Makeup and face art
Kajal and kohl, contouring, Kathakali and Kabuki makeup, thanaka and face paint. 30 face guides on EveryFaceShape so far.
Makeup and face art cover everything applied to the face: kohl and kajal around the eyes, blush and contour, the white oshiroi of Japan, thanaka paste in Myanmar, and the painted faces of Kathakali, Kabuki and Peking opera. Some are everyday beauty, some are faith or festival, and some are stage conventions that tell an audience exactly who a character is.
Old everyday makeup
Kohl was used in Egypt more than 5,000 years ago, made with galena and malachite. In South Asia, kajal is made at home from lamp soot and ghee. Thanaka, ground bark paste, is worn daily on the cheeks in Myanmar. White face paints were worn in Japan and in Renaissance Europe, where the lead in ceruse harmed wearers. Contouring came from the stage and became a mass fashion in the 2010s.
The painted stage
Asian classical theatres made face painting a language. In Kathakali from Kerala, green faces are noble heroes and red-marked ones proud villains. In Kabuki, kumadori lines in red mark heroes and in blue villains. In Peking opera, red is loyalty, black integrity and white cunning. Sichuan opera adds bian lian, changing masks in a split second. In Mexico, faces are painted as calaveras for the Day of the Dead.
Famous makeup face guides
Still to be written: Kathakali.
Further reading
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
- Kumadori: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Hikimayu: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Peking opera makeup: Art Poskanzer, CC BY 2.0, source
- Bian lian: Yongxinge, CC BY-SA 3.0, 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