Category
Glasses
Richard Lee, 6 May 2024

Choosing the Best Eyeglasses for Your Face

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Are you tired of spending hours at the eye doctor’s office trying to determine which pair of glasses look best on you? You’re not alone. In fact, according to The Vision Council, more than 63.7% of Americans either permanently or occasionally wear prescription eyeglasses.

With thousands of eyeglass frame brands to choose from, figuring out which pair of glasses looks good and fits your face can be frustrating and challenging. However, by knowing the shape of your face, the color of your eyes and the shade of your hair, you can quickly choose your next pair of glasses with confidence.

What Are the Best Glasses for My Face Shape?

Hearts, ovals, squares, and circles aren’t just arbitrary shapes when it comes to choosing glasses. These shapes can also describe the size and contour of your face. Knowing what shape your face resembles makes choosing flattering glasses much easier.

An oval face has balanced facial features with a narrow chin and wider forehead.
A round face is typically defined as a soft, circular shape where the width and length of the face are more or less equal.
Heart-shaped faces tend to have wide foreheads and narrow jawlines with a small chin.
Square faces have angular features like a broad forehead, well-defined jawline, and strong cheekbones.

What is my Face Shape?

Determining your particular face shape can be challenging. If you are unsure of your face shape, consider following these quick steps to determine what shape of face you have:

Place a piece of paper on top of a photo of your face and trace the outline.
Stand in front of a mirror and use a dry erase marker, lipstick, or eyeliner to outline your face shape.
Using a flexible tape measure, take measurements of your face.
1. Measure your cheek-to-cheek width, your jawline, your forehead, and the length of your face.

Choose Glasses That Compliment Your Face Shape

Once you’ve determined the size and shape of your face, it’s time to choose eyeglass frames that best accentuate your unique look. Whether you’re looking for everyday spectacles or fashionable sunglasses, knowing your face shape will make shopping for glasses much easier. Here is an overview of each face shape and which frames work well with it.

Oval Shaped Faces: Shop for styles with geometric shaped frames like rectangles and squares. Stay away from thick, oversized, and narrow frames.
Round Shaped Faces: Try angular, geometric, rectangular, and upswept frames and avoid choosing round or oversized frames.
Heart Shaped Faces: Choose bottom-heavy frames, low-set temple frames, oval-shaped frames or other light, rimless styles. Stay away from embellished, top-heavy, or wide-top frames.
Square Shaped Faces: Look for rectangle, square, cat-eye or wayfarer glasses and aviator or wrap-style sunglasses. Avoid boxy, oval, and heavy brow frames.

Pair Your Glasses Frames with Your Eye Color

Though it may be an unexpected factor to consider when choosing glasses frames, your eye color can have subtle, positive influences on your overall appearance.

By selecting frames that are similar to your eye color, you can achieve a natural, mellow look. Contrasting colors, on the other hand, have a more dramatic appearance that can make your eye color pop. Here are eyeglass frame advice for each eye color:

Blue eyes: Coordinate your frames and eye color with blue and gray tones like mineral, cadet, or dusk. Contrast with your eyes by selecting rich browns and tortoise colors like brindle or dark chocolate.
Green eyes: Go for frame styles with earthy tones like gold, browns, and greens for a more natural appearance. Pair your green eyes with shades of pink, opal and purple to create a stark, contrasting look.
Hazel eyes: Deep greens and grays give hazel eyes natural depth, while gold shades like amber and topaz bring out vibrant flecks hidden in hazel eyes. Find frames that incorporate these green and gray tones.
Brown eyes: Give your brown eyes a rich look with warm frame tones like sepia or russet and provide stark contrast with green colors like olive, chartreuse or artichoke.

Pair Your Glasses Frames with Your Hair Color

Whether you have natural or dyed hair, choosing the proper glasses frame color can have a big impact on your overall appearance. Though it’s important to consider the shade of your hair when picking out frames, you should also consider the warm or cool undertones that exist as well. When selecting frames consider use these tips based on your hair color.

Warm blonde hair: Your hair has honey and bronze tones that give off a slightly darker appearance. Consider warm pastel frame colors like hemlock and peach or tortoise and brindle patterns.
Cool blonde hair: Being a cool blonde means you have ashy undertones that brighten your overall color for more of a platinum shade. You can easily choose frames with black, blue, dark green and light pink tones, but stay away from bright yellow or gold.
Warm brown hair: As a warm brown, your hair contains darker shade of brown with auburn and red undertones. Choose light tortoise frames with warm tones like hemlock and bourbon. Also consider warm reds, creamy whites, and vivid green frames.
Cool brown hair: Your cool brown hair has lighter shades of brown and ashy tones that pair great with black, pink, blue or dark tortoise frames.
Red hair: Lucky for you, your vibrant red hair makes you the perfect candidate for rich greens, tortoises, and black frames. For best results, steer clear of ashy and yellowy toned frames.
Black hair: Your black hair complements saturated, bright colors like sea and cranberry. You will also look great in black and dark tortoise frames but avoid ashy, washed-out tones.
Gray/white hair: With gray-toned hair, you have a unique opportunity to wear crisp, bright colored frames. Stay away from yellow and brown shades and reach for bold blacks, radiant reds, or gunmetal grays.

Save on Your Glasses Frames with VSP Vision Insurance

Ready to start shopping for your next pair of perfect glasses frames? Now that you know what glasses will look best on you, get the most out of an individual plan from VSP® to get started with an affordable family vision insurance plan. If you don’t have a vision insurance plan, enroll online today and start by finding the best vision insurance plan for you.

Disclaimer: Information received through VSP Individual Vision Plans’ social media channels is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, medical recommendations, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.