All face guides
186 face guides so far, best known first. 24 more are on the list to be written.
WorldBeauty mark
A dark facial mark, natural or applied, worn for adornment.Skin · Most faces
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreBindi
A coloured dot worn on the forehead in South and Southeast Asia.Adornment · Most faces
WorldTheatrical makeup
Makeup used to create character appearances for theater productions.Makeup
🇯🇵 JapanOhaguro
A Japanese tradition of blackening teeth with iron and tannins.Makeup · 1000
🇯🇵 JapanHikimayu
A pre-modern Japanese practice of removing natural eyebrows and painting new ones on the forehead.Makeup
🇨🇳 ChinaPeking opera makeup
Symbolic face paint for Chinese opera roles.Makeup · 1790
WorldVibhuti
Sacred ash used in Hindu rituals and applied as forehead markings.Makeup
🇮🇳 IndiaTilaka
A traditional Hindu forehead mark applied with paste or ash to signify faith and spiritual identity.Adornment
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreSindoor
A vermilion powder worn by married Hindu women to mark marital status.Makeup
🇲🇽 MexicoCalavera
Decorative or edible skulls made for the Mexican Day of the Dead.Adornment
WorldMicroblading
A semi-permanent technique for enhancing eyebrow shape and colour using fine hand-drawn strokes.Makeup · 2007
🇺🇸 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
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreLipstick
A pigmented cosmetic applied to the lips for colour and texture.Makeup · 1884
🇮🇳 IndiaKumkum
Red forehead powder used for religious and social markings in India.Adornment · Most faces
🇯🇵 JapanOshiroi
Traditional Japanese white face makeup for kabuki actors and geisha.Makeup · 1934
🇲🇲 MyanmarThanaka
Ground bark paste used as face makeup and sun protection in Myanmar.Makeup · Most faces
🇯🇵 Japan and 4 moreTeeth blackening
A traditional custom of dyeing teeth black to signify adulthood and beauty.Makeup
WorldContouring
A makeup method using darker and lighter shades to sculpt facial features.Makeup
🇪🇬 Egypt and 4 moreKohl
A traditional eye cosmetic made from crushed minerals or soot, used across Africa and Asia for thousands of years.Makeup
🇮🇳 IndiaTripundra
Three horizontal ash lines on the forehead worn by Shaivite Hindus.Adornment
🇮🇳 IndiaKathakali makeup
Elaborate face paint for Kerala dance drama charactersMakeup
🇲🇽 MexicoDía de los Muertos face paint
Skull-style makeup worn during Mexican Day of the Dead celebrations to honour ancestors.Makeup · Most faces · 1913
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreKajal
Traditional eye darkener used across cultures for adornment and protection.Makeup · 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
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Beauty mark: Ian Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Bindi: Vinay Sahay, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Theatrical makeup: Mrgarden 2342, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ohaguro: Utagawa Kunisada, Public domain, source
- Hikimayu: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Peking opera makeup: Art Poskanzer, CC BY 2.0, source
- Vibhuti: Vinoth Chandar, CC BY 2.0, source
- Tilaka: Robert Vane Russell (1873-1915), Public domain, source
- Sindoor: Masum-al-hasan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Calavera: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Teeth blackening: momo, CC BY 2.0, source
- Contouring: Tobias ToMar Maier, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kohl: Camila Zanon., CC BY 2.0, source
- Eye shadow: courtney murray rhodes, CC BY 2.0, source
- Eyeliner: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Lipstick: Sjr, Public domain, source
- Kumkum: Thamizhpparithi Maari, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Oshiroi: Conveyor Belt Sushi, CC BY 2.0, source
- Thanaka: Garonzi Stefania, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tripundra: Vivek Kondur, CC BY 2.0, source