Diamond Face Shape: How to Tell, and What Suits It

Diamond is the least common of the seven face shapes, because it needs two things to be true at once: cheekbones clearly wider than the forehead, and clearly wider than the jaw. Most faces manage one or the other. When both hold, the result is a face with dramatic natural structure.

What is a diamond face shape?

A diamond face is widest at the cheekbones, with a narrow forehead above and a narrow, pointed chin below. The outline tapers in both directions from the middle, which is exactly what gives the shape its name. Face length is usually greater than face width.

High, prominent cheekbones are the signature. Styling for a diamond face is mostly about adding width at the top and bottom so the middle does not dominate — or, if you prefer, leaning into the cheekbones entirely.

How to tell if you have a diamond face

• Your cheekbones are your widest measurement, by a clear margin rather than a hair's breadth.
• Your forehead and jaw are both narrower than your cheekbones, and reasonably similar to each other.
• Your chin is pointed rather than flat or rounded.
• Your face length exceeds your cheekbone width.

The forehead measurement is the one people get wrong. Measure at the widest point of the forehead, roughly halfway between brows and hairline. If your hairline recedes at the temples, measure the skin width rather than the hair width, or you will read narrower than you are.

Diamond vs. heart

This is the mix-up worth ruling out first, because both shapes have a pointed chin and both taper downward. The test is one comparison: forehead width versus cheekbone width. If the forehead wins, it is a heart face. If the cheekbones win, it is a diamond.

Our full heart vs. diamond face shape comparison walks through the measurements and the visual cues, and the heart face shape guide covers the alternative.

Diamond vs. oval

Both are widest at the cheekbones and longer than they are wide, so the difference is degree. On an oval face the cheekbones are only slightly the widest point and the transitions are gradual. On a diamond face the cheekbones are prominently the widest point, with a visibly narrow forehead. If your three widths are close together, you are oval — see the oval face shape guide.

Best hairstyles for a diamond face

Add width at the forehead and the jaw; avoid adding it at the cheekbones.

• Textured or wispy fringes, which broaden a narrow forehead — one of the most effective single changes available to a diamond face.
• Chin-length bobs and jaw-level layers, which add fullness beside a narrow chin.
• Side parts, which soften the angularity of the cheekbones.
• Volume at the crown, which adds apparent width high on the face.
• Waves that begin below the cheekbone rather than at it.

Worth avoiding: styles with all the volume concentrated at cheekbone level, tightly slicked-back looks that expose a narrow forehead, and severe centre parts that emphasise the vertical taper in both directions.

Best glasses for a diamond face

Frames are unusually powerful on a diamond face, because they sit right where the forehead needs widening.

• Frames with detail or width at the top — browline, cat-eye, and top-heavy shapes — broaden the narrow upper face.
• Oval and round frames soften the angularity of prominent cheekbones.
• Rimless frames keep the widest part of your face visually quiet.
• Frames as wide as or slightly wider than your cheekbones, so the eyewear does not stop short and accentuate the taper.
• A strong, defined brow bar, which creates a horizontal line high on the face.

Be cautious with narrow, small frames, which leave the cheekbones as the only wide element in the picture.

Makeup and contouring for a diamond face

• Contour lightly under the outer cheekbones only. This is the one shape where heavy cheek contour usually backfires — you are sculpting something already sculpted.
• Highlight the centre of the forehead and along the temples to bring the narrow upper face forward.
• Highlight the chin and the front of the jaw to broaden the lower face.
• Apply blush on the apples of the cheeks, blended forward towards the nose rather than swept back towards the temples, which would extend the widest line further.
• Keep brows fuller and slightly extended at the outer edge, which visually widens the forehead.

Frequently asked questions

Is a diamond face shape rare?

Yes — it is generally considered the rarest of the seven, because it requires the cheekbones to be clearly wider than both the forehead and the jaw simultaneously. Many faces that get labelled diamond turn out on measurement to be heart or oval.

Is a diamond face the same as a rhombus face?

Yes, the two terms describe the same proportions. Diamond is the more common label in styling contexts.

What is the best fringe for a diamond face?

A soft, textured, or wispy fringe. It adds width to the narrow forehead without the harsh horizontal line of a heavy blunt fringe, which can make the cheekbones look wider by contrast.

Should a diamond face contour the cheekbones?

Only very lightly, if at all. Contour exists to create the illusion of prominent cheekbones — you already have them. Effort is better spent highlighting the forehead and chin.

Check your diamond face shape

Measuring at home works, but it is easy to talk yourself into the answer you were expecting. A second opinion helps.

Upload a photo to the free AI face shape detector and compare its verdict with your own measurements. It reads your forehead, cheekbone, jaw, and length proportions and returns a confidence rating alongside the result, so you can tell how firm the reading is. Where the tool and your tape measure agree, you can style with confidence. Where they disagree, the tie-breakers in this guide will usually tell you why.

Still deciding between two shapes? Start with the complete guide to the seven face shapes, or read how accurate face shape detectors really are to understand what can throw a photo-based result off.