Fashion
9 Flattering Makeup Looks for Heart-Shaped Faces
If you've read a beauty magazine in the past 10 years, you likely know that your facial shape falls into one of five categories: oval, square, round, oblong, or heart-shaped. A heart-shaped face is typically wider at the forehead and comes to a point at the chin, presenting a unique set of obstacles when choosing makeup looks.
If you're looking for makeup to highlight those enviable cheekbones or downplay a pointed chin, we have good news: some of your favorite celebrities are in the heart-shaped face club, too, and their makeup artists have created countless flattering looks to copy. We picked out nine of our favorite celebrity looks to accentuate the finer points of a heart-shaped face.
Images: Getty Images
Bronze Contouring
Though lucky ladies who possess heart-shaped faces need no extra help in the defined-cheekbones department, playing up the contours of the cheek highlights an already stunning attribute. Follow Reese Witherspoon’s lead by choosing a warm bronzer just a few shades away from your natural skin tone and brushing along the line of the cheekbone.
Understated Smokey Eye
Heavy, dark eyeliner can look overwhelming on an angular face, but when eyes are played up in understated, smokey shades, the effect is soft and subtle. A palette of golden brown or grey shades is universally flattering. Follow Jennifer Love Hewitt’s lead and apply a shimmering beige all over the lid, followed by a touch of coffee shadow in the crease and under the bottom lid. A thin swipe of dark eyeliner finishes the look.
Shades of Coral
Coral makeup is often associated with frosty, aging tones only suitable for the elderly. However, the shade has been reinvented thanks to new incarnations as a sheer wash of color for the cheeks, lips, and even eyes. Using coral as a base note for makeup brings a rosy glow and subtle plumping effect to heart-shaped faces. Sofia Vergara looks luminous in coral shades to match her one-shoulder gown.
Soft-Focus Nude
One way to balance out the proportions of a heart-shaped face is to create a uniform palette of nude shades on the face. The neutral tones downplay the sharp planes of the face and ensure that no one area of your visage will be more prominent than the others. Choose subtly luminous matte shades for a soft-focus effect that will leave you glowing. Ciara models the nude look with a muted lip and cheek, and a touch of soft sparkle at the eye.
Twiggy Lashes
Fluttery eyelashes do quite a bit to soften the lines of an angular face, so make like Twiggy and go for extreme length and volume. A volumizing mascara like the one Emma Stone used will do the trick. If you’re feeling daring, add single false eyelashes to the top and bottom for maximum impact.
Bright Orchid Lips
Pantone tells us that Radiant Orchid is this year’s “It” color, so why not celebrate the vibrant shade by wearing it as a lipstick? A pop of bright lip color makes the narrow point of a heart-shaped face appear wider and draws focus from a broad forehead. Actress Zhang Ziyi wears a glossy orchid shade on her lips paired with understated eyes and subtly flushed cheeks.
Bright Eyeliner
With a swipe of colored eyeliner, all focus will be trained on your eyes. Try a daring shade like royal purple or cobalt blue if you love a bold look, and keep the color concentrated to your upper lid. Olivia Wilde rocks the bright eyeliner look in vivid blue.
Strategic Highlights
Well-placed highlights can change the way light interacts with a face. For a heart-shaped face, a light-reflecting cream or powder along the fullest part of the cheek, cheekbone, forehead, and chin can give the face an illusion of fullness. Scarlet Johansson looks radiant with highlighted cheeks and chin, as well as the inner corners of her eyes.
Elongated Cat Eye
An elongated cat eye is another way to balance out a heart-shaped face. By extending a shimmering liner a few centimeters past the outer corner of the eye, focus is drawn away from the forehead and chin to the center of the face. Kaley Cuoco’s gorgeous Golden Globes look featured a prominent extended cat eye with a pastel palette on the rest of the actress’s face.
