The best glasses for small faces | Oval, round, rectangular, heart-shaped (2023)

FAQs

What glasses look good on small faces? ›

What style of glasses are good for small faces? Even if you have a small face, your glasses should still be proportional to your face shape. Rectangular, oval and cat-eye frames are a top choice for petite glasses as they won't dominate your facial features.

Oval Glasses

Oval shapes are great glasses frames for heart-shaped faces because their curves can add contrast to angular features. This contrast draws attention to the eyes and highlights your cheekbones.

Long story short, heart shaped faces can never go wrong with rounded frames. The best way to balance a wider forehead is to add width to the lower half of the face. Aviators are perfect for heart shaped faces as their bottom-heavy shape draws attention downwards.

Round glasses frames are great for a classic style while rectangular frames can give you a sleek modern look. But before choosing a pair of glasses, be sure you know which style works best for your face shape. Check out our guide to get a look at PAIR Eyewear's base frames.

Generally, warm-colored frames can make you appear younger. Warm tones suit most faces, especially browns, burgundies, berry tones, and jewel tones. Of course, you should choose a color that suits your skin tone. It can also be helpful to choose shinier materials to give your eyes an extra sparkle.

Make sure you choose a frame that's the right size and shape for your face. Smaller, thinner frames are a great choice if you wish to enlarge your eyes, while large, thick frames will make your eyes appear smaller.

Frames to Avoid

If you want to draw attention away from your chin, avoid rimless frames or aviators. Square sunglasses add angular lines that could make your features look sharper than they already are. Avoid them if you're looking to soften your features.

Kenneth Beer, the heart-shaped face is considered to be the ideal face shape because it is seen as more youthful. This is because, as we age, the fat pads in the middle and upper face droop and collect at the bottom third of the face, causing the face to have more of a pyramid shape.

While there are many shapes that suit round faces, square and rectangle glasses tend to work the best because they add flattering contrast.

People with round faces look great in bold, thick, full-rimmed frames with angular lines. These frames contrast and balance to your softer, rounder features.

What glasses for round chubby face? ›

Wide frames with a flat top are ideal for round faces as they add width without drawing attention to the roundness of your face. Wayfarer-style frames with a rounder, teardrop shape aren't suitable for round faces, but those with longer temples and minimally curved browlines can work.

The best glasses for making you look younger are those that are uplifting to the face. The shape of your frames can help you achieve a natural facelift. Softer and more rounded corners are more desirable than sharp edges. Rounded corners help to soften the facial features and naturally lift the features of the face.

MOST FLATTERING FRAMES

For women, round and oval frames add softness to angular features, while cat-eye frames can add volume around narrow cheekbones. Men might opt for round or browline frames to balance facial features.

Don't go with any circular frames or frames that are small, as these can make your face look rounder. You should also stay away from frameless glasses. Faces with an oval shape work with the most number of frames and are considered an ideal shape.

As a rule, at least the top half of your eyebrows should be visible. Your glasses shouldn't cover them completely, nor should they show them so much that your eyebrows look like they're floating on top of your frame.

Retro, 1970s-inspired tinted lenses will be popular in 2023, especially lenses in red, orange, and yellow, which have been spotted by trendsetters at Coachella. It's being called the “new retro.” Metallic frames paired with tinted lenses will also trend next year, as well as aviator-style frames.

Opt for a lighter eyeshadow rather than a dark, smoky shade on your eyelids and around the eyes, like Jenna Dewan Tatum. "Highlighting the corners makes eyes look brighter and fresh," says Ahnert. "Use a light color shadow in matte or shimmer to inner corner, lower lash line in outer corner, and the inner lid."

Bold glasses may seem like a stark contrast for your face, but the large lenses are a great way to appear younger. Oversized frames take attention away from any imperfections you're looking to hide. Not to mention, glasses that make you look younger also tend to be bold in color and thick in construction.

Round Face: Eyeglass frames that are square or rectangular tend to be wider than a round face. This quality can enhance your face by making it appear slimmer and longer, adding balance to your round features.

When you have a heart-shaped face, you can wear your hair long or short. You can even wear bangs! As long as the result is a balanced face shape that's flattering for your facial features, it's a good hairstyle for you.

How should I part my hair if I have a heart-shaped face? ›

If you have a heart-shaped face try a deep side part. A deep side part will break up the chin line, which can be pointy if you have a heart-shaped face and will brush softly against your face to give the illusion of softer cheekbones.

Heart-shaped faces typically have more space from the eyes to the hairline when compared to other face shapes. "It is a great face shape for bangs as you have room to fill in with hair," says Tina Outen, professional hairstylist and colorist. She recommends going with a longer bang style, like curtain bangs.

Hairstylist Frederic Fekkai is also a fan of creating sharpness and angles to soften a rounder face shape, suggesting “longer layers and choppy pixie cuts” as great options. “I love bangs and longer hair to help minimize roundness,” he says.

Bobs and lobs are a top pick for short hairstyles for heart-shaped faces because they so easily show off your cheekbones and eyes while flattering a wider forehead.

Heart-shaped faces look best with short necklaces with curves as they reduce the appearance of length in the jawline and soften the sharp chin. Hence, choker, collar and princess lengths are ideal.

With age, that fat loses volume, clumps up, and shifts downward, so features that were formerly round may sink, and skin that was smooth and tight gets loose and sags. Meanwhile other parts of the face gain fat, particularly the lower half, so we tend to get baggy around the chin and jowly in the neck.

Oval: Your face is often longer than wide, with the forehead standing out as the largest area of your face. According to Papanikolas, this form is typically regarded as the most attractive facial shape.

Experts say that people with oval faces show the earliest signs of ageing around the eyes and on the cheeks. Creasing around the eyes and upper eyelid hooding are common, plus the loss of volume and definition from the cheeks means the face can quickly look hollow and tired.

Rectangle glasses are a staple of the frame world for a reason: they're almost universally flattering. Their lenses are wider than they are tall, with even, straight borders and rounded corners. They're a simple, sophisticated, and reliable shape, but you can give them as much pizzazz as you like with bold colors.

Rectangular glasses shapes give round faces some contour, lengthen optically and make the face look narrower. Frames should be elegant but not too thin. Avoid round or oval glasses as they will only make the face look rounder.

Are rectangle glasses out of style? ›

You won't find an eyewear style more timeless than the traditional shape of rectangle frames. A definite favourite amongst glasses wearers due to its versatility, rectangle specs provide the perfect mix of polished professionalism and modern geek chic.

Long hair is perfect and universally flattering on round faces because it lengthens the face. If you have a round face, your ideal cut will fall a few inches below the chin or longer. The shortest layer should never be above your earlobe; this can also make a style look dated, and no one wants that!

Round cheeks (round face)

“Round-faced people tend to look younger for longer than others as they store fat in the cheeks and keep it there for a youthful appearance. “Therefore, dull and sagging complexions will take longer to develop on round faces.”

Square and rectangular frame glasses work best for people with round faces. The sharp angles of these types of sunglasses work to complement the softer lines of round faces.

Geometric glasses shapes for women with round faces

Steer clear perfectly circular frames as they'll only accentuate the width of your head.

The best rule of thumb is matching your glasses to your outfit to avoid clashing colors; fortunately, the most common frame colors for glasses are black, white, grey, and silver, which go with just about everything, so you may not need to think too deeply about matching your glasses to most outfits.

For a subdued and understated look, choose frames in a colour that match with the neutral tones in your eyes, such as brown, beige, or black. If you want to channel a fun, statement-making look, choose a colour that's contrasting but complementary to your eye colour.

This year, 2022 eyewear trends focus on three fashion-forward and easy-to-wear frame shapes. We can also expect to see frames that feature warm-toned tortoise colorations, sleek metals, and mixed materials.

What glasses make you look the smartest? ›

Rimless glasses may give you the best outcomes. Faces with full-rim glasses are seen as less attractive but more intelligent than faces without them. If the person's wearing rimless glasses, they don't get marked as less attractive, but they're perceived as more intelligent and trustworthy than faces without glasses.

Glasses that are too small will often be uncomfortably tight against the sides of your head or on top of your ears. Your temples or the bridge of your nose might feel too much pressure from the glasses, and your eyes might be looking out of the outer sides of the lenses rather than the center.

Look for slightly oval or curved frames as they soften the jawline. Round frames and cat's eye styles are especially flattering. You can't go wrong with round and oval style frames that will add length.

Don't Go Too Big

Since you already have a petite face, you don't need excessively large frames to achieve the oversized look. As such, you can purchase a pair that's much smaller to help maintain a balance between your proportions. This way, you get glasses that fit properly while creating the bold, oversized style.

Don't go with any circular frames or frames that are small, as these can make your face look rounder. You should also stay away from frameless glasses. Faces with an oval shape work with the most number of frames and are considered an ideal shape.

Yes, oversized sunglasses can suit small faces, but only if the frame fits correctly. Be sure to choose the correct lens width, bridge width and temple length for a good fit. Oversized sunglasses can be flattering for women as they make their faces look petit and more feminine.

Try: Round, oversized frames

Smaller frames can accentuate a narrow face, so oversized styles are the most flattering option to give the illusion of more width from cheekbone to cheekbone.

People with small eyes tend to have a more narrow face, which is best suited to styles such as rectangular or cat-eye frames. Avoid picking any frames that are too boxy, as your eyes can get lost in them. Color-wise, darker shades will work best with small eyes as they give the appearance of the eye being larger.

As a rule, at least the top half of your eyebrows should be visible. Your glasses shouldn't cover them completely, nor should they show them so much that your eyebrows look like they're floating on top of your frame.

Glasses that are too small will often be uncomfortably tight against the sides of your head or on top of your ears. Your temples or the bridge of your nose might feel too much pressure from the glasses, and your eyes might be looking out of the outer sides of the lenses rather than the center.

Who looks good in rectangle glasses? ›

The study reported that people wearing eyeglasses were perceived as 3.3 years older; glasses-wearers over 45 were thought to be 5 years older.

To reduce the apparent width of the top of the face, choose frame shapes that are wider at the bottom. Thin, light-coloured frames and rimless frames that have a light, airy appearance also are good choices.

Shop Maui Jim Baby Beach

Nothing exudes confidence like an aviator, but you know how hard it can be to find an aviator that fits when you have a small face. Thankfully, the Maui Jim Baby Beach features shallower lenses than your typical aviator frame making them perfect for those with smaller facial features.