Choosing and Styling the Best Glasses for Round Faces

If you have a round face, then you’ve been charmed with beautiful, soft features. But when it comes to eyewear, some types of glasses are more flattering on round faces than others. To find the right glasses to flatter your face and highlight your facial features, you need to understand how different eyeglass frames pair with your face shape.

There’s nothing we love more than a good style session, so we’re here to help. We’ll share tips to help you determine your face shape once and for all, plus we’ll explain which glasses look best on round faces and which ones aren’t as ideal. We’ve also rounded up the five best glasses for round faces so you can find a pair you love.

Determining Your Face Shape

Before you go down the best-glasses-for-round-faces rabbit hole, you need to make sure this is the right rabbit hole for you. A round face shape is easy to confuse with an oval face or a heart-shaped face, and those different face shapes look best with different frame styles than a round-shaped face. So, before you buy a pair of the best glasses for round faces (only to find out you actually have a heart or diamond face), let’s do a quick check.

It’s easy to measure your face to determine its shape. You just need two measurements. First, measure from your hairline to your chin. Then, measure across the widest part of your face — this may be your forehead, cheekbone, or jaw.

If your face is wider than it is long, then you may have a round face. If it’s longer than it is wide, then you’re more likely to have an oval face shape, and you’ll need glasses for oval faces.

To determine your face shape, you’ll also have to determine what the widest part of your face is, so take a good look in the mirror. In round and heart-shaped faces, the cheekbones are usually the widest part. Round faces will have round chins to match. If your jawline comes to a point, then you’re more likely to have a heart-shaped face, and you’ll need glasses for heart-shaped faces.

The Best Glasses Shape for Round Faces

So, you’ve measured, and you’ve determined that you have a round face. Now it’s time to find glasses. When you look at glasses frames, consider their shape as much as you’ve just considered the shape of your own face.

For round faces, you want the frame shape of your eyewear to contrast with the shape of your face. So while your face is characterized by soft features, opt for glasses with angular features.

This will make your face look more defined so that your own features stand out in contrast to your glasses. It’s the opposite of what people with a square face shape need — they have angular facial features, so they need glasses with soft, round lines to provide that same contrast. Stylistically, it’s the same concept, but in reverse.

So, to get glasses with sharp angular lines, you should look for these frame shapes:

• Square glasses: With strong, straight lines, square frames provide elegant contrast to round features.

• Rectangular glasses: Providing more sharp, straight lines, rectangular glasses can help highlight your browline.

• Cat-eye glasses: With an angular, upswept frame, cat-eye glasses can accentuate a round jawline.

• Geometric glasses: Most geometric shapes provide the same sharp lines as square and rectangular frames, helping to accentuate a round face.

• Oversized glasses: Because larger frames extend beyond the sides of your face, they break up a round face shape, helping to highlight the jawline.

Frame Shapes to Avoid

It may sound like we just named every frame shape in the eyeglass store, but there are a few shapes we intentionally left off that list. These are the frames to avoid if you have a round face:

• Round frames: Round glasses mimic the shape of your face, which can make it appear even rounder and make your features less distinct.

• Oval frames: Much like round frames, oval frames have soft lines that can over-accentuate your already round features.

• Hexagon frames: While geometric frames are typically a flattering choice for a round face, the hexagon is too similar in shape to a circle, so the effect of the geometric lines disappears and the shape once again mimics the roundness of your face.

The 5 Best Glasses for Round Faces

These five styles will flatter any round face. Each one is made from acetate for a lightweight glasses frame that feels comfortable for all-day wear. They come with anti-reflective and anti-scratch polycarbonate lenses, and they can be made for single-vision or progressive prescriptions. You can also upgrade to blue-light filtering, light-responsive, or ultra-thin lenses.

Not only are these five pairs of glasses functional, they’re also fashionable (not to mention affordable — starting at just $60 a pair!). Choose from six Base Frame colors, including black, tortoise, blue tortoise, crystal clear, blue clear, and pink clear.

Then, add stylish Top Frames. Top Frames change the look and color of your glasses in a snap. So, you can switch from classic tortoiseshell frames to a fun confetti design or a super-cool superhero design — without paying for a second pair of prescription frames. You can even snap on a Sun Top for a little UV protection (no separate prescription sunglasses necessary). All these options mean you can round out your collection of eyeglasses even if you only own a single pair of frames.

Here are the best frames for round faces.

1. The Kirby

This square frame provides sharp angular contrast to full cheeks. The Kirby runs wide, which is essential for anyone with a wider face, but it’s also ideal for round faces of most sizes. Oversized frames extend past the width of the face, adding even more angular lines.

2. The Larkin

For smaller round faces, these rectangular glasses have a narrow frame. The straight lines across the top of The Larkin accentuate the browline, highlighting one of your most expressive features.

3. The Wanda

These retro angular frames have a subtle, upswept cat-eye. And while the sharp angles of cat-eye glasses are flattering on most round faces, The Wanda takes the flattery one step further with a wide, oversized fit and a square bottom that contrasts with rounder cheeks.

4. The Finley

These medium-width frames are a great choice for high cheekbones because the lenses are wider from side-to-side than they are from top-to-bottom, which decreases the likelihood that they’ll rest on your cheeks when you wear them. The Finley also accentuates the browline with a straight-across-the-top silhouette, creating a sharp look on round faces.

5. The Casper

The Casper is a not-quite-square frame — rather, somewhere between a square and a rectangle that looks great on round faces. Its medium width is an ideal fit for average-size faces, and its straight silhouette helps accentuate the jawline and make a round chin appear more angular.

Find the All-Around Best Glasses

If you have a round face, then the most flattering glasses styles for you are square and rectangular frames. These shapes will contrast with your naturally soft features, bringing out your browline, jawline, and cheekbones. Oversized and cat-eye frames can also add angles to a round face shape and make you look like your best, most confident self.

Your glasses should show off who you are underneath. So, when you’re ready for new glasses that are uniquely you, try Pair Eyewear.

We offer a variety of frames to suit round faces, and you can customize your glasses with our unique Top Frames so no two days look the same. One day you can sport a bright neon design, and the next day, a muted classic color. These frames offer flexible style in a single pair of prescription glasses, which truly makes them the best glasses for all faces!