Why Geek-Chic Glasses Call for a Brand-New Beauty Equation

With contacts and Lasik all but eliminating the need for prescription lenses, it’s no surprise that glasses have gone from necessary, perfunctory accessory to gleefully off-kilter model favorite—with a brand-new beauty equation to match. In fact, forget about eye-defining shadow trickery or heaps of mascara: If the Insta set is any indication, it’s all about tapping into a youthful charm with clean skin and barely there makeup.

Emily Ratajkowski

Nadja Bender channeled an appealingly bookish minimalism by pairing her black frames with a dab of lip balm and hair that was pinned back into a schoolgirl style, while Willow Smith offset her graphic pair with her trademark dreads pushed back with a terry headband. Also keeping things natural, Kendall Jenner channeled a young Ali MacGraw with delicate tortoiseshell frames that didn’t get in the way of her brushed brows—offering an uncanny twinning moment withEmily Ratajkowski that extended to their matching suede jackets. But it was Danish newcomer Frederikke Sofie, who has clearly fallen for the bespectacled beauties who stole the Spring Gucci show, posting a selfie with oversize aviators that lent her naked eyes and Nordic brows a delicate ’70s edge. Above, five reasons why the right set of frames—and minimal makeup—is all you need for the perfect amalgam of geek and chic.