Stage, dance and screen
Theatre and dance makeup and the looks of film stars. 52 face guides on EveryFaceShape so far.
Stage, dance and screen have their own faces: the painted veshams of Kathakali, the kumadori of Kabuki, the lianpu of Peking opera, the masks that change in a flash in Sichuan opera, the faces of Theyyam and Yakshagana, and the looks of film stars that became everyday fashions. Many of these traditions are taught for years and recognised by UNESCO.
Faces that tell the story
In Asian classical theatre, a face tells the audience who a character is. Kathakali's green pacha marks heroes and its red-marked kathi proud villains. Kabuki's red lines mark heroes and its blue lines villains. Peking opera uses red for loyalty, black for integrity and white for cunning. The painting takes hours and is often done by the performer.
Screen looks
Film turned stage methods into fashions. The pencil moustaches of 1930s and 1940s Hollywood, the cat-eye frames and winged liner of the 1950s, the bindis and kajal of Indian film heroines and the aviators of 1980s cinema all spread from the screen. Contouring, once a stage trick for flattening light, became an everyday look in the 2010s.
Famous stage, dance and screen face guides
Still to be written: Kathakali, Theyyam, Yakshagana.
Further reading
🇬🇧 United KingdomSnooker glasses
Corrective eyewear designed for cue sports to maintain optical alignment while bending.Frame · Most faces · 1938
🇺🇸 United StatesMirrored sunglasses
Sunglasses with a reflective outer coating that reduces glare and light transmission.Frame · Most faces
WorldGoggles
Protective eyewear that encloses the eye area to block debris, water, or chemicals.Frame · Most faces
WorldShooting glasses
specialized corrective eyewear for sport shooting competitionsFrame · Most faces
🇫🇷 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
WorldGlasses
Vision eyewear with lenses in a frame for correction, protection, or fashion.Frame · Most faces
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreEye shadow
Cosmetic pigment applied to eyelids to define and accentuate the eyes.Makeup · Most faces · 1910
WorldEyeliner
Cosmetic applied around the eye contours to define shape.Makeup · Most faces
WorldHorn-rimmed glasses
Thick-framed eyewear imitating horn or tortoiseshell.Frame · Most faces · 1917
🇦🇹 Austria and 2 moreRimless eyeglasses
Eyewear where lenses attach directly to the bridge and temples without a surrounding frame.Frame · Most faces
WorldShutter Shades
Sunglasses with horizontal slats instead of lensesFrame · Most faces · 1950
WorldSideburns
Facial hair grown on the sides of the face from the hairline.Beard · Most faces
WorldPencil moustache
A thin, neat line of hair above the lip.Moustache · Most faces
WorldMoustache
Facial hair grown above the upper lip and under the nose.Moustache · Most faces
🇲🇽 MexicoDía de los Muertos face paint
Skull-style makeup worn during Mexican Day of the Dead celebrations to honour ancestors.Makeup · Most faces · 1913
WorldWraparound sunglasses
Curved frames that wrap around the face for full coverage.Frame · Most faces
🇨🇳 ChinaPeking opera face paint
Symbolic oil-based makeup for Chinese opera characters.Makeup · Most faces
🇺🇸 United StatesSeminole face paint
Traditional Seminole facial markings for ceremony and war.Makeup · Most faces
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreKajal
Traditional eye darkener used across cultures for adornment and protection.Makeup · Most faces
🇮🇳 IndiaRajasthani moustache
A curled upper-lip style linked to Indian heritage.Moustache · Most faces
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Rimless eyeglasses: Document1, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Theatrical makeup: Mrgarden 2342, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kumadori: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Peking opera makeup: Art Poskanzer, CC BY 2.0, source
- Bian lian: Yongxinge, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mirrored sunglasses: Elvert Barnes, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Goggles: Joe Schneid, Louisville, Kentucky, CC BY 3.0, source
- Shooting glasses: Francis Flinch, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pince-nez: Łeba, CC BY 3.0, source
- Glasses: Jacek Halicki, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Eye shadow: courtney murray rhodes, CC BY 2.0, source
- Eyeliner: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Horn-rimmed glasses: User:Robin Clement, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sideburns: Mathew Brady or Levin Handy, clipped by ABX, Public domain, source
- Moustache: VAZHAR, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pencil moustache: Roland Godefroy, CC BY 2.5, source
- Snooker glasses: SMcCandlish, CC BY 3.0, source