Analyzing Your Face Shape

To use makeup effectively, you need to be aware of the exact shape of your face. Unfortunately, few of us are blessed with the perfect oval and instead fall into the categories of square, heart, round, or long, as well as oblong or triangle, and some of us may be mixtures of these shapes. To analyze your face shape, pull your hair back from your forehead so you can get an overall picture and examine your bone structure carefully in a mirror. Look at your cheekbones, the shape of your jawline and forehead, and the fullness of your cheeks. Pick out your key features and then compare your analysis with the five different face shapes shown here. Once you are aware of the true shape of your face, you can learn how to apply foundation and blusher to create more of an oval outline (see pages 82-83). If you think that your face is a mixture of different shapes, take the key features you can recognize and correct them accordingly (see pages 84-85).

square

This shape is easily identified by its solid bone structure and square jawline. The forehead is wide and angled, while the cheekbones tend to be flat and unnoticeable. Checks often look plump.

heart

This face is marked by being broad at the top and narrow at the bottom. It can appear long. too. and the chin pointed and prominent. Cheekbones may be high, but often do not show because of the width of the face.

ROUND

LONG

The oval face shape has hight, sculpted cheekbones with a softly curved jawlines that finishes in a delicated chin. The lenght of the forehead balances the lower part of the face and features look even and heat.

(source: Dk publishing Inc - Classic Makeup and Beauty - Mary Quant)