Super Summer Sunglasses

It’s the middle of summer. Do you know where your sunglasses are? Wait, you are wearing sunglasses, right? Other than making it easier to see when you’re outside or driving, if you’re spending any time at the beach, on a lake, or at the pool, you’re being subjected to a lot of glare. And there are four important reasons to wear sunglasses: to protect your eyes from ultraviolet rays; to protect the delicate skin around your eyes from sunburn; to avoid wrinkles caused by squinting; and to look good. You can put those in any order you like. Other than what’s in style right now, there’s an important factor to take into account when choosing sunglasses—the shape of your face.

There are six main face shapes: oval, heart, oblong, round, square, and diamond. The shape of your face determines the shape of the frames on any pair of sunglasses you buy. If you’re not sure what shape your face is, pull your hair back and stand in front of a mirror. With an eyeliner pencil, outline your face in the mirror. Using just this outline will make it easier to see your face shape. Then you can start shopping.

Oval

If you have an oval face, you’re lucky. Pretty much any style of sunglasses will look good on you, particularly aviators and wraparounds. Famous oval faces include Beyonce and Jessica Alba. Try a pair of Steve Madden S562 sunglasses. These have white frames and pink lenses, but they also come in silver with light grey lenses. An advantage to pink lenses, though: they soften fine lines around the eyes. Just so you know. The frames are metal and have tiny jewel embellishments at the temples. The lenses are plastic and offer UV protection. The clear nose pads are adjustable, and the glasses come with a dust bag to keep them from getting scratched in your purse. Protect your eyes and look good doing it for just $38 at Zappos.com.

Heart

Faces that are heart shaped have a broad forehead and narrow chin. Think Jennifer Love Hewitt and Reese Witherspoon. Look for delicately styled sunglasses with wire frames, or oversized plastic frames that draw attention away from the forehead, like these BCBG B500 oversized sunglasses. Available in tortoiseshell and brown frames, both with brown gradient lenses, the slightly flared silhouette is very feminine. The frame is acetate, and the lenses are plastic, so they’re very lightweight. They also come with a great case. They’re usually $85, but you can get them right now for only $59.38 at Endless.com.

Oblong

An oblong face is long and thin, with a bit of a pointed chin. Gwyneth Paltrow and Liv Tyler immediately come to mind. The best sunglasses for this shape are oversized, preferably a wider square frame, to cover more of the face and break up the length and give the illusion of more width. One good option is the Kenneth Cole Reaction KC2258. The temples are adorned with Reaction logo lettering. The glasses are made completely from plastic, and at just one ounce, you won’t even be able to feel them on your face. They provide 100 percent UV protection, too. I really like them in this crystal berry color with purple gradient lenses, but they’re also available in shiny black with smoke gradient lenses, or tortoiseshell with brown-to-tan lenses. Get one of each since they only cost $59 at Zappos.com.

Round

A round face maintains a youthful look well into adulthood. Take a look at Kate Winslet and Drew Barrymore, who never seem to age from year to year. With a round face, you definitely want to avoid rounded styles that will just accentuate full cheeks. An angular or straight-lined frame is a good contrast to a rounded jawline. It will slim and lengthen the face, and help add definition. Check out these Lucky Brand Forte sunglasses. They’re retro inspired for a classic look, and come in three color combinations: green/teal, brown/lime, and purple/blue. All have fully tinted lenses. Inside the right temple is the “Lucky You” logo, and they come with a protective case. Get the look for $92 at Zappos.com.

Square

If you have a square face, you’re in good company—so do Janet Jackson and Sandra Bullock. In this case, you do want a rounded frame because it will soften the angles of a square face. Aviators are a good choice, as are frames with circular lenses. The Eva from Rampage is a classic aviator with a kick—hot red frames. The grey acrylic lenses offer 100 percent UV protection, and have an anti-scratch coating to keep your field of vision smooth and clear. The slight wraparound style gives some additional coverage, and the rubber nose pads make long periods of wear more comfortable, as does the lightweight metal frame. These are hard to pass up as you get all these features for a mere $24 from Endless.com.

Diamond

A diamond shaped face is narrower at the forehead and chin than it is at the cheeks. It’s the rarest face shape, but we see it all the time in the likes of Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett. To counterbalance a diamond shaped face, choose sunglasses with a distinctive brow line such as rimless frames, or cat-eye frames. You can’t go wrong with the classic black Ray-Ban Wayfarer, just like the ones Tom Cruise wore in Risky Business. Ironic, huh? Anyway, these sunglasses will never go out of style. The frames are plastic, and the glass lenses offer 100 percent UV protection. Because the lenses are glass, they are also prescription ready, so if you wear corrective lenses, you can still look cool and not have to squint all summer. The lenses are also polarized to reduce glare, and they’re made not to chip, peel, fade, or delaminate. They come with a case, but once you put them on, you won’t want to take them off. These babies are worth the splurge of $189 at Zappos.com.