Whether you’ve thought about it before or not, we all have our own face shape. Your face shape will generally dictate the type of glasses and even hair style you select as you will want to choose something that will work with your natural features. So if you need everyday glasses or just the occasional reading glasses, here are some tips as to what will compliment these common face shapes.
Square Face
Someone with a square face will have strong, angled features. Your facial features include having a strong jaw line with a square chin and a broad forehead. You’ll be able to recognize this facial type easily because the width of your face should be around the same as the length of it, hence the name!
You are in good company! Celebrities with a square face shape include Sandra Bullock, Jamie Pressly, Raquel Welch, Lea Michele, Rosario Dawson and Sigourney Weaver. There are also men like David Beckham and Brad Pitt who have a natural square shape.
When you’re buying your regular or reading glasses, look for oval, round or butterfly shaped frames that will soften your features. You may also have heard that glasses with “center set” temples work well for you. This just means the part that rests on your nose and connects the glasses are flush or nearly flush with the top of the frames.
Try and stay away from glasses that have sharp angles or are square-shaped as these tend to accentuate your natural angles. Glasses that have color accents on the bottom will also draw emphasis to the chin as will glasses with low-set temples.
Round Face
Round face shapes are defined by soft features. You’ll tend to have a round chin and/or full cheeks. The width and length of your face shape are also in proportion with each other.
Many celebrities and models sport a naturally round, soft facial type. Check out Gwyneth Paltrow, Nicole Richie, Viola Davis, Penelope Cruz, Jennifer Hudson, Sally Field, and Oprah.
To counter the natural softness of your face, you can go bold with angular and geometric shaped glasses. Sharpen your angles with square or rectangular shaped frames. You can also make your face appear longer and thinner with these shapes and with frames that connect at the top. Upswept glasses (think retro cat eye glasses and similar shapes) will also help draw attention to the top of your face.
Be wary of glasses that are not in proportion with your features. Short frames and rounded glasses will accentuate the length and width of your face.
Oval Face
Everyone says that oval face shapes are the most versatile when it comes to selecting your regular or reading glasses. And they’re right! Your face is proportionally balanced naturally and is complimented with soft features. Your chin can be a little bit narrower than your forehead and your cheekbones tend to be high. You are very lucky as you have your choice of many styles of frames. What you should watch out for, however, are frames that are just too large for your features. Stay within your proportions. To add angles to the softness of your face, go for square, rectangular or geometric shaped glasses.
Celebrities with oval-shaped faces include Jessica Alba, Britney Spears, Elizabeth Taylor, Heather Locklear, Julia Roberts, and Tyra Banks.
If you are having trouble deciding which face shape you have, try standing in front of a mirror and outlining the shape of your face using lipstick or something you can wipe away easily. When you’re done, take a step back and you should be able to determine which shape you have.
Evelyn Singer is part owner of OpticalUSA.com, an online retailer specializing in reading glasses for men and women. For over 10 years, Evelyn has been helping customers of all ages find suitable styles and strengths of reading glasses to help make their everyday activities easier and more stylish. She also authors a blog covering a range of reading wear topics.