Flatter Your Face Shape

• Shield-style sunglasses flatter round-shaped faces.
  
  Fitting your sunglasses to your face shape is about more than looking good; when glasses fit properly, they're less likely to pinch or slip down your nose. First, look in a mirror and determine your face shape: is it angular (diamond or triangle), round (including oblong or oval) or heart-shaped? Angular faces look good in frames that draw attention to the narrowest part of the face---if that's the forehead, as in triangle-shaped faces, top-heavy frames like aviators or cat's eye shapes look best. Diamond-shaped faces with sharp cheekbones and narrow foreheads will look best in square frames that draw the eye upward.
  
  Round faces need a little contrast---the goal is to create sharp angles and avoid mimicking the shape of your face. Try a rectangular or geometric shape that draws the eye in a horizontal line across the face. Lenses that are wider at the top than the bottom can also help lengthen a round face.
  
  Heart-shaped faces are wider at the forehead and cheekbone than at the chin. For a flattering result, look for sunglasses that add width to the narrowest part of your face (i.e., the lower cheeks and chin). Avoid top-heavy frames with temple decorations, and look for styles that sit straight and low beneath your brows, with wide bottoms that round outward from the face.
  
  

Popular Styles

• Aviator-style sunglasses.
  
  Cat's eye sunglasses are a popular style for women---they're small in shape, with oval lenses and thick temples (often decorated with sequins or rhinestones). The curved lenses can help soften a narrow or angular face, and elaborate temple decorations can help draw attention outward and make a thin face appear fuller.
  
  Aviators are a classic style for men or women. Characterized by large tinted lenses wrapped in a thin metal frame, they have narrow wire temples and a coated temple tip. This is one of the most versatile of sunglass styles---they often come with spring hinges on the arms and rubber or silicone nose pads beneath the bridge, creating a customized fit that's comfortable for either wide or narrow faces. If you have a lower nose bridge, the nose pads will help lift the frames off your face for a better fit and feel.
  
  Shield-style sunglasses have large lenses wrapped in a thick plastic frame. Designer sunglasses often use this type of frame, since the wide temple is a great place for a splashy logo. A variation on shields is the wraparound style, where the lens is the dominant feature of the sunglasses. Instead of having two separate lenses contained in a frame, the lens is one continuous piece of plastic, including a thick center nose bridge that wraps around the face to the temples. This style provides the best protection against UV rays, since the wraparound lens protects your peripheral vision as well.
  
  

Useful Features

• As you're shopping, look for sunglass lenses made with CR-39. With the highest optical rating among plastic lenses, CR-39 has the scratch-resistance to handle everyday wear and tear. If you prefer glass lenses, make sure they're made with optical quality glass---it's polished to exceed the standards of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), resulting in less color distortion and 100 percent UV protection.
  
  A flash coating on your sunglass lens can greatly reduce the amount of light that reaches your eyes. This reflective mirror coating absorbs from 10 to 60 percent more light than uncoated lenses. They're especially useful for skiing, snowboarding, surfing, waterskiing or other outdoor activities where glare can affect performance. Polarized lenses are another way of cutting glare. They have a special filter encased within the lens that traps and reduces glare from surfaces such as water or snow.