What are the best earrings for you? The answer to this question depends on your face shape. The goal of accessorizing with earrings is to balance your face shape. Therefore, aspects like haircut, personal style, and lifestyle become secondary choices after selecting the earring category, such as threaders, drop earrings, chandeliers, hoops, studs, ear jackets, which creates the balance. Read which earring categories match which face shapes the best. This knowledge allows you to pick designs from the right category to look your best while expressing your personal style, wearing pieces that work for the life you live now.
Don’t worry when you don’t know your face shape. You can determine it with a free quiz at the end of this post.
Disclosure: Sponsored post.
Why to Match Your Face Shape and Earring Type
Accessorizing with earrings is all about balance, showcasing your best features and playing down what you don’t like so much. It’s about harmony, and yes, about looking your best.
Studies have shown that people’s left and right size of the face differ sightly. The scientists photoshopped (mirrored) a person’s face. Then they showed to a group of people the “triples”, i.e. the real face and the faces with just the right or left sides, Most people preferred one of the symmetric faces. They are balanced, no matter which geometric figure represents your features.
Nomenclature of Face Types
Of course, there is not just one nomenclature for a given feature. The oblong type is often called rectangular or even long face. However, an oblong face can be also an oval with a distinctively larger vertical axis than horizontal axis. Some stylists call the inverted triangle heart-shaped, while others divide the inverted triangles according to their vertical direction. When the widest horizontal and vertical direction are almost equal in length, they speak of heart shape, otherwise of inverted triangle.
Categories of Earwear
Generally, we categorize ear jewelry into
- Threaders: threader earrings are light chains that slide thru a piercing. They are incredibly versatile and can complement a wide array of personal styles, from minimalist to glamorous, depending on how they are worn and the design chosen. There are design for every face shape.
- Chandeliers: Add width to the face, and are perfect for evening wear and glamorous style.
- Studs: Their shape is essential to match the face.
- Ear jackets: Their styles vary strongly with trends.
- Hoops: The round circle is a perennial style. Size, gemstones, and thickness differ with trends. Small sizes with diamonds, rubies, sapphires or emeralds are evergreens.
- Drop earrings: Their design determines with which personal styles they work.
These categories can have different designs, materials such as gold, white gold, rose gold, Sterling silver, wood, fabric, feathers, or even plastic. Consequently, no matter which category best balances your face has pieces that match with the various personal styles.
Simple, sleek gold or silver threaders, for instance, are perfect for a clean, modern minimalist aesthetic. In a modest-length they add a refined sparkle to business casual style, while long varieties with pendants, crystals, or gemstones can be show-stopping glamorous or dramatic.
What Are the Best Earrings for Which Face?
In general, bright, light-reflecting styles like pearl or diamond studs, uplifting shapes such as teardrop or crescent hoops give a more youthful appearance. They lighten up the face and create a lifting effect, or have a playful vibe.
It is important to recognize that there is no “the best shape type.” There is only the best earring style for your face’s shape.
Which Earrings Work with an Oval Shaped Face?
An oval face goes with every category from threader earrings over chandeliers to studs. In this case, the best choice depends on which features you want to emphasize or play down.
Triangular pieces and simple studs look best to show off your cheekbones. However, depending on your personal style some other forms may work as well.
When your face is a long oval or really oblong, try chunky pieces as your comparatively thin face can handle their width.
If you have a short neck, try studs and short hoops because everything long will draw attention too your neck. Long pieces may even become a safety issue when they get caught in your top. Threader earrings look best with two or more earlobe piercings because the chains can be knotted or woven to create a funky effect (see photo above).
Inverted Triangle or Heart Shape
This form is perfect to showcase chandeliers, tear drop styles and all kind of earrings that are wider at the bottom than their top. Your small chin gives a lot of room for them. At the same time, these adornments create the illusion of width at the jawline. They remove the contrast between the width of the forehead and pointy chin. Your face looks perfectly balanced.
This means that you have to get the length of the pieces right. A woman with a heart-shape (short inverted triangle) needs slightly shorter pieces than the woman with a longer inverted triangle.
Rectangular Face
The best earring for you are studs, short dangles, cluster earrings and medium to large hoops. These styles add some width to your head. You can handle this width to look your best with your thin (as compared to the length) facial feature
Square Face
Your best earing are those that have curves with medium to long length. Oval, circular pieces and hoops make you look your best. You play with the stark contrast of the pieces’ rounding and the distinct “edges” of your face.
Try threaders featuring a round gemstone at the end like shown above.
Round Face
Your round face looks best when you wear drop earrings, threaders or dangle styles. These categories give the illusion of length and a slimmer face. Go for oblong, triangle, rectangular drops or dangles. Like the square facial feature, you look best playing with the contrast between the form of your face and those or your ear adornments. On a round face custom-made pieces from the letters of your name look great.
Long Face
When your face is “long”, read the section on oval or rectangular face depending on your respective other characteristic features (curved vs. edged).
Guide to Determine Your Facial Shape
Typically, we name the different face types by geometric two dimensional forms that are similar to what your would see on a photo. We distinguish between oblong, round, oval, square, triangle and inverted triangle.
Not sure about your face shape type? Take this quiz to find your face shape. Then read on which ear jewelry is the most flattering for you.
Photos of me: G. Kramm
© 2013-2025 Nicole Mölders | All rights reserved
These are great tips, Nicole. I have to consider how I am wearing my hair as well, whether it is up or down, to see which earrings look best.
Shelbee
Ohh I love this!
I am going to try out your recommendations. Very interesting.