H: Liz Spate, Host
R: Rosie Gabsy, Eyewear Trust
N: Nicky Hambleton-Jones

H: Hello and welcome to the Lifestyle Show, brought to you today by Transition Lenses, I’m Liz Spate. Now today we’re going to be talking about choosing eyewear for the summer, and do you take your eyesight for granted? I know a lot of us do, you tend to think that if you can see ok your eyes must be quite healthy, but that isn’t always the case because every day we’re exposing our eyes to sunlight, and you might worry about the effects of UV light on your skin, but UV light can also be very damaging to your eyes, and that damage is actually irreversible, which is why it’s really important to choose your lenses for your spectacles very carefully. Now I’m delighted to say that we’re joined in the studio to discuss this topic by Rosie Gabsy from the Eyewear Trust, hello Rosie. Rosie’s going to be talking to us a little bit more about the effects of UV light on our eyes, and also someone who is very well-known for her specsappeal, if I’m allowed to say that – Nicky Hambleton-Jones from the TV show 10 Years Younger

N: Hi Liz

H: Welcome along Nicky. Now Nicky’s going to be giving us some tips on how to choose frames and how to choose your lenses so that you keep your eyes healthy and we’ll be moving onto that a little bit later on. But first of all Rosie, can you explain to us why you might think that Transition Lenses are better than maybe prescription sunglasses?

R: Well Transitions are photochromic lenses, those are the ones that go light and dark with the sunshine, and actually they’re much more versatile than many just clear lenses, and having to take spectacles on and off, put your sunglasses on when it’s bright outside and then take them off the moment you come indoors

H: So you’ve got to carry two pairs of glasses all the time

R: Absolutely, it can be a nightmare for some people. They react to ultraviolet light so when you go outside, if there’s any UV around and that can happen not only on a bright, sunny day but also on some of the grey days where you get lots of glare, then they will automatically turn dark and they will protect you when you come back indoors, it might take a bit longer then they go clear again, and then you can work at your computer or watch the television, wander around, do your cooking, whatever

H: They do the hard work for you really, you’re not taking lenses on and off all the time

R: Absolutely

H: So Nicky, how do they actually work? You’ve got a little gadget here to explain it?

N: Absolutely, well all I’ve got here is a UV light which – what happens with these Transition lenses is that the minute you go outside, there’s a lot of UV in our atmosphere as you –

H: Which we can’t see so –

N: You can’t see UV but you can feel it, you know even on a cloudy day it feels glary and you’re like squinting, that is UVs

H: Right

N: Where there is glare there is UV around and obviously the degree of glare will give you an idea of the degree of UV. So they react to UV, now I’ve got here for instance you can see the glass I’m wearing at the moment have got Transition Lenses, but they’re pretty much 100% clear

H: Clear, yes

N: Now here I’ve got lenses that if I went outside, you can see they’d go dark, reacting to the UV. Now this is a brown tint, and I’ve got another pair of mine that have also got Transition Lenses, that have got a bit of a black / grey tint

H: Oh they’re nice

N: Can you see that?

H: Yes

N: So you can actually choose the colour of your lenses

H: Right

N: Can you see the difference it makes – then they fade quite quickly as well. But the degree of darkness depends on the degree of UV, so sometimes they might just go slight brown or grey tint, other times they might be completely almost black, or grey, or brown – sorry. So it really gives you the flexibility, because I think, you know, if you’re someone who wears glasses, needs a prescription but the weather is so changeable within a day, never mind within a season in this country, you know – you wake up it’s pouring with rain, the last thing on your mind is a pair of sunglasses, and so at least with your Transition Lenses you can actually wake up and know with confidence no matter what happens with the weather, your eyes are protected

H: You’re going to be prepared. So Rosie what does UV light actually do to our eyes, how damaging can it be?

R: Well it can be particularly damaging as you said in your introduction. Around us most of the time there’s UV A and B, so sunlight out in white sands, in the snow –

H: In the snow, yes I hadn’t thought about that, going skiing

R: There’s lots of UV and whereas the UVA and UVA in particular, if you’re skiing and you’ve forgotten to put your sunglasses on, you get a condition that’s called photokeratitis which is really painful but can resolve itself in about one or two days, the long term effects of some of the other UV, the UV – some UVA but UVB in particular, is cataracts and macular degeneration, you may have heard of

H: Macular degeneration, that’s been in the news quite recently hasn’t it?

R: There’s been a lot in the news and particularly because it is the most common cause of loss of vision in the western world

H: Goodness

R: And you need to remember particularly to protect your children, because we now know that something like half a lifetime’s UV is absorbed by the time a child is 18 years old, so for those of us it’s a little bit late, but we can at least protect our children

H: So if your children have glasses then you should be thinking about –

R: Absolutely

H: Putting in photochromic Transition Lenses into their –

R: Photochromic lenses are really good for those who need prescription, but even those who don’t need prescription, sunglasses are really important anyway

H: Yes ok. Now we have some questions that have come in for you, and Paul Meet wants to know “how often should we be going to the opticians?”

R: Well I think it’s really important for everybody to have their eyes tested on a regular basis

H: And what does regular mean?

R: Well you’re absolutely right, regular is different for different people

H: Right

R: For most normal, healthy adults, every couple of years is fine. There people like those who have diabetes or glaucoma who need to have their eyes checked more often, diabetics certainly once a year. Children – it’s really important to get their eyes checked when they’re really young, because we know that after 8 it’s too late, that’s what we learn, so if you have children that haven’t had their eyes tested, really important to have them done before they go to school, so if they’ve got a lazy eye or a squint or something like that, you can get it sorted, something like one in twenty of our kids at school have got an undiagnosed eye problem, so we catch them when they’re young and we catch them with you know photochromic glasses, Transitions are fine, or prescription lenses, but get them young and that way you protect them for later on

H: And I said in my introduction that people take their eyesight for granted, do you think that people don’t go to the optician maybe as often as they should?

N: Absolutely I mean we were just saying earlier that you know we expose ourselves to the sun, we get wrinkles, we can always have surgery or a face peel. You know we don’t look after our teeth, they fall out, we can get new ones, but you only have two pairs of eyes

H: Well one pair, two eyes

N: Sorry, two eyes – hello blond moment there, two eyes, one pair, and you know they’re for life and you cannot just exchange it for another pair if you don’t look after them, so I think it’s crucial that we do look after them and give them the attention they need

H: And even though the British weather maybe isn’t as sunny as we would like it to be, even on a grey day

N: I think that’s the danger is because it’s not sunny we’re not looking after our eyes and we’re not giving the protection. If you’re living in a hot climate you don’t go anywhere without your sunglasses, so you automatically protecting your eyes from UV, more so than in the British climate where we’re not, we don’t think about it because the sun doesn’t shine as regularly

H: We have another question in from Lucy Lumsy, and she wants to know “how damaging are the suns’ rays on our eyes?” Now we touched on this a little bit earlier didn’t we? I mean if you just squint a little bit, is that alright?

R: Well screwing your eyes up is one of the ways to protect yourself, and actually wearing a large brim on your hat is one of the ways, but sunglasses are really important. You might remember all those years ago when we had the eclipse, people were looking at the sun, quite why I don’t know, and ending up in hospital with some retinal burns and problems, so the sunlight which has most of the UVA is really damaging to your eyes, and as we know all UV is ageing to the lens, and the cornea and macular, just protect yourself in the beginning

H: Yes because we tend to wear factor – sunscreen on our faces don’t we, I know I wear factor 15 every day because I’m a little bit vein, but I wouldn’t think about protecting my eyes like that

N: Well that’s it, I think they say something like 83% of people are now aware that sun exposure gives you skin cancer

H: Yes

N: Great, we’ve got that message across, but 95% are unaware about, you know eye damage with UV and sun exposure, so it’s really trying to get that message across that you need to look after your eyes

H: And if you have Transition lenses of course, you don’t have to think about it do you?

N: It’s so easy, you don’t have to think oh conscious effort, you just put them on and it does the work for you

H: And off you go

N: And they look great, I mean you saw what they look like

H: Oh absolutely yes

N: And I think the old photochromic lenses used to be really uncool, but now the technology’s moved on to such an extent you can put them in any kind of modern frame, I mean look at all my great frames that I have there, all with Transition lenses in, and you know it makes such a difference and you can be fashionable but be functional and protect them at the same time

H: And it’s a very subtle shade as well isn’t it?

N: Yes. It’s really flattering on the face actually, it’s not too harsh or too light, it’s really good

H: We have another question in from Mick and he says that “my wife would like a new pair of glasses for her birthday” – maybe Mick’s going to buy them for her, I wonder – and he says, “what are the things I should look out for?”

R: Well the thing about lenses that Nicky was – we were talking about this earlier today, as Transitions come in all sorts of prescriptions, whether you’ve got a low prescription and your normal lenses would be pretty thin, or whether you’ve got a high prescription and you’re recommended by your optometrist to have high index lenses, you can have these in Transitions in the photochromics anyway. So a lot of the options that weren’t even around 5 or 6 years ago are now available, and so it’s always worth asking. And Nicky knows better than me about frames and facial features and things like that, but you know they need to discuss with the practitioner, either the dispensing optician or the optometrist, the shape that’s best, both for the prescription and also for their face

N: I think it’s, you know, I’ve put together the Specsappeal guide to really help people when it comes to choosing a new pair of glasses, and yes the frame is important and I’ll go into some tips on those later, but you know the lens needs to suit your lifestyle and I think that it’s trying to educate people that you know 4 out of 5 people never ask the optician what kind of lens they should go for, they just go “here’s my prescription, put a lens in my glasses”

H: Right

N: And actually you know you need to be thinking about the lens that suits your lifestyle, does it need to be anti-reflective, does it need to be photochromic, does it need to be – I don’t know, all these specific things

H: If you’re doing sport for example

N: Sport

H: Or driving a lot

N: Working on a computer a lot, driving a lot, there’s so many things that go into it and the technology is there, so if I was, is it Mick, the guy that just wrote in?

H: Yes

N: I would tell Mick that you know, take his wife, have fun trying on some frames and be adventurous there, but when it actually comes to the lens choice ask your optician not just to sort it out, but to go look, my wife’s out and about a lot, she loves shopping, this is her age – just so that the lens is actually right for her and so he feels good about not only getting a trendy pair but actually knowing the lens is going to protect her eyes at the same time and correct her sight

H: And can you get sort of bifocals varied focals with transitions as well?

R: Yes

N: Of course

R: You can

H: That’s good isn’t it?

R: I mean it’s all about, you know seeing well and looking good, as we were saying and all of these –

N: You know gone are the clip-ons, let’s just get more cool, hip and trendy yes

R: And at least go and have your eyes checked, that’s the main thing, that’s really important

N: Yes absolutely. Don’t even think about getting a new pair of glasses until you’ve had your eyes checked

H: Now we have another question in from Engozi, and Engozi wants to know, doesn’t say where they’re from – “are glasses or lenses” – I presume they mean contact lenses – “better for protecting my eyes from the sun?”

R: Well we’ve already talked about glasses, so we know how well they protect you. With contact lenses some of them have got a UV block but actually if you wear ordinary lenses with the sunglasses or the Transitions you can do those over the top and those are absolutely fine, and they would protect you just as well

H: And is it just the cornea that you need to be thinking about protecting, just the coloured part of your eye, the contact lens would cover –

R: The cornea is the transparent window that covers the – the iris is the blue or the brown according to what people – the cornea is what you put the contact lenses on, and that’s what you’re trying to protect, but you’re also, for your ultra violet, trying to protect your internal structures as we spoke of earlier, cataracts which is where the lens gets cloudy, so the light doesn’t get into your eyes easily and you don’t see out as easily

H: Ok, so even in winter then you need to be thinking about protecting your eyes?

N: Absolutely in the same way you need to use the SPF on your skin in winter you need to be thinking of protecting your eyes in winter too

H: And we’re talking about children, protecting their eyes then, say you had a small child, say a 7 year old child, how on earth do you get them to wear glasses?

R: Well it’s quite cool to wear glasses altogether now I think, and actually you know I sometimes see kids who have just started to wear glasses, and they come in because, children come in because they’ve seen somebody wearing glasses, it’s quite cool –

H: Harry Potter’s got a lot to answer for

R: Absolutely, and for the girls there’s all, there’s the Barbie, there’s the Action Man, there’s a whole range of kids specs, so it’s quite cool to wear them

N: Especially the ones that change colour!

H: Oh yes exactly, sort of scientific, we like to see science don’t we while we’re at it!

R: All children get an NHS eye test so you don’t have to pay anyway

H: Right

R: And if they need glasses they get a voucher towards the cost of the lenses, so that’s a great help towards –

H: Now we have another question from Hayley and she says there’s a history of eye disease in her family, so should she be extra wary?

R: Well it’s all a matter of what the disease is actually

H: Right

R: And first of all, when you go, when she goes to have her eyes examined she needs to tell the optometrist what it is and who has it, and you’re absolutely right there are things like glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration like we spoke of before, and a whole range of other conditions, and some of which you may need to worry about

H: So some are inherited some aren’t?

R: Absolutely and some of them are age-related anyway, so for instance your risk of glaucoma, if you know you’re young and you’re 20, even if your grandfather had it, it would be unlikely that you had it now but it’s something that you need to keep an eye on and going for regular checks is part of that

N: And also Rosie was telling me earlier that the thing about glaucoma is it’s a silent disease, so you can have it and not know anything that you’ve got it before it’s too late and so regular check-ups are essential to pick up the early signs and then you can prevent it getting any worse

H: That’s when they puff air onto your eyeball don’t they?

R: Yes

N: Yes

H: Weird isn’t it?

R: Most people they do it over 40, it’s absolutely routine to check what we call the intraocular pressure, the pressures inside your eyes, and that’s one of the tests for glaucoma. Another is the feel test, now glaucoma affects not what you’re looking at but what you’re aware of, so if anybody’s been out there and they’ve had a test where they have to keep their eyes absolutely still, and talk about flashing lights at the sides, that’s one of the glaucoma tests, the visual feel test

H: Well we’re about halfway through the show now, thanks very much for your questions. This is the Lifestyle Show brought to you today by Transition Lenses, and we have in the studio with us Rosie Gavsy from the Eyecare Trust and also Nicky Hambleton-Jones from 10 Years Younger. Now Nicky always looks fabulous in her glasses, you just do it in a very stylish way, wear your specs; it’s very sexy I have to say. Now you’ve got lots of your glasses here

N: Yes I brought a selection of my glasses

H: How do you go about choosing what shape suits your face shape?

N: Well I think you know there’s key face shapes, you know very, some people have a very square face shape, some people have a round face shape and I have an oval face shape which to be honest you can wear pretty much any frame

H: So you’re lucky

N: I’m lucky so I can really have fun with it, but I think if you have, you know, always go for the opposite of what you have in a way, so if you have a round face shape then you don’t want to draw attention to the roundness, you want to go for something that’s more angular, bit like I’m wearing I suppose. And also that goes a bit beyond the sides of your face to kind of lengthen it that way, instead of it just being, you know round. And give it more definition I think’s really key, give some structure into the face. If you’ve got a very angular face then you don’t want to throw in more angles and make it look even more severe than it is already, you want to soften the look, so going for perhaps an oval shape, or a round shape and something that’s not too way beyond the sort of contours of your face so it actually brings it, brings your face in a bit more would be a lot more flattering

H: I know this sounds a bit daft but how do you know what your face shape is, because I can never really tell with mine. I wonder whether drawing on a mirror or something like that might help, do you think?

N: Yes I think what helps is if you actually take a piece of paper and you cut out a round shape or cut out a square shape and put that underneath you, you can very –

H: I like that, it’s a good idea

N: You can very quickly see, you know what, I would say you’ve got more of an angular, square shaped face

H: I would say square as well, that’s the conclusion I’d come to

N: And sometimes it’s not, as you say 100% easy to see, but I think if you just actually cut out very simple shapes on a piece of paper, put them underneath your face and then it’s much easier to see whether you’re square or round, I mean those are the two sort of very simple shapes that you get

H: And do men and women have different glasses according to which face shape, I mean should a man sort of have heavier frames? Does it work like that?

N: Not really I think again it depends on your face shape, wouldn’t you say Rosie?

R: An awful lot of the frames now, as you know better than I do are unisex. I mean there are some that distinctly are male or female, but the unisex ones often suit a lot of people, and I think one of the key things is that you want something that’s fairly up-to-date because you only have to see somebody who for whatever reason hasn’t changed their glasses in the last 8 or 10 years and it can make them look much older than they are

H: Yes that’s true

N: Put them in a new pair of glasses, a decent pair of lenses, you know the high index with a good anti-reflection coating or whatever, and it just takes you –

H: 10 Years Younger you’d look!

R: Absolutely true

N: And also we lose the pigment in our complexion as we get older, we have a lot more sallow, and more drained and actually a right pair of glasses can just put so much colour back into your skin

H: Really lift your skin

N: Really lift your skin and also especially if your eyebrows are drooping and everything’s going south, give more definition around your face, and actually draw attention back into your eyes and actually conceal your bags and crows feet. It’s a great –

H: You’re revealing all your secrets now Nicky!

N: I’m like leave them on, don’t take them off me!

H: Now Nicky’s brought in quite a few pairs of her glasses here and Graham’s actually sent us a question and he wants to know how many pairs of glasses do you actually have? It’s a bit like shoes isn’t it, are you actually going to admit it?

N: Not as many as everyone thinks, I think I’ve got about – I think it’s about 8 pairs, which isn’t –

H: Well that’s nothing to be ashamed of

N: It’s not as many as some people, it’s not overkill, it’s not Elton John standards! Working my way up to that

H: And how do you choose which one to wear on what day? I noticed the ones you’ve got on now go with your outfit, is that how you generally choose?

N: Well absolutely, I always, I very much love to be coordinated, but no I think – I just have fun with it, I think ok what am I wearing today, what would work with that, because it is important. I think if you only have one pair of glasses you need to go with something that’s a little more neutral that goes with everything you wear. But if you’re someone like me who has the luxury of choice, it’s really fun to kind of bring out the colour in your glasses in the clothes that you wear, and it all kind of works together and it can really enhance the way you look. Well hopefully anyway

H: And it’s very trendy to wear glasses these days as well isn’t it? I mean not like in the old days, people used to say oh dear, but now it’s – they’re a statement aren’t they?

N: Yes well I’ve been wearing glasses since I was 7 or 8 years old, and you know if you weren’t in my class at school you didn’t know I wore glasses because I was so embarrassed of them, I literally used to pull them off before anyone came into the class

H: Yes, yes

N: And I just thought no if I’m going to have to wear glasses all the time it needs to be something that I feel good about and that I feel confident wearing and I can go clubbing in, or I can go to work in, and I think that’s the key is to choose something that actually you feel proud of wearing, it’s a key accessory at the end of the day you wear them all the time

H: Bit like a handbag or a pair of shoes or something

N: More than that because you don’t take the same handbag with you, or at least I hope you don’t

H: And you wear your glasses every single day

N: Every single day, to all occasions, all events – they need to look good

H: Yes exactly. And also be safe as well for your eyes

N: Absolutely protect you at the same time

H: Now we have another question in from Steven, which is a little bit cheeky I have to say Steven; he wants to know “what is Specsappeal?”

R: Now can Nicky answer that one?

N: Well I think Specsappeal is just, you know feeling really confident, with wearing glasses isn’t it? And actually loving wearing glasses, you know and so people are actually drawn to you and your glasses, making a statement out of them so not trying to hide away from them and going something rimless that hopefully no one’s going to notice, but they will. Going for something that’s quite bold, quite sexy and cheeky I think, and I think that gives you a lot of sex appeal – oh sorry, specsappeal

H: Specsappeal. Slip of the tongue there! And there is a special specsappeal guide is that right?

N: Absolutely and I put together the specsappeal guide which as I said really is to help people make the right choices, not only on choosing the right frames but also the right lenses to match your lifestyle and give you the protection that you need

H: And talk us through the pairs you’ve actually bought in with you. Lots of different colours there. Do you have a favourite?

N: You know I don’t. I love them all, I absolutely love them all; it’s difficult to have favourites because it does depend on the occasion but you know these are quite dramatic, you know if I really want to make a statement then I’ll wear something like this

H: They’re quite retro aren’t they –

N: Very retro yes and again these would be quite unisex I suppose, you could wear these if you’re a guy or a woman and I love, I love the thicker sides on these as well because I think –

R: Very modern

N: If you’ve got a small face it’s great to really sort of bring some definition to the side of your face as well

R: And very good in the sun because it helps to prevent some of the –

N: The light getting in and squinting. I love these because people get so confused, these are blue on one side and purple on the other, and depending on people go have you changed your glasses? And I’m just like no, which side – and it’s just really fun to have different colours in one pair. These I love because these are just a little bit retro, a bit fun, cats eyes – very cheeky

H: They’re a good shape aren’t they?

N: Sexy and again I love the silver side because they just give you a bit of a glint as you changed the way that you look. And these are – I always wanted blue glasses and I finally got a pair –
H: They’re a lovely colour, that’s my favourite colour

N: They’re turquoise but they’re a hint of turquoise, it’s not like in your face, and I love the design on the side, and I think that –

H: Is that cutout?

N: It’s cut out yes?

H: That’s really pretty isn’t it?

N: Translucent on the back, and I think that it’s one thing to see where your glasses suit you straight on

H: Very nice

N: But you also need to think about that we’re all 3D aren’t we, what do you look like from the side in those glasses as well, and you know from the front and not just straight on. It’s like a hairstyle; it needs to look good all the way round, not just from the front on

H: So maybe when you’re going to choose your glasses take someone with you do you think?

N: Oh definitely take someone you’re with, take a few people

H: Someone you trust

N: And also go away think about it, and if you can’t get them out of your mind go and get them, but if you’re not sure don’t make the leap because you know at the end of the day it costs money. Frames are expensive, lenses are expensive and you haven’t got the luxury to change them, so go away, come back in a different outfit, change them – take your time

H: Yes that’s a good idea, put your hair up maybe as well

N: Absolutely because often you try glasses on at the end of the day, you’re frazzled, you’ve got no make-up on, you look awful, you haven’t got lenses in so you can’t see what you look like, you know and just go you know what, take them home if you need to, practice, put them on with different outfits and then come back and decide which one is for you

H: Yes. I know that, my husband wears glasses and I know that he finds it difficult sometimes because when you’re trying the glasses on, they have clear lenses in so you can’t actually see yourself in the mirror

N: I know it’s –

H: So it’s quite difficult isn’t it?

N: I know you’re like –

R: Actually there are some really good, at some practices have got like little televisions that will take some snap shots of you and then you can put your own glasses on and you can see yourself

H: See that’s a good idea isn’t it?

R: Some of the practices that I’m working for have got that

N: Or put your contact lenses in

R: That’s another good idea

N: That’s what I do when I go and try glasses on

R: Very good idea

H: Now we have a question in from Peter, and he wants to know, I don’t know whether you’ve got any children of your own Peter but he wants to know “what advice do you have for the trendier kids of today who think that glasses aren’t cool?

R: Well just as we were saying before that particularly things like Harry Potter and all the modern ones out, they are cool, there’s no doubt about that, and as long as you can, I think if you can get a child to be happy wearing the glasses they will wear them, and the one thing I would say to all parents if you can get a child to like a pair of glasses, even if it costs you a few pounds more, and I mean a few pounds, to get them to wear them makes all the difference in the long run, it really does

H: And at school if they don’t wear them they’ll be squinting at the board

R: Absolutely

H: And maybe falling behind with their work because they can’t see

R: That’s one of the main things. I think they have, with schools they say now– because you may know that they used to do screening at schools, you know the school, the nurse would

N: That’s horrific

H: I hated that

N: No it’s stopped now, that’s all stopped

H: So it’s important to take children to the opticians

R: Yes and most parents don’t. I mean parents like your viewer whose got children of his own and if he wears glasses or mum wears glasses there’s some spur to take the children to have their eyes tested, but often they don’t and you can have – children can have a lazy eye with a squint or a lazy eye without a squint unless you get them checked you won’t know

N: I also think if you’re a parent you need to be hip and trendy too, if you wear great glasses your children will be more inspired to wear great glasses

H: Set a good example

N: Yes absolutely, and also you know pick out people like Harry Potter and people in the press and go look how great they look with glasses?

H: People like you for example

N: Absolutely. Take a picture of me along

H: And you’re actually making a statement with your glasses, you’re not –

N: Yes

H: Because there are a lot of frameless glasses around at the moment aren’t there?

N: I can’t bear them, if you’re going to wear something, show it off. What is the point otherwise? That’s just obviously – Rosie might think differently but that’s just my opinion, but you know make something of it. If you’re going to wear it, why not?

H: Yes. Now Jennifer has also sent in a question, she wants to know, she has quite a long face and you have quite a long face as well don’t you? What are the best frames for her to go for?

N: Well I think what you want to do is lengthen – I mean shorten the face and actually a good thing to do is to go for a frame with a thicker side, because then that actually changes the proportion of the face if you go for a frame that’s got – I don’t actually have any here because obviously I have a long face, that’s got a high rim line for instance, and that will just create a lot of length on the lower part of the face

H: Right, when you say rim do you mean the top, the top part?

N: Yes you know like my sides are pretty thick on these for instance

H: Yes

N: So you know some frames have just a very think rim and a thin side and from the top only, now that will just emphasise length below the –

H: Yes

N: Glasses, where if you go for a wider arm then that keeps the top and the bottom half of the face more in proportion

H: I see

N: And go for something with a bit of structure, make a statement not go for something rimless because that again is not going to break up the proportions of the face

H: No. Interesting isn’t it? Now Olivia wants to know what are the best types of frames if you have a round face? The opposite really?

N: Not something round, exactly, something angular, something more defined, definitely I would say

H: Ok talking about face shapes then, we talked about round face, we talked about square faces, if you have the wrong sort of glasses for your face, does it really sort of jump out at you do you think?

R: I think the first thing that anybody sees when they look at you is your face, and your glasses and do you want your glasses to enhance you or do you want them to detract from you, and I think Nicky’s absolutely right, if you’ve got a pair of glasses that suit you and you can see well, you, you know the whole effect to anybody who meets you – the first thing they want to do is look in your eyes

H: Yes that’s true

R: Which is partly why, just to come back to the lenses with the anti-glare coatings, Transitions that are nice and clear inside, they, it makes all the difference. So if you get the shape right so you’ve got nice, clear lenses, then it’s altogether a much better experience

N: And it’s the same thing with the make-up you wear on your face, you know you wouldn’t go and wear purple lipstick if it made you look awful, you know why would you do that? Why would you have a beautiful dress and then wear this hideous necklace with it? So at the end of the day we all want to look as best as we can and I think if you’re going to wear glasses it’s very important that you wear something that’s flattering and that suits you, because at the end of the day it’s stuck on your face and people that first come in contact with you look at your eyes

H: And if you’ve got it a bit wrong maybe it stands out –

N: It detracts from – people go oh you’re such a nerd, I don’t want to have anything to do with you, you know it really does create that first impression, help create that first impression

H: So it’s important to maybe spend a little bit more and get something that really suits you and

N: Yes and just have fun with it, I think don’t take – take it seriously but don’t take it so seriously that it has to be, you know really traditional. You know they are fun; you can have fun with it. I mean the ones that I’ve got on now are really fun but they also would go with anything

H: Yes exactly they’re a good colour aren’t they?

N: You don’t have to be kind of moulded into something just brown or black, you know you can be a bit more adventurous with the lenses and the frames that you choose

H: Ok well Nicky Hambleton-Jones and Rosie Gavsy thanks so much for coming in to talk to us about it

R: You’re welcome

H: And we hope we’ve given you some ideas at home as to how to choose the best glasses that suit your face and the best lenses to protect your eyes as well, so thanks everyone whose sent in questions and if you need any more information I think Rosie has a website for us

R: Yes it’s www.eyecare-trust.org.uk, and it’s the Eyecare Trust website

N: And also transitions.com if you want any information on photochromic lenses

H: Ok well thanks very much for coming in

R: Pleasure

H: And that’s all for the Lifestyle Show for today and we’ll see you next time. Bye bye