Search this question and you get a list that reads like a horoscope. Round faces must avoid hoops. Square faces must wear circles. Heart-shaped faces must do something complicated involving teardrops.
Most of it is invented. There is one principle underneath, it takes a sentence, and once you have it you can judge any pair in a shop or on a screen in about three seconds.
The one rule
Earrings add a direction. Long shapes pull the eye up and down. Wide, round shapes pull it side to side. That is the whole mechanism.
So the question is never "what is my face shape" in the abstract. It is: do I want to add length, or add width? A longer face usually looks best with something that adds a little width. A rounder or shorter face usually looks best with something that adds a little length. That is it.
Everything below is that rule applied. If you disagree with the result when you look in the mirror, trust the mirror.
Round or short face
You are adding length. Anything with a vertical line works: drops, small dangles, angular shapes with a point at the bottom.
pave-teardrop-crystal-studs is the obvious starting point, because a teardrop is a vertical shape in a stud-sized package. Leafy Vine Ear Climbers With Marquise Crystals does the same job by running upward along the ear instead of hanging below it.
What to be careful with: very wide hoops sitting close to the jaw, which echo the shape you already have.
Long or oval face
You are adding width, or doing nothing at all - an oval face genuinely does suit almost everything, which is the one piece of conventional advice that holds up.
Round and horizontal shapes sit well: halo-solitaire-circle-studs or Floral Huggie Hoops With Pearl-Look Bead, which hug the lobe rather than hanging from it.
What to be careful with: very long thin drops, which stretch the frame further than you may want.
Square or strong-jawed face
Curves soften a straight jawline, so round and looping shapes work: circles, huggies, anything without a hard corner.
If you like an angular look, keep it small. crystal-triangle-geometric-studs is angular but tiny, which reads as deliberate rather than as an echo of the jaw.
Heart-shaped face
Wider at the forehead, narrower at the chin. Shapes carrying a little weight at the bottom balance it - teardrops again, or anything that widens as it falls.
The part nobody mentions
Face shape decides less than three other things, and it is worth being honest about that.
Weight decides whether you keep them on. A pair that pulls at the lobe by 2 PM is the wrong pair regardless of how well the shape suits you. This is the most common reason a pair goes back in the drawer.
Your hair decides whether they are seen at all. Hair worn down over the ears hides small studs completely. If you rarely tie your hair back, either buy something with a little drop or accept that earrings are for the days you do.
Your neckline is doing half the work. A high or closed neckline leaves room for length. An open one is already busy, so studs read cleaner. There is a full neckline guide if you want that in detail.
If you would rather not think about it
A pair of small studs suits every face shape, every neckline and every hairstyle. It is the least interesting answer and the most useful one. three-stud-everyday-trio covers three of them at once, which is usually how people end up solving this.
Browse all earrings, or read what actually survives a full working day.
