There's no absolute rule — a frame you love is already a good frame. But a few opticians' pointers help explain why some shapes “sit” better than others. The general idea: play on contrast with the lines of your face.
Finding your face shape
In front of a mirror, with your hair pulled back, look at the outline: the width of your forehead, cheekbones and jaw, and the length of your face.
- Round: similar width and length, soft contours, full cheeks.
- Square: forehead and jaw of similar width, strong angles.
- Oval: slightly longer than it is wide, cheekbones slightly wider than the forehead and jaw.
- Heart: wide forehead, narrow chin.
- Long: clearly longer than it is wide.
Round face: add lines
A frame with angles — rectangular or slightly square — gives structure to your features. Avoid very small round frames that accentuate roundness. At SAY, BRAISE, rectangular and black, is the obvious choice.
Square face: add softness
Conversely, a round or oval frame softens a strong jaw. MIDI or HAVANE, both round, are made for it. A tortoiseshell pattern adds even more warmth.
Oval face: almost anything goes
It's the easiest shape to fit. Round, rectangular, tortoiseshell or translucent: let your style do the talking. One piece of advice all the same: keep a frame roughly as wide as your face, neither narrower nor overhanging.
Heart-shaped face: add weight at the bottom
A round frame, or one slightly wider at the bottom than at the top, balances a wide forehead. A light or translucent colour like JADE lightens the upper face.
Long face: add width
Go for a fairly wide frame that isn't too slim vertically, with some presence: the tortoiseshell of HAVANE or the rectangle of BRAISE.
Three checks, whatever the shape
- Eyebrows: the top of the frame follows your brow line without hiding it.
- Nose: the frame rests without pinching or slipping. A lightweight frame helps a lot here.
- Eyes: they sit roughly in the centre of each lens.
Size matters as much as shape
A round frame that's perfect for your face will look wrong if it's too narrow or too wide. Glasses have a size, and it's written on them: inside one temple of your current pair, three numbers such as 50 □ 20 – 145.
- 50: the width of one lens, in millimetres. Below 48, the frame is small; between 49 and 53, medium; above that, wide.
- 20: the bridge, the space between the two lenses where the frame sits on your nose. A narrow nose calls for a bridge of 17 to 19 mm; a wider nose, 20 to 22.
- 145: the temple length, from the hinge to the ear. Most adults are between 140 and 150.
If your current pair fits you well, these three numbers are your best reference. We detail them model by model in our size guide, with the total width of each frame: the golden rule is that it should roughly match the width of your face at the temples.
What about frame colour?
After shape and size, colour decides the character.
- Black (MIDI, BRAISE, DUNE): graphic, clean, goes with everything. It's the safe choice, especially on a face with strong features.
- Tortoiseshell (HAVANE): warm and slightly retro, it flatters warm skin tones and brown or red hair.
- Coloured translucent (JADE): light, discreet from afar, distinctive up close. Perfect if you don't want the frame to take over your face.
Once you've chosen the shape, there's the lens tint — clear for daytime, amber for the evening. We explain the difference here.
Read next: Glasses trends 2026: the frames of the year