Choosing the right sunglasses for your facial shape can be overwhelming, to say the least. Especially when you don’t have any guideline as to which shapes and sizes go best with which facial characteristics, skin tone and hair colour. With sunglasses forming such an important part of your style – elevating your daily look while also protecting your eyes from the sun – investing in the right pair of sunnies will certainly go a long way.
After some digging, here is what I’ve found works best when going sunglass shopping:

What’s your face shape?
First things first. You need to determine your face shape. How? According to Kraywoods, the best way to do that is by taking lipstick, a whiteboard marker or a bar of soap. Then, standing in front of a mirror, trace the outline of your face on the mirror’s surface, keeping your hand from straying. Take a step back and take a look at the shape. It will either be an oval face, heart face, square face, long face or round face.

Identify the best sunglasses for your face shape
Now, here are some recommended sunglasses for specific face shapes:
Round face
A round face shape and square face shape are rather similar, with the round face shape just having softer angles. With this shape, you want to pick a pair of sunglasses that will have a lengthening effect. So, choose sunglasses that are a little oversized, with frames wider than your face. Rectangular sunglass frames are bound to work well with this face shape too. Rounded or narrow frames will emphasize the roundness of your face, so try to avoid those. The same goes for coloured lenses, which will exaggerate fullness.

Oval face
This face shape is characterised by a wide forehead and curved chin. It’s pretty much an upside down egg shape, where your cheekbones are the widest part of your face. If you have an oval face, you want to emphasize the harmonious parts of your face and you can do that by opting for frames as wide as your face and avoiding oversized frames. The upper part of the sunglasses’ frame should not go beyond your eyebrows. Smooth-lined sunglasses are best for the oval shaped face and you will easily look sophisticated and stylish with a pair of cat-eye, rectangle, square, browline, aviator or geometric polarised sunglasses. This face shape is quite versatile, though, with most sunglass shapes bound to be a good fit.
Square face
With a square shaped face, your forehead, cheekbones and jaw are all pretty much the same length and width. Balance this out with rounded or oval sunglasses, which will soften your face’s proportions. Look for sunglasses with a frame in proportion with the width of your face and not wider. Round, cat-eye, browline, aviator, oval and square sunglasses could work with this face shape. At the same time, stay away from sharp, geometric lines, which will harden and accentuate your face’s already prominent lines.
READ: STYLE YOUR WEEK – HOW TO PLAN A WEEK’S WORTH OF OUTFITS

Heart Shape
This shape is quite similar to the round face, only with a wider forehead and a pointed chin. Balance out the top of your face with angled and bold coloured sunglass frames that are wider on the top than at the bottom. Cat-eye, rectangle, square, aviator and geometric sunglasses will all work with this face shape, as well as round sunglasses. On the other hand, overly embellished glasses might not be the best way to go.

Choose the Right Sunglasses for your Skin Tone and Hair Colour
You might not have realised, but skin tone also has an effect on which sunglasses work best. If your skin has a warm undertone, darker shades of brown, gold or green sunglasses will work wonderfully. Alternatively, if your skin has cool undertones, opting for dark blues or rich pinks will ensure that you highlight your beautiful skin tone.
Depending on your personal style and whether you want to create a quiet luxury type of vibe, or make a bold statement, your hair colour also has a say in how to choose the right sunglasses. If you have light-coloured hair, a contrasting, darker shade of sunglasses will make you stand out from the crowd. For medium coloured hair, purple, white or silver mirror glasses work brilliantly when your hair has a cool undertone. Warmer, medium hair colours are complemented by blue, green or black sunglasses. And, those with dark hair can go all out, with most sunglasses fitting the colour of your hair. Best bet: Bring in blacks, bright whites, primary and vibrant secondary colours to look on trend.
For some additional guidance, Sunglass Hut’s website allows you to explore the five main face shapes, identifying sunglass frame styles that will complement and balance your facial features. It also looks into the theory of colours to identify your ideal colour palette based on your skin undertone, hair colour and even your eye colour.
Also, there are numerous apps out there that could help you find the perfect pair of sunglasses for your face shape. These include Virtual Try-On, VirTry and Glassify.

Whether you’re looking to stand out in a crowd, or whether you’d like to blend in with more subtle, yet elegant quiet luxury sunglasses, this is how to choose the right sunglasses for your face.
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