The first systematic approach to styling hair and applying make-up by face shape was developed in the 1930s by Ern and Perc Westmore. Like other members of the Westmore family the two brothers had extensive experience in hairdressing and make-up in Hollywood film studios. In 1930, Perc Westmore was the make-up director at Warner Brothers–First National and Ern Westmore was in a similar position at RKO.
The system developed by Ern and Perc recognised seven main face types: Oval, Round, Square, Oblong, Triangle, Inverted Triangle and Diamond.
In 1937, Perc Westmore outlined each type, along with some Complex Types – such as Oblong-Oval or Square-Round – in a series of newspaper articles. Each article covered one face type along with some make-up and hair styling ‘rights and wrongs’. In 1939, Perc condensed this information into a booklet, ‘Perc Westmore’s perfect make-up guide’. He left out the Complex Types but included the ‘don’ts and dos’ for each face shape. The example below is for the Diamond Type:
The face typing described by Perc was an offshoot of the Corrective Make-up system he developed at Warner Brothers–First National in 1934 (Westmore, 1935). This, in turn, was based on work the two brothers had done with Max Factor earlier in the decade which was founded on the premise that the ideal face shape was oval.
See also: The Ideal Face
According to this proposition, if the ideal face shape was oval a woman could improve her attractiveness by using hair styling and make-up to create the illusion that her face was closer to oval than it was in reality. This meant that before a woman could enhance her beauty she first needed to know the shape of her face.
Perc was so enamoured with this general principle that he created a device to determine the face shape of actresses that came into his make-up department at Warner Brothers. The apparatus has probably been lost for good but fortunately its action has been captured on film.
Perc also included a measuring wheel in his 1939 booklet so that women could work out the shape of their face at home.
The Seven Face Types were used by other Westmore Brothers but, after the Second World War, Ern Westmore switched to a simpler system with only five face types: Oval, Round, Square, Oblong, and Triangle. A detailed exposition of each type can be seen in the promotional film ‘Why Men Leave Home’ (Babb & Kenton, 1951). The make-up segment, which was often cut from later versions of the film, shows the five face types and Ern applying make-up.
The five face types can also be seen in the book, ‘Beauty, Glamour and Personality’ (1947), that Ern co-authored with his brother Bud Westmore [1918-1973] and in the promotional work Ern did with the Charles Antell company in the 1950s.
Also see the company booklet: Charles Antell presents your glamour-graph by Ern Westmore (c.1956)
Although this was simpler than the earlier model the principles were the same as was the advice given.
See also: House of Westmore
The idea of styling hair and make-up according to face shape is still in circulation. Many still use seven or five face shapes, others included different shapes – such as heart and pear – and some do not acknowledge the oval ideal. However all, in some way or other, are are built on the work done by the Westmores.
See also: Corrective Make-up (Contouring)
First Posted: 30th May 2018
Last Update: 29th August 2021
Babb, K. (Producer), & Kenton, E. C. (Director). (1951). Why men leave home [Motion picture]. United States: Hallmark.
Charles Antell. Charles Antell presents your glamour-graph by Ern Westmore. [Booklet]. USA: Author.
Screen snapshots: Seeing Hollywood with Harriet Parsons [Motion picture] Series 19, No. 1. (1939). United States: Columbia Pictures.
Westmore, F., & Davidson, M. (1976). The Westmores of Hollywood. London: W. H. Allen.
Westmore, E., Westmore, W., Westmore, B., Westmore F., & Westmore M. (1956). The Westmore beauty book. Chicago: Melvin Korshak.
Westmore, E., & Westmore, B. (1947). Beauty, glamour and personality. Sandusky, OH: Prang Company.
Westmore, P. (1935). Corrective makeup as an aid to cinematography. American Cinematographer, 16(5), May, 188, 198.
Westmore, P. (1939). Perc Westmore’s perfect make-up guide. With measuring wheel to type your own face [Booklet]. Hollywood, CA: House of Westmore.