How To Pick Out The Best Style Of Glasses For You

I recently went for a bi-yearly eye test at one of our more popular opticians and was amazed to find out when chatting with the optician that almost two-thirds of the adult population wear glasses or contact lenses - in the main glasses! Having a look at some of the designer ranges they stocked, I was actually just that little, tiny bit disappointed when the optician confirmed that my eyes were healthy and my eyesight satisfactory without the addition of some great designer accessory that now passes as the ordinary and everyday pair of glasses. Picking glasses out from the amazing array of styles available is not always an easy choice though and here are some great tips that will help you choose the right style for you.

Different Face Shapes Suit Different Styles of Glasses

• Oval faces - You may have the perfect, symmetrical oval face and if this the case you may be a model and practically every style should suit you.
• Round faces - Although smaller glasses are trendy at the moment, look for glasses which are slightly larger and square in design, which will not accentuate the roundness of your face and which will add profile and angles.
• Long thin faces - If you have a longer face again, don't opt for narrow slim frame styles, but look for bolder frames which will accentuate and draw attention to your eyes.
• Heart shaped faces - you are the opposite and should avoid wide and heavy frames as they will accentuate the wideness of your cheekbones - look for some frameless or more delicate styles which will balance out your face.

How You Wear Your Hair Will Change Which Glasses You Choose

• If you have long hair which you normally wear loose, or that is a major feature around your face you should look for lighter frames which will not draw attention away from your hair and create too "busy" a look.
• If you have a short hairstyle, or wear your hair tied up away from your face most of the time, you can carry off much heavier or brighter frames as your glasses can be an great accessory and look really stylish.

What Colour Of Frames Will Match Your Skin Tone And Eyes?

• If you have pale skin then stay away from black frames which can look quite austere and opt for frames in tortoiseshell which still looks trendy.
• Pale skins can also be drained by silver coloured frames so opt for golden, or darker metal frames.
• Darker skin and dark eyes can look fantastic in black or silver frames.
• Choosing frames which match the colour of your eyes can look surprisingly great - see the picture of Cate Blanchett above.
• If you are lucky enough to have tanned skin along with blond hair or highlights try some black framed glasses - this can look stunning.

Above all you should be comfortable in your glasses, they should suit your personality, and make sure they fit your properly - the optician should ensure that they fit straight on your head and are not too tight which can be uncomfortable and cause headaches.

Let us know your experiences ....

How To Choose The Best Sunglasses For You

There are lots of reasons to tog ourselves out with a great pair of sunglasses - we might not be disguising our faces from the flash of the paparazzi camera like many stars today - but they are a great item to accessorize with. They can range from a few pounds to hundreds, they add style to an ordinary outfit, can be matched with other accessories and most importantly provide us with UV protection against those dangerous sun rays which can cause long term damage to our eyes.

Style Tips For Sunglasses This Season

• For the last few seasons sunglasses have been huge - talk about supersize. But from the catwalks at the end of the last season designers have been inspired to create more refined styles and glasses this season will be much smaller and more funky in style.
• Look out for styles like Wayfarers or cats-eye style frames - definitely retro and which can be dressed with high-waisted bikinis.
• Frames are much more colourful - coloured sunglasses can be matched up with your outfit, swimwear or accessories.
• Although not everyone can afford a designer handbag which may cost thousands of pounds - a pair of  designer sunglasses can be available for £100+ which makes them a great fashion statement without parting with too much of your hard earned cash.

How To Choose A Pair of Sunglasses

• Most importantly you should make sure your sunglasses, as well as looking great, provide protection against ultraviolet radiation. To protect your eyes you should look for glasses that block 99% to 100% of UV light.
• Different coloured tints offer different effects - grey lenses reduce brightness but don't distort colours, yellow lenses reduce haziness from blue light so sharpen up your view, rose coloured lenses are great for water sports as they provide great contrast against green and blue backgrounds and brown/amber lenses reduce glare but can distort other colours. Of course, you need to take into consideration whether you really think you will suit glasses with yellow or pink lenses as well.
• Mirrored sunglasses are great - particularly if you really want to hide behind your glasses - but beware of scratches. As the mirror finish is applied last it's pretty easy to scratch these types of glasses.
• When choosing glasses consider what you will be most likely to use them for the majority of the time - it could be driving, sports, or simply posing on the beach. All of these different activities might require a different pair or colour of sunglasses.
• Remember that sunglasses don't have to be expensive to effectively protect your eyes against the sun (in the UK remember to look out for the CE mark which denotes that the sunglasses fulful all EU quality regulations). This means that you can build up a collection of sunglasses which suit every occasion.