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
WorldLabret
A body piercing placed below the bottom lip and above the chin.Adornment
🇦🇹 Austria and 2 moreRimless eyeglasses
Eyewear where lenses attach directly to the bridge and temples without a surrounding frame.Frame · Most faces
🇺🇸 United StatesAviator sunglasses
Teardrop-lensed eyewear designed for pilots and adapted for fashion.Frame · Most faces · 1937
🇫🇷 FranceLorgnette
Spectacles mounted on a handle for holding in place.Frame · 1770
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreBindi
A coloured dot worn on the forehead in South and Southeast Asia.Adornment · Most faces
WorldLip frenulum piercing
A piercing through the thin tissue connecting the lip to the gum line.Adornment
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreWayfarer
A trapezoidal eyewear frame designed in 1952 and revived multiple times through film placements.Frame · Oval faces · 1952
WorldCat eye glasses
Eyewear with an upsweep at the outer corners of the frame.Frame · Most faces · 1931
WorldGlasses
Vision eyewear with lenses in a frame for correction, protection, or fashion.Frame · Most faces
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 morePanto glasses
Rounded-oval frames with a flat top edge.Frame · Most faces · 1932
WorldBug-eye glasses
Large-lensed eyewear from the late twentieth centuryFrame · Most faces · 1975
WorldMonroe piercing
Off-centre lip stud mimicking a beauty spotAdornment · Most faces
WorldTeardrop tattoo
A tear-shaped mark placed under the eye with varied cultural meanings.Adornment
🇮🇳 IndiaSehra
A floral or beaded forehead garland for grooms.Adornment · Most faces
🇬🇧 United KingdomWindsor glasses
Round metal frames with a saddle bridge.Frame · Most faces · 1840
WorldBridge piercing
A surface piercing placed on the nasal bridge between the eyes.Adornment · Most faces · 1980
WorldInuit snow goggles
Traditional Arctic eyewear with narrow slits to prevent snow blindnessFrame · Most faces
🇺🇸 United StatesBrowline glasses
Eyeglass frames with a bold upper rim resembling eyebrows.Frame · Most faces · 1947
WorldHorn-rimmed glasses
Thick-framed eyewear imitating horn or tortoiseshell.Frame · Most faces · 1917
🇺🇸 United StatesGrill
Removable dental jewelry worn over teeth for fashion and status.Adornment · 1980
🇬🇧 United KingdomSnooker glasses
Corrective eyewear designed for cue sports to maintain optical alignment while bending.Frame · Most faces · 1938
WorldNose jewellery
Ornaments worn through nostril or septum piercings.Adornment · Most faces
🇯🇵 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
WorldNose piercing
A facial adornment involving jewelry inserted into the nose skin or cartilage.Adornment
🇮🇳 IndiaTilaka
A traditional Hindu forehead mark applied with paste or ash to signify faith and spiritual identity.Adornment
🇮🇳 IndiaKesh
Uncut hair kept as a religious symbol in Sikhism, part of the Five Ks.Marking · 1699
🇲🇽 MexicoCalavera
Decorative or edible skulls made for the Mexican Day of the Dead.Adornment
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreSunglasses
Protective eyewear designed to shield eyes from bright sunlight and high-energy visible light.Frame · 1929
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 3 moreLip plate
A large disc inserted into a stretched lip piercing as body modification.Adornment
WorldBifocals
Eyeglasses with two distinct optical powers for long and short distances.Frame
🇺🇸 United StatesMirrored sunglasses
Sunglasses with a reflective outer coating that reduces glare and light transmission.Frame · Most faces
WorldCheek piercing
A facial piercing through the cheek tissue to create a dimple-like appearance.Adornment
🇨🇳 ChinaJing
A Chinese opera role for mighty men, defined by heavy face painting.Makeup
WorldJestrum piercing
A vertical upper lip adornment placed in the philtrum using a curved metal rod.Adornment
🇮🇱 Israel and 2 morePe'ot
Sideburns left uncut above the cheekbone as required by Jewish law.Beard · Most faces
🇺🇸 United States and 1 morePlayoff beard
A superstitious facial hair tradition worn by athletes and fans during postseason competitions.Beard · 1980
WorldFake moustache
A prosthetic facial hair piece used for disguise, performance, or style.Moustache
WorldScissors-glasses
Eyeglasses with scissoring stems and a ring for a neck chain.Frame · 1750
🇺🇸 United StatesGI glasses
Government-issued eyewear for US military recruits, known by dysphemisms like BCGs.Frame · Most faces
WorldGoggles
Protective eyewear that encloses the eye area to block debris, water, or chemicals.Frame · Most faces
WorldShooting glasses
specialized corrective eyewear for sport shooting competitionsFrame · Most faces
🇧🇭 Bahrain and 4 moreBattoulah
A metallic fashion mask worn by women in the Persian Gulf region.Adornment
WorldLip piercing
A body modification that penetrates the lip tissue or surrounding area using jewellery.Adornment
WorldPhiltrum piercing
A small upper lip ornament placed in the central dip beneath the nose.Adornment
WorldEyebrow piercing
A vertical surface piercing through the eyebrow skin.Adornment
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
- Rimless eyeglasses: Document1, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Aviator sunglasses: Paul Evans, CC BY 2.0, source
- Lorgnette: Museum Rotterdam, CC BY-SA 3.0, 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
- Nose piercing: Marie Richie, CC BY 2.0, source
- Tilaka: Robert Vane Russell (1873-1915), Public domain, source
- Kesh: Carl W. Damman, Public domain, source
- Calavera: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Labret: Metalhead64, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lip plate: Monkeyji, CC BY 2.0, source
- Bifocals: Not credited, Public domain, source
- Mirrored sunglasses: Elvert Barnes, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Cheek piercing: Doct Blake, CC BY 2.0, source
- Jing: G41rn8, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pe'ot: Andrew Dyer, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Fake moustache: ABC Photo, Public domain, source
- Scissors-glasses: eeedeeee, Public domain, source
- GI glasses: Villarte, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Goggles: Joe Schneid, Louisville, Kentucky, CC BY 3.0, source
- Shooting glasses: Francis Flinch, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Battoulah: Ibraheem Al-Shiwaish, CC BY 2.0, source
- Lip piercing: Daisy Romwall, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Philtrum piercing: Murúg, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Eyebrow piercing: Jonny, CC BY 3.0, source
- Lip frenulum piercing: YantsImages, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Wayfarer: Starman1984, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cat eye glasses: Smithsonian Institution, No restrictions, source
- Monocle: Sobebunny, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Glasses: Jacek Halicki, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Panto glasses: Kelmaa, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bug-eye glasses: Nicki Varkevisser, CC BY 2.0, source
- Monroe piercing: Sara Marx, CC BY 2.0, source
- Teardrop tattoo: RJ, Public domain, source
- Sehra: SynthContibutor, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Windsor glasses: Ji-Elle, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bridge piercing: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Inuit snow goggles: McLeod, Public domain, source
- Browline glasses: Piercetheorganist at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Horn-rimmed glasses: User:Robin Clement, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Grill: Bradley G., CC BY 2.0, source
- Snooker glasses: SMcCandlish, CC BY 3.0, source