Applied
Makeup, paint and powders. 31 face guides on EveryFaceShape so far.
Applied features are painted or powdered on and washed off: kohl and kajal, thanaka paste, sindoor and kumkum, contour and highlight, the white oshiroi of geisha and Kabuki actors, and the painted faces of Kathakali and Peking opera. Some last an evening, some a day; many are renewed every morning as part of faith, beauty or work.
Daily and devotional
Kajal is applied to the eyes and thanaka to the cheeks every day by millions of people. The tilak and the tripundra of ash are applied after worship, and sindoor by many married Hindu women daily. Kumkum, made from turmeric and lime, is offered and shared at festivals. These marks are renewed daily and carry meaning by tradition.
Stage and festival
Stage makeup takes hours: Kathakali artists build the chutti frame and paint green, red and black faces; Kabuki actors paint their own kumadori; Peking opera performers paint lianpu designs. For the Day of the Dead, faces in Mexico are painted as calaveras. In the West, contour and highlight, borrowed from the stage, became everyday makeup in the 2010s.
Famous applied face guides
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
WorldGlasses
Vision eyewear with lenses in a frame for correction, protection, or fashion.Frame · Most faces
🇮🇳 IndiaUrdhva Pundra
Vertical Vaishnava forehead mark denoting devotion to Vishnu.Adornment · 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
- Sindoor: Masum-al-hasan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Contouring: Tobias ToMar Maier, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Glasses: Jacek Halicki, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kohl: Camila Zanon., CC BY 2.0, source
- Urdhva Pundra: Abhisek Sarda, 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