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
🇺🇸 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
🇮🇳 IndiaKumkum
Red forehead powder used for religious and social markings in India.Adornment · Most faces
🇲🇲 MyanmarThanaka
Ground bark paste used as face makeup and sun protection in Myanmar.Makeup · 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
🇨🇳 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
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
- Kumadori: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Bian lian: Yongxinge, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Calavera: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, 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
- 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