How to choose glasses to suit your face

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When searching for new glasses, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the huge amount of choice and styles on offer. From face shape and skin tone to personality, various factors can influence what glasses suit your face – and there are plenty of fun ways to reflect your personal style through your specs too.

With this in mind, we’ve partnered with one of the UK’s leading eye care specialists, Boots Opticians, to help you choose glasses to suit your face. We hope you find these tips useful.

Face shape plays a big role in the type of glasses that suit you, because certain styles can help to complement and accentuate your features.

So, if you’re unsure what style of glasses to go for, then considering how they’ll look with your face shape is a good place to start.

We’ll cover some of the most common face shapes below…

Oval is the most common face shape. Oval faces tend to have fairly proportionate features, so the majority of frames tend to suit, which can offer a wider scope of choice.

If you’re feeling bold, oversized frames or angular styles are good options for oval faces. Or, if you’re after a more subtle look, try a teacup frame.

A round-shaped face tends to be shorter in length, with a wider forehead, full cheeks, and a soft jawline.

To best complement these soft features, round frames are a popular option. However, square, rectangular, cat-eye, and angular frames can also look good.

The features of a heart-shaped face can vary, but in most cases, is wider at the forehead and narrower towards the chin.

Aviator styles and cat-eye or round frames tend to complement this face shape best. Semi-rimless glasses can work too.

People with square-shaped faces tend to have a well-defined jawline, and the width and length of their face are often well in proportion.

Square and rectangular frames tend to complement these facial features; and angular, round, and cat-eye frames work well too.

Oblong face shapes are typically defined by their length as they’re often longer than they are wide, with a narrow nose. Oblong and oval face shapes share similarities, but they’re not the same.

Luckily, people with oblong face shapes tend to be quite fortunate when it comes to picking eyewear. Because of the natural balance between the cheeks, chin, and forehead, oblong faces suit most frames – from square and oval frames, to cat-eye and aviator designs.

The size of your face is also worth considering, because glasses that are in good proportion with your face tend to be the most flattering.

For example, frames that are too wide and come down too low have the potential to overwhelm smaller faces; while some frames can easily appear too small or narrow on larger faces.

Petite frames are generally those with a width less than 50mm, while larger frames are normally at least 56mm wide.

If you’re not sure what shape or size face you have, you might like to try taking some selfies or simply study your face in the mirror. Some people also find it useful to print a photo of themselves and trace around it, as this gives a basic outline of their face shape.

You can also find further guidance in this guide to glasses for your face shape on the Boots Opticians website. Alternatively, for in-person advice, it’s worth heading down to your local Boots Opticians store.

What we wear can say a lot about our personality and your glasses can easily be one of the first things that people notice about you.

Black and brown frames are no longer the only options available, so if you’re a bold or creative person, you might like to wear colourful frames – or even patterned frames if you’re feeling particularly adventurous.

Thick, black frames are also a fun way to make a statement for those who’d prefer to bypass colour. As are big, round frames, which communicate quirkiness and a link with vintage style.

On the other hand, if you’d prefer to go for a more serious, professional look, then more traditional colours like brown, grey, black, and gold, and classic frame shapes like rectangles and ovals are good options.

For more advice on how to match frames to your personality, head over to the Boots Opticians website.

People wear glasses for different reasons, and this can can play an important role in finding the right frames for you.

Some of us need to wear glasses everyday, while others only need them for tasks like reading and writing. And while practicality might be the priority for some, style and colour might be top of the list for others.

Another important factor to consider when it comes to finding the right frames is the type of lens you wear. This is because factors including the thickness and weight of a lens will depend on what type of vision it’s designed to correct.

Single vision lenses correct vision for just one distance (for example, long or short sightedness); whereas multifocal lenses correct vision for two or more distances at the same time.

For practicality, some people also like to invest in transition lenses, which automatically adapt to changing light conditions, inside and out.

If you’re unsure about what type of glasses are best suited to your lifestyle, it’s worth heading to your local Boots Opticians where trained experts can offer you advice. Boots currently has an offer of buy one pair of glasses and get a second pair half price.

The sphere value (SPH) on your glasses prescription also plays a role in the type of frames you can choose from.

Sphere value refers to the power of your lens (measured in dioptre units) to the correct degree of how short or long sighted you are. It’s common for this number to be different for each eye.

A – in the box indicates that you’re shortsighted, while A + in the box suggests that you’re longsighted. Prescriptions can range from 0.25 to larger values like 6.00, and the higher the prescription, the stronger the lenses required.

Whether you’re short or long sighted, your prescription can influence your choice of frames. If your prescription is high, you’ll need thicker lenses and therefore thicker frames, while lower prescriptions allow for more delicate lenses – meaning frames can be more delicate too. That being said, there is opportunity for customers with higher prescriptions to upgrade and get thinner lenses.

You can browse the different glasses frames available on the Boots Opticians website – including those from well-loved brands such as Hugo Boss, Ted Baker, and Kate Spade.

Deciding on the colour of your frames can be as simple as choosing your favourite colour.

However, considering what colours complement your skin and eye colour best can help you find the perfect pair of glasses for you – because different tones are better suited to particular hues.

We’ll cover some of the main things to think about when matching glasses to your skin and eye tone below…

Generally speaking, our skin has either a cool or warm undertone, and this can influence what colour frames suit us best.

If you’re not sure what skin tone you have, Boots Opticians advise doing the quick jewellery test. This involves holding two separate pieces of gold and silver jewellery against your skin. If silver looks more flattering on you, you’re cool toned, but if gold suits you better, you’re warm toned.

For those with cool undertones, colours to help complement your look include…

And if you’re warm toned, shades that’ll complement your skin include…

While skin tone is generally the best first port of call, eye colour is worth considering too – especially since your eyes are the reason you’re wearing glasses in the first place!

According to Boots Opticians, brown eyes tend to work best with warmer tones, such as golds and greens, while green eyes work well with earthy tones, but pinks and purples too. Blue eyes tend to be better suited to rich browns and grey tones, which help to make the blue stand out better.

For more advice on matching glasses to your eye colour, head over to the Boots Opticians website.

Lastly, while all of the hints and tips above can be helpful when it comes to choosing glasses, it’s perfectly okay to want to keep things simple and just go for the first pair that you’re drawn to.

In fact, this is one of Boots Opticians’ top tips when it comes to picking glasses. They say, “Simply try on the first pair that catches your eye. Don’t worry if they seem too big, a little brighter than you’d usually go for, or a shape you never thought would suit you. Pop them on, take a look in the mirror and see how you feel.”

Remember, while we can have plenty of fun matching glasses to our face shape, skin tone, and personality, the most important thing is how they make you feel. Ultimately, the right pair of glasses for you will leave you feeling happy, confident, and ready to face the day.

Whether you wear glasses on a daily basis, or just for tasks like reading and driving, finding the right pair of specs for you can make a huge difference.

For more help finding the right glasses for your face, head over to the Boots Opticians website or speak to experts at a store near you.

Alternatively, head over to the fashion and beauty section of our website where you’ll find everything from how to dress with colour and confidence to beard care and makeup tips.

Have you found these tips useful? What other factors help you to choose glasses for your face? We’d love to hear from you! Join the conversation on the Rest Less community forum, or leave a comment below.

Francesca Williams is a lifestyle writer at Rest Less. She joined Rest Less in early 2021 after achieving a first-class degree in History at the University of Sheffield and qualifying as an NCTJ Gold Standard Journalist. Francesca writes across a range of lifestyle topics, specialising in health, history, and art and culture. In her spare time, Francesca likes to keep herself busy and enjoys going on walks, playing netball, going to the gym, getting involved with her local church, and socialising with friends and family.

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