This article which was originally published in 2002 and updated annually (and copied by many other sites after it was first published by HB) and located at:  http://www.hairboutique.com/tips/tip1460.htm - http://www.hairboutique.com/tips/tip1460.htm  said to measure your face, but it didn't say if you should do it flush against the skin or by measuring the margins of what you can see in the mirror staring back at you. If you do do it flush against the skin, how do you take an accurate measurement of your cheekbones and top to bottom with the nose in the way?

I assumed it meant based on what you can see in the mirror, since when I tried the other way my face didn't match any of the shapes. Maybe I'm just a freak.

 

Anyway, the article said oval was 1.5 longer than it was wide and then for long/rectangular it said longer than it was wide...uh, wouldn't those both be saying the same thing?

Then when I was looking at the pictures I saw one labeled "oblong". WOW! Way to catch me off guard; oblong was never discussed as a possible face shape. That little bit rocked my world.

Well if you consider yourself to be a face shape expert, here are my values based of what I can see in the mirror (tape not against my skin).
forehead: 5"
cheekbones: 5.5"
jaw: 5.25"
top to bottom: 7"