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EveryFaceShape

History

Fashions of the past and famous faces. 90 face guides on EveryFaceShape so far.

Face fashions of the past show how much ideals change: the kohl-lined eyes of ancient Egypt, the shaved and repainted brows of Heian Japan, the white lead ceruse and silk beauty patches of Renaissance and eighteenth-century Europe, the whiskers of the Victorians, and the monocle and pince-nez. Each was once ordinary, and each says something about its time.

Old ideals

Egyptian men and women lined their eyes with kohl more than 5,000 years ago. Heian court women in Japan removed their brows and painted new ones high on the forehead, and blackened their teeth. In Europe, Elizabeth I is pictured with a face whitened by ceruse, which contained lead. In eighteenth-century France, silk mouches imitated beauty marks.

Whiskers and frames

In the nineteenth century sideburns, mutton chops and full beards became the norm for European and American men, and armies required moustaches. Pince-nez and monocles were the fashionable eyewear. The clean-shaven face spread in the twentieth century with safety razors and the First World War. The toothbrush moustache, popular early in the century, became rare after the Second World War.

Famous history face guides

Beauty markImitated with silk patchesHikimayuHeian Japan's painted browsOhaguroJapanese teeth blackeningPince-nezNineteenth-century eyewearMonocleA single lens of the Victorian eraToothbrush moustachePopular early in the twentieth century

Still to be written: Venetian ceruse.

Further reading

KindFace shapeEyesNoseLipsBrowsJaw and cheeksHairlineSkinBeardMoustacheFrameAdornmentMakeupMarking
SuitsOval facesRound facesSquare facesHeart-shaped facesDiamond facesOblong facesTriangle facesMost faces
OriginInherited featuresGrown and groomedWornAppliedMarkedChanges with age
OrderBest knownA to ZOldest firstNewest first
🇺🇸 United StatesAviator sunglasses Teardrop-lensed eyewear designed for pilots and adapted for fashion.Frame · Most faces · 1937 WorldNose jewellery Ornaments worn through nostril or septum piercings.Adornment · Most faces 🇺🇸 United StatesGI glasses Government-issued eyewear for US military recruits, known by dysphemisms like BCGs.Frame · Most faces 🇬🇧 United KingdomWindsor glasses Round metal frames with a saddle bridge.Frame · Most faces · 1840 WorldInuit snow goggles Traditional Arctic eyewear with narrow slits to prevent snow blindnessFrame · Most faces 🇺🇸 United StatesBrowline glasses Eyeglass frames with a bold upper rim resembling eyebrows.Frame · Most faces · 1947 WorldHorn-rimmed glasses Thick-framed eyewear imitating horn or tortoiseshell.Frame · Most faces · 1917 🇫🇷 France and 1 morePince-nez Eyeglasses that clip onto the nose bridge without earpieces, popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centurieFrame · Most faces · 1840 WorldCat eye glasses Eyewear with an upsweep at the outer corners of the frame.Frame · Most faces · 1931 WorldGlasses Vision eyewear with lenses in a frame for correction, protection, or fashion.Frame · Most faces 🇩🇪 Germany and 2 morePanto glasses Rounded-oval frames with a flat top edge.Frame · Most faces · 1932 WorldBug-eye glasses Large-lensed eyewear from the late twentieth centuryFrame · Most faces · 1975 🇩🇪 GermanyMonocle A single corrective lens held in the eye socket by one eye.Frame · Most faces · 1830 🇮🇳 India and 1 moreThreading Hair removal using twisted cotton threadAdornment · Most faces Día de los Muertos face paint 🇲🇽 MexicoDía de los Muertos face paint Skull-style makeup worn during Mexican Day of the Dead celebrations to honour ancestors.Makeup · Most faces · 1913 Nath 🇮🇳 India and 1 moreNath Traditional nose ornament worn in South Asia and the Middle East.Adornment · Most faces

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly digest

Every Monday: the face guide of the day, new pages on EveryFaceShape, and the conferences and anniversaries of the week ahead.