So how do you go about choosing glasses?
Your eyecare practitioner will gladly spend time with you when selecting frames for your glasses, helping and advising over the ones that look best and suit your lifestyle. Some practices even have computer screens that enable you to see how you look in certain frames.

Ultimately, the choice has to be yours, but here are a few useful pointers on choices for different complexions and face shapes:

Pale complexions
Try lightweight metal frames or those with a hint of colour such as rose or amber. Tortoise shell frames can look extremely good on some fair people as long as they are not too dark, but avoid clear crystal frames as they are too colourless for most pale complexions. Blue or green tinged frames also tend to drain colour from cool cheeks.

Dark complexions
People with olive, Mediterranean, golden or Asian skin and rich black hair often look stunning in silver, gold or clear frames. Also try burgundy and brown colours, but black can be too heavy.

Black skins
All metallic frames suit black skins. Amber usually works well too, but black is either wonderful or awful, depending on style. Be careful with colours - they rarely contribute to overall style unless they're bright, fun and specially chosen to work with a specific outfit.

Oval faces
An oval face has a slightly wider forehead than jaw, well balanced and softly rounded. This face can look good in just about any frame, but try angular or rounded aviators (not large, old-fashioned ones).

Round faces
For faces that are short and fairly wide with full cheeks and a round chin, choose slimming styles. Slightly elongated shapes work well as long as they are not too shallow, while square, or even up-swept styles can help to highlight the upper face. Avoid small and round or very large shapes that make the face look even rounder.

Heart-shaped faces
These faces have a small, neat chin and mouth, tapering up and out to a broader forehead. Frames to try include delicate, rounded or squarish styles. Avoid heart-shaped styles that echo the shape of the jaw.

Square faces
For faces that are strong and angular, or short and wide, the best frames to try are round or oval styles that soften the jawline. Avoid any shapes that emphasise squareness.

Long faces
These are faces with high cheek bones, a deep forehead and a strong or chiselled jaw line. Try wider frames that counteract the face's narrowness. Frames with a strong top line or rounded 'owl' styles can work well. Avoid small, square styles.