Face Shape Guide

How to figure out your face shape

The first thing you'll need to do is determine what shape your face is. This might seem like a step that requires no thought. After all, you've lived with your face for years. You know what shape it is. But think about this in a different context. You have a specific mission here: thinking about your face not as what you see in the mirror every day, but as a canvas for the right pair of glasses.

Everyone's face can be a combination of some of the categories below. But to determine the best glasses for you, you should first get a sense of what your face leans toward.

1. Round face shape

This isn’t to say that your face is a perfect circle. Or that you have a “fat” face. Rather, a round overall look is what happens when the widest part of your face is clearly on the horizontal middle—roughly between the tip of your nose and your eyes. If the bottom and top of your face are roughly symmetrical when you balance these two areas, that’s a good indicator that you have a “round” face.

Best frames: Round, rectangular

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• The sharper angles of square glasses bring some contrast to the round face, ensuring that the two complement each other nicely.
• A slight upward angle at the top of the glasses can add more emphasis to your eyes.
• Choose a size that fits in proportion to your face so that the glasses don’t overwhelm.

Round glasses on a round face can only serve to highlight your round features, when you should be looking for a complementary pair of glasses that offers nice contrast. The sharp angles here will add a more angled element that brings something new to your features.

2. Square face shape

To identify a square face, a lot of your attention should be on the bottom half—below the eyes. You’ve heard of the phrase “square jaw,” for example. You have a square face if you have very wide cheekbones and your chin is more level with your jaw. This creates a more “angular” look than a round face, giving more visual weight to the bottom half of your face.

Best frames: Oval, round

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• If choosing oval glasses, make sure that their width is in proportion to the rest of your face—going too wide, for example, can “narrow” that part of your face visually.
• Avoid sharp angles on your glasses here. This will only highlight the sharp features that give your face a square shape.
• Make sure the top of the oval/round frames sit neatly on your brow, giving them a natural fit that will sit in proportion to the rest of your face.

The same concept is working here as with the square glasses above. You want to add something to a square face that evens things out by adding the element that your face might not naturally have.

3. Triangle face shape

We’re all familiar with the concept of a triangle—but which way it’s pointed is what will determine whether you have a “triangle-shaped face.” In this case, triangles refer to a wider face on the bottom half, which will give your face the shape of pointing upwards as it narrows by the forehead. This asymmetry is important to note, because you can easily counter-balance it with the shape of your glasses.

Best frames: Frames that emphasize the top rim.

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• A “heavier” top rim can either be more material on the top rim, or a darker color, or both.
• Avoid “rimless” glasses, since those won’t offer the top-heavy balance you’re going for in these rims. You want something with a little oomf.
• The width of the glasses should also be pronounced at the top, which will add more to the overall balance you’re looking for.

Same principles at work: finding balance. In this case, a face that has more wideness on the bottom can benefit from glasses that emphasize the top. The result is a more balanced overall shape that really highlights your eyes.

4. Heart face shape

Think of the heart shape as the opposite of the triangle-shaped face noted above. In this case, the wider portions of your face will tend to be above the center line between the nose and eyes, giving your face a “top-heavy” appearance that you’ll want to balance out with your choice of glasses.

Best frames: Square, round, Balanced frames

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• Don’t go for glasses with a lot of vertical space, as this will add to the “top-heavy” look of your face.
• You can go round, square, or rounded squares with the frames.
• A subtle widening at the bottom helps you contrast the shape of your face.

Since your face is wider on top with this shape, and your glasses have to go on the top portion of your face, you want to minimize the “widening” impact these glasses have on you. You can do this by keeping vertically short, balanced glasses. This will reduce the emphasis on the top portion of your face as much as possible, giving you a cleaner look.

5. Oval face shape

We all have oval shaped faces to one degree or another. But here’s the way to think about the oval shape being distinguished from the rest: if you have a symmetrical face but don’t have the horizontal balance of the “Round face,” there’s a good chance you have an oval-shaped face. That means that your proportions are evened out, but you simply don’t have that wide a face. If your face is slimmer or simply less wide than the other examples on this list, there’s a good chance that you’ll want to consider it “oval.”

Best frames: Versatile! Feel free to pick

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• The rims you choose can be just about any style, giving you plenty of options when you choose for an oval face. But do be a bit wary of throwing off the natural balance of your face with too much eccentricity.
• Look for frames that are in proportion to your face size overall, as you can still throw off the balance with frames that are too large or small.
• Don’t be afraid to choose frames that are top-heavy or wider in one portion; an even, oval face will give you the flexibility to do so.

Since a narrow, symmetrical face gives you versatility when it comes to picking your glasses, you’re basically free to pick here. It may come down more to your personal sense of style than it does looking for any type of frame to round out the features of your face.

Finding the perfect glasses for your perfect face starts with, well, knowing your face shape.

We all have oval shaped faces to one degree or another. But here’s the way to think about the oval shape being distinguished from the rest: if you have a symmetrical face but don’t have the horizontal balance of the “Round face,” there’s a good chance you have an oval-shaped face. That means that your proportions are evened out, but you simply don’t have that wide a face. If your face is slimmer or simply less wide than the other examples on this list, there’s a good chance that you’ll want to consider it “oval.”