Face words
139 terms. The words of face shapes, features, grooming and eyewear, in plain language.
A
- Acetate
- A plant-based plastic, cut from blocks, used for most coloured and patterned glasses frames.
- Ainu lip tattoo
- The tattoo around the mouth once worn by Ainu women of Hokkaido and Sakhalin.
- Almond eyes
- Eyes that are longer than they are tall and taper slightly at both corners, like an almond.
- Apatani tattoo
- The facial tattoos (tippei) and wooden nose plugs (yaping hullo) once worn by Apatani women of Ziro, Arunachal Pradesh.
- Aquiline nose
- A nose with a prominent bridge that curves outward in profile, like an eagle's beak.
- Averageness
- The finding that composite faces, blended from many photos, tend to be rated as attractive.
- Aviator
- Thin metal frames with large teardrop lenses and a double bridge, first made for pilots.
B
- Balance and contrast
- The stylists' rule of thumb that a frame, beard or brow can either balance a face shape or echo it.
- Beard fade
- A beard trimmed shorter towards the sideburns so it blends smoothly into a short haircut.
- Beard neckline
- The lower edge of a beard on the neck, where trimming stops and shaving begins.
- Beard oil
- A light oil, or a firmer balm, used to soften a beard and the skin beneath it.
- Beauty mark
- A small dark mole on the face, especially near the lips or cheekbones; also a painted or patched imitation.
- Beauty standard
- The looks a society or period holds up as attractive; they change across places and centuries.
- Bian lian
- The Sichuan opera art of switching painted masks in a split second, with a turn of the head or a sweep of the sleeve.
- Bindi
- A dot or decoration worn on the centre of the forehead, a tradition of South Asia.
- Blush
- A pink, red or peach colour applied to the cheeks.
- Bridge fit
- How a frame sits on the nose: the width of its bridge and whether it rests at the right height.
- Brow bone
- The bony ridge above the eye sockets, under the eyebrows.
- Browline frame
- Frames with a heavy upper rim that follows the eyebrows and thin metal or no rims below.
C
- Calavera face paint
- Face paint in the form of a decorated skull, worn for the Day of the Dead in Mexico.
- Canthal tilt
- The angle of the line from the inner to the outer corner of the eye: upturned, level or downturned.
- Canthus
- Either corner of the eye, where the upper and lower eyelids meet.
- Cat-eye frame
- Frames that sweep upward at the outer top corners, like the shape of a cat's eye.
- Ceruse
- A white lead face paint worn in Europe from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries.
- Cheek line
- The upper edge of a beard across the cheek, running from sideburn to moustache.
- Cheekbone
- The bone below and to the side of each eye that gives the cheek its height and shape.
- Cheekbone width
- The distance between the highest points of the two cheekbones, usually the widest measurement of a face.
- Chevron moustache
- A thick, wide moustache that covers the top lip and slopes down at the sides like a chevron.
- Chin
- The front of the lower jaw below the lower lip.
- Chin curtain
- A beard grown along the jaw and chin with the upper lip shaved.
- Chin face tattoos
- The face tattoos once given to girls among several Chin peoples in western Myanmar.
- Chinstrap beard
- A thin line of beard that follows the jaw from ear to ear like a helmet strap.
- Cleft chin
- A dimple or vertical groove in the middle of the chin.
- Contour
- Using a shade darker than the skin to make parts of the face seem to recede, adding shadow.
- Cupid's bow
- The double curve of the upper lip, shaped like the bow of the Roman god Cupid.
D
- Deep-set eyes
- Eyes that sit further back under the brow bone, so the lid is in shadow.
- Diamond face
- A face widest at high cheekbones, with a narrower forehead and a narrow, often pointed chin.
- Dimple
- A small hollow in the cheek, usually seen when a person smiles.
E
- Epicanthic fold
- A fold of skin from the upper eyelid that covers the inner corner of the eye.
- Eyebrow arch
- The highest point of an eyebrow, where it turns from rising to falling towards the tail.
- Eyelash
- The short curved hairs that grow along the edges of the eyelids.
- Eyelid crease
- The fold in the upper eyelid that divides the lid into a lower part that moves and an upper part that does not.
F
- Face length
- The distance from the centre of the hairline to the tip of the chin, the first measurement in sorting a face shape.
- Face shape
- The overall outline of a face seen from the front, judged from its length and the widths of the forehead, cheekbones and jaw.
- Face tattoo
- A permanent design pricked, carved or stitched into the skin of the face.
- Facial symmetry
- How closely the left and right halves of a face mirror each other; every face is slightly asymmetric.
- Facial thirds
- An artists' guide that splits the face into three bands of similar height: hairline to brows, brows to nose base, nose base to chin.
- Forehead
- The part of the face between the eyebrows and the hairline, formed by the frontal bone.
- Forehead width
- The distance across the widest part of the forehead, usually about halfway between the brows and the hairline.
- Frame width
- The full width of a glasses front, which should be close to the width of the face at the temples.
- Freckle
- A small flat spot of darker pigment on the skin that usually deepens with sun.
- Fu Manchu moustache
- A thin moustache whose ends grow long and hang down below the chin.
- Full beard
- Facial hair grown on the chin, cheeks, jaw and upper lip together.
G
- Goatee
- Hair grown on the chin only, sometimes with a moustache, so named after a billy goat's tuft.
- Golden ratio claims
- The claim that attractive faces follow the golden ratio, about 1.618; studies have not found good support for it.
H
- Hairline
- The edge where scalp hair begins along the forehead and temples.
- Handlebar moustache
- A moustache with long ends curled or turned upwards, like the handlebars of a bicycle.
- Heart-shaped face
- A face with a wide forehead and cheekbones that narrows to a pointed or slim chin.
- Heterochromia
- Different colours in the two eyes, or two colours within one iris.
- Highlight
- A light or shimmering product placed on the high points of the face to catch light.
- Hikimayu
- The Japanese court custom of removing the natural eyebrows and painting soft new ones high on the forehead.
- Hooded eyes
- Eyes where a fold of skin from the brow area drops over the eyelid crease, partly hiding the lid.
- Horn-rimmed
- Thick frames originally made from horn or tortoiseshell, now made in acetate.
- How to measure a face
- Four measurements, taken with a soft tape or a photo and ruler: face length and the widths of the forehead, cheekbones and jaw.
I
- Imperial
- A moustache with long ends brushed up, or a tuft beneath the lower lip paired with one; named after European emperors.
- Iris colour
- The colour of the ring around the pupil, set mainly by how much melanin the iris holds.
J
K
- Kajal
- A black eye cosmetic of South Asia, traditionally made from lamp soot and ghee.
- Kakiniit
- The traditional tattoos of Inuit women, including lines on the forehead, cheeks and chin.
- Kathakali makeup
- The painted faces of Kathakali dance-drama of Kerala, whose colours show the type of character.
- Keyhole bridge
- A frame bridge shaped like an old keyhole, resting on the sides of the nose and arching over the top.
- Kohl
- A dark eye cosmetic used since ancient Egypt across North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.
- Kumadori
- Bold red, blue and brown lines painted over a white base in Kabuki theatre, tracing the muscles of the face.
- Kumkum
- A red powder made from turmeric and lime, used for the bindi, tilak and sindoor.
L
- Labret
- An ornament worn in a piercing of the lip, from a small stud to a large disc.
- Laugh lines
- Lines at the outer corners of the eyes and around the mouth that come from years of smiling.
- Lens shape
- The outline of the lenses in a frame: round, oval, rectangular, square, cat-eye, aviator and more.
- Lip plate
- A large clay or wooden disc worn in a stretched opening of the lower lip.
- Lip shapes
- The ways lips differ: full or thin, wide or narrow, with a sharp or soft Cupid's bow.
M
- Microblading
- A semi-permanent tattoo that draws fine hair-like strokes into the brows with a hand tool.
- Military moustache
- A moustache worn under army rules, which have both required and forbidden facial hair at different times.
- Monocle
- A single lens held in one eye socket by the brow and cheek.
- Monolid
- An upper eyelid with no visible crease, so the lid looks smooth from lashes to brow.
- Moustache
- Hair grown on the upper lip, worn alone or with a beard.
- Moustache wax
- A stiff wax worked into a moustache to hold curled or pointed ends in place.
N
- Nasolabial fold
- The crease that runs from each side of the nose to the corners of the mouth.
- Nath
- A nose ring, often large and chained to the hair, worn by brides in many parts of India.
- Nose bridge
- The upper, bony part of the nose between the eyes, where glasses rest.
- Nose pads
- Small adjustable pads on metal arms that rest a frame on the sides of the nose.
- Nose piercing
- A piercing of the nostril, septum or bridge to wear a stud, ring or other jewel.
- Nostril
- Each of the two openings of the nose, the place where nose rings and nose studs are worn.
O
- Oblong face
- A face clearly longer than it is wide, with fairly straight sides from forehead to jaw.
- Ohaguro
- The old Japanese custom of dyeing the teeth black, worn mainly by married women.
- Oshiroi
- The white face makeup of Japan worn by geisha, maiko and Kabuki actors.
- Oval face
- A face longer than it is wide, with cheekbones slightly wider than the forehead and a jaw that narrows to a softly rounded chin.
P
- Peking opera face painting
- The painted faces of Peking opera, where colours and patterns show a character's nature.
- Pencil moustache
- A thin, neatly clipped line of moustache just above the upper lip.
- Philtrum
- The vertical groove between the base of the nose and the top of the upper lip.
- Physiognomy
- The old, discredited idea that a person's character can be read from their face. It is not science.
- Pince-nez
- Glasses with no arms, held on by a spring clip that pinches the nose bridge.
R
- Receding hairline
- A hairline that moves back from the forehead over time, usually at the temples first.
- Rimless
- Glasses with no rim around the lenses; the bridge and arms are fixed straight to the lenses.
- Round eyes
- Eyes that look nearly as tall as they are wide, often with some white visible above or below the iris.
- Round face
- A face about as wide as it is long, with full cheeks, a soft jawline and few sharp angles.
- Round frames
- Frames with circular lenses, often in thin wire or tortoiseshell.
S
- Scarification
- Cutting or branding patterns into the skin so they heal as raised or lasting scars.
- Semi-rimless
- Frames with a rim only along the top of the lenses, the lower edge held by a thin nylon cord.
- Septum piercing
- A piercing through the soft tissue between the nostrils.
- Sideburns
- Hair grown down the side of the face in front of the ears.
- Sindoor
- Red or orange-red powder worn in the parting of the hair by many married Hindu women, by tradition.
- Snub nose
- A small nose with a tip that turns slightly upwards, showing more of the nostrils.
- Soul patch
- A small tuft of hair just below the lower lip, above the chin.
- Square face
- A face with a broad forehead, wide cheekbones and a strong, angular jaw, all of similar width.
- Stage makeup
- Makeup designed to read from a distance under strong lights, shaping or transforming the face.
- Straight brows
- Eyebrows with little or no arch, running nearly level from head to tail.
- Straight nose
- A nose whose profile runs in a straight line from the brow to the tip.
- Stubble
- Very short facial hair, from a day's growth to a closely trimmed few millimetres.
T
- Tā moko
- The permanent face and body markings of the Māori of Aotearoa New Zealand, which carry genealogy and identity.
- Temple arm
- Each arm of a glasses frame that runs from the hinge back over the ear.
- Thanaka
- A pale yellow paste of ground tree bark worn on the face in Myanmar.
- Threading
- Removing facial hair with a twisted loop of cotton thread rolled across the skin.
- Tilak
- A mark worn on the forehead in Hindu tradition, its shape often showing the wearer's tradition.
- Titanium frame
- A frame made of titanium, a light, strong metal that does not rust and rarely irritates skin.
- Toothbrush moustache
- A short, square block of moustache under the nose, with the sides shaved.
- Triangle face
- A face with a jaw wider than the forehead, so it broadens from the temples down to the jawline.
- Tripundra
- Three horizontal lines of sacred ash across the forehead, worn by devotees of Shiva.
U
- Unibrow
- Eyebrows that meet over the nose, forming one continuous brow.
- Urdhva pundra
- A vertical U or V shaped tilak worn by Vaishnava Hindus, devotees of Vishnu and Krishna.
V
- Van Dyke
- A pointed chin beard worn with a separate moustache, the cheeks shaved.
- Vermilion border
- The sharp edge where the red part of the lip meets the surrounding skin.
- Vibhuti
- Sacred ash used in Hindu worship and smeared on the forehead, especially by devotees of Shiva.
W
- Walrus moustache
- A thick, bushy moustache that grows down over the upper lip and sometimes the mouth.
- Waxing
- Removing hair by spreading warm wax on the skin and pulling it off with the hairs.
- Wayfarer
- A trapezoid plastic frame, wider at the top, launched by Ray-Ban in 1952.
- Wet shave
- Shaving with lather and a blade, often a straight razor, after softening the beard with a hot towel.
- Widow's peak
- A V-shaped point in the hairline at the centre of the forehead.
- Winged liner
- Eyeliner extended past the outer corner of the eye into a point or wing.
- Wrinkle
- A fold or crease in the skin that comes with age, sun and repeated expression.