Worn
Frames, jewellery and other things worn on the face. 68 face guides on EveryFaceShape so far.
Worn features are things put on the face and taken off again: glasses and sunglasses, the monocle and pince-nez, the bindi, the nath and other face jewellery. They are chosen for sight, sun, faith, marriage or style, and many carry strong meanings. Some, like the bindi or the nath, also have permanent counterparts, such as a pierced nostril or a tattooed dot.
Eyewear
Glasses are worn by a large share of the world's people for sight, and sunglasses by many more for glare. Frames are fitted by width, bridge and temple length. Older forms, the monocle, pince-nez and lorgnette, show how much eyewear has been about fashion and status as well as sight. Inuit snow goggles of bone and antler are among the oldest eyewear.
Jewellery and marks
The bindi, once a dot of kumkum, is now usually a stick-on in any colour. The nath and other nose rings are held in a pierced nostril; bridal naths can be large and chained to the hair. Maang tikkas and borlas hang on the forehead from the hair parting. Many pieces are passed down through families as heirlooms.
Famous worn face guides
Further reading
🇨🇳 ChinaSichuan opera
A Chinese theatre form from Sichuan known for mask changing and distinct makeup.Makeup · 1700
🇯🇵 JapanOhaguro
A Japanese tradition of blackening teeth with iron and tannins.Makeup · 1000
🇯🇵 JapanKumadori
Theatrical makeup for kabuki actors using coloured stripes to show character traits.Makeup
🇯🇵 JapanHikimayu
A pre-modern Japanese practice of removing natural eyebrows and painting new ones on the forehead.Makeup
🇨🇳 ChinaBian lian
A Sichuan opera technique where performers change masks or colours instantly to show emotion.Makeup
🇮🇳 IndiaTilaka
A traditional Hindu forehead mark applied with paste or ash to signify faith and spiritual identity.Adornment
🇲🇽 MexicoCalavera
Decorative or edible skulls made for the Mexican Day of the Dead.Adornment
🇨🇳 ChinaJing
A Chinese opera role for mighty men, defined by heavy face painting.Makeup
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreBindi
A coloured dot worn on the forehead in South and Southeast Asia.Adornment · Most faces
🇯🇵 Japan and 4 moreTeeth blackening
A traditional custom of dyeing teeth black to signify adulthood and beauty.Makeup
🇲🇽 MexicoDía de los Muertos face paint
Skull-style makeup worn during Mexican Day of the Dead celebrations to honour ancestors.Makeup · Most faces · 1913
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Sunglasses: Rich Niewiroski Jr., CC BY 2.5, source
- 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
- Kumadori: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Hikimayu: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Bian lian: Yongxinge, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tilaka: Robert Vane Russell (1873-1915), Public domain, source
- Calavera: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jing: G41rn8, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Teeth blackening: momo, CC BY 2.0, source
- Sichuan opera: No machine-readable author provided. Dice~commonswiki assumed (based o, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Monocle: Sobebunny, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Glasses: Jacek Halicki, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Inuit snow goggles: McLeod, Public domain, source