Weddings and ceremonies
Bridal makeup, the nath and ceremonial marks. 17 face guides on EveryFaceShape so far.
Weddings bring out the most elaborate face traditions: the nath, bindi and sindoor of Hindu brides, the chandan dots painted on a Bengali bride's brow, the marriage marks of old Japan, and bridal makeup everywhere. Many of these marks begin at the wedding itself and are worn afterwards as signs of marriage, by tradition.
South Asian brides
In many Hindu weddings the groom applies sindoor to the bride's hair parting in the sindoor daan, and she may wear it daily afterwards. Brides wear a large nath, often an heirloom, a bindi and forehead ornaments such as the maang tikka or borla. A Bengali bride has patterns of white and red dots painted in arcs over her brows. Regional styles differ greatly.
Marks of marriage elsewhere
In Edo Japan, married women blackened their teeth with ohaguro and shaved their brows. Ainu girls completed their lip tattoos around the time of marriage. Mursi women in Ethiopia link the lip plate with marriage. Today bridal makeup artists in cities around the world blend these traditions with modern looks.
Famous weddings and ceremonies face guides
Still to be written: Sindur Khela.
Further reading
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreBindi
A coloured dot worn on the forehead in South and Southeast Asia.Adornment · Most faces
🇲🇽 MexicoCalavera
Decorative or edible skulls made for the Mexican Day of the Dead.Adornment
🇧🇭 Bahrain and 4 moreBattoulah
A metallic fashion mask worn by women in the Persian Gulf region.Adornment
🇮🇳 IndiaSehra
A floral or beaded forehead garland for grooms.Adornment · Most faces
🇮🇳 IndiaKumkum
Red forehead powder used for religious and social markings in India.Adornment · Most faces
WorldNose jewellery
Ornaments worn through nostril or septum piercings.Adornment · Most faces
🇯🇵 JapanOhaguro
A Japanese tradition of blackening teeth with iron and tannins.Makeup · 1000
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreSindoor
A vermilion powder worn by married Hindu women to mark marital status.Makeup
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreThreading
Hair removal using twisted cotton threadAdornment · Most faces
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreMaang tikka
A traditional South Asian forehead ornament worn along the hair parting.Adornment
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreNath
Traditional nose ornament worn in South Asia and the Middle East.Adornment · Most faces
🇮🇳 IndiaMatha patti
Traditional South Asian bridal forehead jewellery with side chains.Adornment
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Bindi: Vinay Sahay, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nose jewellery: Etan Doronne @ www.myindiaexperience.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ohaguro: Utagawa Kunisada, Public domain, source
- Sindoor: Masum-al-hasan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Calavera: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Battoulah: Ibraheem Al-Shiwaish, CC BY 2.0, source
- Sehra: SynthContibutor, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kumkum: Thamizhpparithi Maari, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Threading: butterbeeee, CC BY-SA 2.0, source