to medium frame thickness since thinner frames can make the forehead and jawline appear wider," says Firestein.
Round: Since heart-shaped faces tend to taper from the forehead to the chin, a round frame can give you some volume at the mid-point.
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Other Things to Consider
Cookie Studio / Shutterstock
Skin Tone
An easy way to determine your skin undertones is by looking at the veins on your wrist: Blue or purple ones tend to indicate you're cool, while green ones tend to indicate you're warm
If you have a warmer skin tone, choose frames in a warmer color, like brown, red, yellow, green, or orange. If you have a cooler skin tone, choose frames in a cooler color, like silver, blue, tortoise, pink, or black.
Hairstyle
You can also match your glasses to the warm or cool tones of your hair color (your stylist will be able to identify where your strands fall!). Warmer hair colors pair nicely with warm frames, and cool colors pair well with cool ones.
Lifestyle
Before investing in a new pair of sunglasses, consider your overall lifestyle. If you're constantly on the go and forgetting a pair on every restaurant table, you may want to stick to a more affordable price point. Or, if you're always outside under the sun's rays in the summer, you may want to choose a more full-coverage pair.
Conclusion
Finding the best sunglasses for your face shape starts with learning your unique face shape and pairing glasses shapes with it. Many experts say opposites attract: If you have a rounder face, choose a more angular frame; if you have a more angular face, choose a more rounded frame. However, you'll also want to try things on—that's the only way to know you've found your perfect pair.
