Round Face Shape

Length vs width

About equal

Widest part

Cheekbones, or all three widths roughly similar

Jawline

Rounded and soft, with no visible angle

Chin

Rounded and fairly short

• Hold a soft tape measure from the center of your hairline to the bottom of your chin, then across the widest part of your cheeks. If the two numbers are within a couple of centimeters, your proportions are round or square.
• To split round from square, look below the earlobe. A round jaw sweeps into the chin in one curve; a square jaw turns a visible corner.
• Compare the width of your forehead, cheeks and jaw. On a round face they sit close together, with the cheeks often slightly ahead.
• Pull your hair back and look at the chin from the front. It should be short and curved, never pointed.

• A long bob that falls 3 to 5 cm below the chin, cut with a slight A-line, draws the eye down past the widest part of your cheeks.
• Long layers starting at the collarbone keep the sides sleek and let length do the slimming.
• Side-swept bangs cut on a diagonal break up the width of the forehead and add an angle the face lacks.
• A deep side part, worn with the hair tucked behind one ear, creates asymmetry that interrupts the circular outline.
• A pixie with height and piece-y texture on top, kept close at the sides, lengthens the head shape.
• A high ponytail or top knot lifts the eye upward; leave a few strands loose at the temples.

Hairstyles to avoid

• Chin-length bobs with blunt ends, which put a horizontal line exactly where your face is widest.
• Full, straight-across bangs, which shorten the face further.
• Tight curls with volume at the ears, which add width at the sides.
• A center part with flat hair on both sides, which frames the face as a circle.

Men's haircuts

• For men, round face shape hairstyles share one idea: short sides, height on top. A pompadour or textured quiff of 6 to 10 cm works well.
• A faux hawk adds a vertical line through the center of the head.
• An undercut with a hard side part brings an angle to soft features.
• Avoid bowl cuts and long, flat fringes, which hug the round outline.

Beard styles

• A beard that is longer at the chin than the cheeks, such as a short extended goatee or a tapered full beard, adds length.
• Keep the cheek line trimmed tight and fairly high to reduce side fullness.
• A defined neckline about two fingers above the Adam's apple sharpens the jaw.
• Avoid mutton chops and wide sideburns, which add width at the ears.

Use contrast: your face has no corners, so frames with corners suit you best. Choose a width that reaches just past your cheekbones, and keep the top of the frame level with or slightly above your brows to add height.

• Rectangular frames that are wider than they are deep.
• Square or browline frames with a strong top bar.
• Upswept cat-eye frames that lift the outer corners.
• Clear or translucent bridges, which make the face look longer.

Frames to avoid

• Small round frames, which repeat the curve of your face.
• Frames narrower than your cheeks, which make the face look wider by comparison.
• Very deep frames that cover too much of the cheek.

• Give brows a defined, slightly higher arch. Angled brows add structure; flat, round brows repeat the face shape.
• Apply blush above the apples, angled up toward the temples, instead of circling the center of the cheek.
• A soft wing in eyeliner adds an upward line at the outer eye.
• Lip liner traced to sharpen the cupid's bow brings a little angle to the lower face.

Where to contour, highlight and blush

• Draw contour from the top of the ear down toward the corner of the mouth, stopping at the middle of the eye, then blend upward.
• Add a little shade along the jaw just below the ear to suggest an angle.
• Shade the outer edges of the forehead near the hairline to narrow the top of the face.
• Highlight in a vertical line: center of the forehead, bridge of the nose, and the chin.