A guide on how to pick the perfect glasses!

Have you always dreaded having to wear your glasses outside your home or office? Wearing glasses does not have to detract from your looks. In fact, if you play your cards right, you can end up enhancing or complimenting your facial features with the right pair of glasses. Because we can't always wear our contacts for various reasons, we need to keep a pair or two of glasses handy. With the following tips, you can invest in a pair of glasses that will always make you look good in any situation.

Determine your face shape

The first thing you need to think about is the shape of your face, since it largely determines how you will look with the glasses you select. There five face shapes—oval, triangle, heart, square, and round. These shapes are determined by the bones of our face and the placement of our features. Oval-shaped faces work best with large, angular frames. Heavy frames with eye-catching detailing balance triangular faces with wide jaws that taper down to a pointed chin. Round frames balance heart-shaped faces with narrow and bony features. Square faces do best with thin, round frames that soften the sharp angles of the face. Lastly, a round face can be balanced by large, cubic frames.

Provide contrast and proportion to your features

As you may have figured out, you can set off your features by having your glasses provide contrast. For soft, rounded features, you should get boxy, angular frames. Sharp features do well with rounded frames. You should also avoid frames that draw attention to your forehead. The main thing you want to focus on are your facial features and how they look with your glasses. Make sure that your frames do not overwhelm your eye shape and size, and that they don't make your nose look too big or disproportionate.

Keep your proportions in mind

Make sure to avoid frames that make some of your features look out of place or make your face look too thin or too round. Frames that are too large can upset the natural balance and symmetry of your face. They can also dwarf your cheekbones and make your face took too narrow. Meanwhile, bottom-heavy frames can make a narrow face look wider. Study the planes and proportions of your face before settling on a frame shape.

Find out what your best feature is

Do you have large, expressive eyes? Do you have a straight, defined nose? Do you have luscious, pouty lips? Your glasses can showcase your best features while drawing attention away from any problems areas. Thin black frames are good for outlining and emphasizing your eyes. 

Choose the right color

Glasses come in many colors, details, and patterns. As such, you can take advantage of the variety available to you and choose colors and patterns that work best for your hair color and skin tone. Warm skin tones—ones that have a golden or bronze tint—don't do very well with pastel colors. People with a warm skin tone should also avoid white and black frames, and instead go with shades of brown, gold, and olive green.

A cool skin tone, meanwhile, has a blue or pink tint. This skin tone can easily look washed out with the wrong colors. People with cool skin tones do best with black, gray, pink, purple, and blue.

Take your personality and the vibe you want into consideration

Ideally, we can have an entire collection of glasses that come in different shapes, sizes, and colors. However, it is mostly more practical to keep one or two pairs of glasses. A pair of glasses can showcase your personality and can befit different situations. A fun, colorful, patterned frame can reflect a fun personality. Simple frames in somber, solid colors can be good for meetings and professional situations. Sporty and active people can choose sturdy or bendable frames so they won't have to worry about breaking their glasses while on the go. If you're not in need to expensive prescription glasses, you can build a small collection where you can pick and choose glasses that suit any occasion you might find yourself in.

Keep your budget in mind

 Prescription lenses and high-quality frames can be a little expensive. Lenses can also come with perks such as scratch-resistant surfaces or triple coating. Think about whether or not you really need these additional features before spending on them. If you can make do with basic prescription lenses, then you can buy those instead. Also, your frames don't need to be designer. You may want to stick to local, trusted brands who design bespoke handmade glasses. Sturdiness and longevity are just as important as style and flair. Also, if you want to embellish your frames to give them a little more flair, you can buy some supplies and decorate them to your tastes yourself.

You can also check to see if your insurance covers eye exams and prescription glasses. If you have a couple of hours on your hands, you can hunt for coupons in magazines and newspapers so you can get amazing discounts on the pair of glasses that you want the most.

Take note of your lifestyle

Your glasses should aid you instead of being a burden. As such, you should take note of your lifestyle and your routines when choosing your frames. If you're on your eighth pair of glasses because you keep losing them, you might want to buy cheap pairs or attach a lace to your existing pair. You can choose lightweight frames if you're always on the move. If you spend most of your time in the office and in meetings, you can impress your bosses by choosing a stylish but professional-looking pair of glasses.

If you keep these tips in mind, you can get the best pair of glasses for you. Your glasses can be the most flattering pair for your face shape, skin tone, personality, and lifestyle.