Glasses for a diamond face

How frames work on a diamond face

Glasses sit at the level of the eyes, between the narrow forehead and the wide cheekbones of a diamond face. A frame that is narrower than the cheekbones sits inside them and makes them look wider by contrast. A frame with hard angles echoes the pointed outline.

A frame a touch wider than the cheekbones, with some weight or detail along its upper line, does the opposite: it widens the top of the face and draws the eye up and across, away from the cheekbones.

So the rule for a diamond face is a little wider than the cheekbones, weight at the brow, soft lines.

Frame shapes that suit a diamond face

• Oval frames, whose curves soften the cheekbones and the pointed chin by association.
• Rimless and semi-rimless frames with the rim on the top half, which add a line at the brow and almost nothing below it.
• Cat-eye frames, whose upswept outer corners add width at the temples, exactly where a diamond face is narrow.
• Browline frames, where the thick upper rim widens the top of the face and the thin lower rim stays quiet at the cheekbones.
• Round frames in a medium rim, which break up the angular outline.

Frames to avoid on a diamond face

• Narrow frames that sit inside the cheekbone width.
• Sharply angular, small rectangular frames, which add corners to a pointed outline.
• Frames with a heavy, dark lower rim, which add weight at the cheekbones.
• Very wide oversized frames that extend past the cheekbones by a lot, which make the forehead look narrower still.

Width, height and bridge

Frame width should be equal to or a touch wider than the cheekbone width, and never narrower. The face shape test reports the forehead-to-cheekbone ratio; the lower it is, the more the frame's upper line is doing.

A lens of moderate depth keeps the lower rim above the cheekbones. A bridge that sits at the natural height is fine; a very low-set bridge pulls the frame down onto the cheekbones.

Colour and material

Colour and detail belong on the upper half of the frame: a dark or bold top rim, a two-tone frame that is heavier on top, or decorated temples. Keep the lower rim thin, clear or light so it does not add weight at the cheekbones.

Match the tone to your skin undertone, which the test reports: warm undertones with gold, tortoiseshell and warm neutrals; cool undertones with silver, black and cool greys.

Sunglasses for a diamond face

Cat-eye sunglasses are the classic choice for a diamond face, for the same reason as in eyeglasses: width at the temples. Oval and round sunglasses in a medium rim, and browline sunglasses with a dark top bar, also suit.

Avoid small, narrow sunglasses that sit inside the cheekbones, and sharply geometric shapes that repeat the angles of the outline.

A quick check

Photograph yourself straight on with the frames. If the cheekbones look wider or the forehead looks narrower with the frames on, the frame is too narrow or too heavy at the bottom. The right frames make the face look more evenly wide from brow to cheekbone.