Lip Shape Analyzer
Lip Shape Chart:
9 Lip Types Explained
+ Free Detector
Compare the nine common lip shapes side by side, then find yours with the free lip shape detector. It measures your lip proportions in your browser and shows every number it used. No guesswork, no upload.
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Prefer questions to a camera? Take the 60-second lip shape quiz.
Lip shape detector
Not sure what lip shape you have? Upload a photo, use your camera, or enter four measurements. You get a named shape plus every number behind it.
Detect my lip shape
Photo and camera trace your whole lip outline from 478 on-device face landmark points, check the photo is usable, then measure ten things. No image leaves your browser. Measurements needs only a ruler and a mirror.
Choose a photo, or drag one here
Best result: straight on, even daylight, mouth relaxed, no smile, little or no lip liner. Your whole face should be in frame.
Start the camera, then face the lens straight on with your mouth relaxed.
The most reliable method. Hold a soft tape or ruler gently against your lips in a mirror with your face completely relaxed. Do not press, smile or purse. Measure the red of the lip only, not the skin above it. For reference, published anthropometric studies put average adult lip width at around 51 mm.
| Measurement | Your value | What it means |
|---|
Makeup that suits this shape
Worth avoiding
Lip care
What this tool does, and what it cannot do
It traces your whole lip outline, measures ten things, and names the closest of nine shapes. Nothing is uploaded. It runs in your browser.
- What it measures: mouth width against face width, lip height against face width, upper to lower vermilion ratio by height and by area, cupid’s bow depth and peak angle, corner height and angle, left-to-right symmetry, and total lip area relative to your face.
- How: 478 face landmark points. The full lip contour is traced, rotated so head tilt cannot skew it, then measured by area rather than single points, which survives an imperfect landmark.
- It checks the photo first: head tilt, turn, chin angle, smile, open mouth and pursed lips are all detected. If any would corrupt the result, it refuses to answer and tells you what to fix rather than guessing.
- Camera mode takes five readings and uses the median, which removes the frame-to-frame jitter a single snapshot carries.
- What you see: every number, next to your result, so you can check the reasoning instead of trusting a label.
- What breaks it: head tilt, side lighting, a smile, a beauty filter, heavy lip liner. Any of these can flip the answer.
- What it is not: a medical assessment. It says nothing about your health and cannot tell you whether a cosmetic procedure suits you.
If a recent or one-sided change in your lip brought you here, see a doctor. That is not a question for a beauty chart.
What is a lip shape chart?
Direct answer
A lip shape chart is a visual reference that places the common descriptive lip categories side by side, so you can compare your own visible features against them. On this site it covers nine categories. It is a comparison tool for makeup and general interest, not a medical or standardised anatomical classification.
What are the 9 types of lips?
Full, thin, wide, round, heart-shaped, bow-shaped, top-heavy, bottom-heavy and downturned. Those nine describe four independent traits: volume, upper-to-lower balance, width against height, and the contour of the Cupid’s bow and corners. Because the traits are independent, the labels overlap and most people match two. Every type is explained in full here.
Lip Shape Chart: 9 Common Lip Types
Thin sits at the centre because it is the most commonly reported shape. The other eight orbit it, each highlighting in turn. Tap any shape to open its full guide.
- Most commonThinLow visible height in both lips. The most commonly reported shape.
- Heart-shapedSharp V, full centre
- Bow-shapedTwo rounded peaks
- FullVolume in both lips
- WideReaches past the nose
- RoundHeight close to width
- DownturnedCorners angle down
- Bottom-heavyLower taller than upper
- Top-heavyUpper taller than lower
Thin and bottom-heavy are the two most frequently reported shapes, and both become more common with age. That reflects consistent practitioner observation rather than a counted population study, so treat it as the usual answer rather than a proven one.
Every shape in detail
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Full Lips
Both the upper and lower lip carry noticeable volume, with fullness reaching out toward the corners.
- Key feature
- High visible volume in both lips.
- Makeup note
- Line exactly on the vermilion border. Overlining is rarely needed here.
How to identify it
Full is most often confused with round. The difference is width: full lips keep their volume out toward the corners, round lips stay compact.
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Thin Lips
The upper lip, the lower lip, or both show relatively little vertical height of red tissue.
- Key feature
- A narrow visible lip profile.
- Makeup note
- Overline by up to 1 mm with a liner close to your own lip colour, then gloss in the centre.
How to identify it
The most commonly reported shape, and it becomes more common with age. Judge it with a relaxed mouth, because pressing thins any mouth.
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Wide Lips
The mouth extends noticeably further horizontally than it does vertically.
- Key feature
- Corners reach past the base of the nose.
- Makeup note
- Keep colour through the centre and stop short of the corners.
How to identify it
Width is independent of fullness, so a mouth can be both wide and thin. Measure against the base of your nose, not against other people.
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Round Lips
Height is close to width, with soft curves and little taper at the corners.
- Key feature
- A compact, circular outline.
- Makeup note
- Extend liner very slightly at the outer corners to lengthen the shape.
How to identify it
Round lips are compact rather than wide. If the corners sit close to the width of your nose and the height is close to the width, this is your category.
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Heart-Shaped Lips
A sharply pointed Cupid’s bow above a lower lip that is fullest at the centre and tapers toward the corners.
- Key feature
- A sharp V at the centre of the upper lip.
- Makeup note
- Trace the V precisely and never fill the centre dip.
How to identify it
The most confused pair on this chart is heart-shaped against bow-shaped. Heart has a sharp angle; bow has a rounded curve.
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Bow-Shaped Lips
Two pronounced but rounded peaks on the upper lip, paired with a wider, flatter lower lip.
- Key feature
- A clearly readable double curve.
- Makeup note
- Sharpen the outer edge of the bow with concealer rather than drawing the peaks higher.
How to identify it
Bow-shaped describes the upper lip feature, so it often overlaps with full, thin or wide. That overlap is expected, not a mistake.
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Top-Heavy Lips
The upper lip is visibly taller than the lower, reversing the usual proportion.
- Key feature
- Upper lip taller than the lower.
- Makeup note
- Gloss on the lower lip, matte or satin on the upper, to pull volume downward.
How to identify it
Less common naturally, and sometimes created by upper-lip filler. Measure the red tissue only, not the skin above the lip.
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Bottom-Heavy Lips
A slimmer upper lip sits above a noticeably fuller lower lip.
- Key feature
- Lower lip taller than the upper.
- Makeup note
- Define the upper border with a slightly deeper liner and keep the lower lip lighter.
How to identify it
Very common, and it matches the usual upper-to-lower range, so it is a normal proportion rather than an imbalance.
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Downturned Lips
The corners of the mouth sit below the centre line when the face is completely relaxed.
- Key feature
- Corners angle downward at rest.
- Makeup note
- Stop the liner before the corner and angle it slightly upward.
How to identify it
Corner direction is easy to misread from one photo, because a small head tilt changes it. Check twice with a relaxed face.
Quick lip shape comparison
One row per category, with the fastest way to tell each one apart and the finish that suits it.
| Lip shape | Defining trait | Quick identifier | Best finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full | Volume in both lips | Fullness reaches the corners | Satin or cream |
| Thin | Low vertical height | Narrow red lip, relaxed mouth | Gloss or sheer |
| Wide | Horizontal reach | Corners past the base of the nose | Sheer, colour in the centre |
| Round | Height close to width | Compact, circular outline | Any finish |
| Heart-shaped | Sharp V plus full centre | A visible angle, not a curve | Satin with precise liner |
| Bow-shaped | Rounded double peaks | Two clear peaks, flatter lower lip | Matte or stain |
| Top-heavy | Upper taller than lower | Upper red taller than lower | Gloss on the lower lip |
| Bottom-heavy | Lower taller than upper | Lower red clearly taller | Gloss on the upper lip |
| Downturned | Corner direction | Corners below the centre at rest | Long-wear, non-feathering |
Full technique for every row is in the makeup guide by lip shape.
How to identify your lip shape
Five checks in order. The first two decide your dominant type, the rest decide the secondary trait.
Relax your mouth
Daylight, mirror at eye level, no lipstick, no smile, no pursing. A smile stretches the corners and flattens the bow, which hides the exact features you are checking. This is the step most people skip, and it is why most self-assessments come out wrong.
Compare upper and lower volume
Look at the red of each lip, not the skin above it. Including that skin is the most common measuring error and it makes almost everyone read as top-heavy. Clearly taller upper means top-heavy, clearly taller lower means bottom-heavy.
Check the Cupid’s bow
A sharp point at the centre means heart-shaped. Two rounded, clearly readable peaks mean bow-shaped. A soft or almost flat dip points to full, round or thin instead.
Compare width against height
Much wider than tall means wide. Nearly as tall as it is wide means round. Measure against the base of your own nose rather than against other people’s mouths.
Look at the corners at rest
Do they sit below the centre line of your mouth, level with it, or above it? Below means downturned. Check this twice, because a slight head tilt flips the answer.
Still unsure? What is my lip shape walks through the same checks with photos, or let the detector measure the ratios for you.
Find your lip shape in seconds
The free detector compares your visible lip features with the nine categories in this chart, and shows you the measurements behind the result.
Free to use, runs in your browser, no image is uploaded, no account needed.
Lip shape differences explained
The pairs people mix up most often, and the single easiest way to tell each apart.
Heart-shaped vs bow-shaped
Angle against curve
Heart-shaped comes to a sharp point at the centre with a lower lip fullest in the middle. Bow-shaped has two softer rounded peaks and a wider, flatter lower lip. Read the full comparison.
Full vs thin
Vertical height of red
Full shows real height in both lips with fullness reaching the corners. Thin shows less height and often a softer border. Thin lips explained, including the difference between genetic and age-related thinning.
Round vs full
Compact against wide
Both have volume. Round stays compact with height close to width. Full carries its volume out toward the corners. Measure the width against the base of your nose to separate them.
Top-heavy vs bottom-heavy
Which lip is taller
Compare the red of each lip only. Bottom-heavy is very common and matches the usual proportion. Top-heavy is less common naturally, and is sometimes the result of upper-lip filler.
Downturned vs neutral
Corner position at rest
With the face completely relaxed, compare the corners to the centre line of your mouth. A small head tilt flips this, so confirm in a second photo before accepting the label.
Natural vs enhanced
Shape against volume
Filler changes volume and sometimes outline, which is why an enhanced mouth can read as a different category. What over-treatment looks like covers the patterns to recognise.
Lip shape and makeup
Four principles do most of the work. The per-shape notes in the chart tell you where to apply them.
Line where your lip already is
Liner reads as natural on the vermilion border and drawn-on past it. If you overline, about 1 mm is the limit before the drawn edge stops matching the shadow your real edge casts.
Match liner to your lips, not the lipstick
A liner within one shade of your natural lip colour disappears into the mouth. One matched to the lipstick becomes a visible ring as colour wears off through the day.
Light in the centre, depth at the corners
This changes apparent volume without changing the outline. It makes thin lips read fuller and wide lips read more central, using the same move in both directions.
Use finish to balance
Gloss enlarges and matte compresses. Put gloss on whichever lip is shorter and keep the fuller one matte or satin. Full technique by shape.
What research says about lip shapes
Less than most beauty pages imply. Here is what is established and what is not.
Lip shape is continuous, not categorical
Human lip morphology varies smoothly across a population. Any set of named categories, including this one, imposes boundaries on something that does not naturally have them. That is why most people match more than one.
The terminology is not standardised
Beauty publications, cosmetic literature and anatomical references use different names, different definitions and different counts. Gull-wing, M-shaped, rosebud and straight all describe outlines that already have other names elsewhere.
What genuinely influences appearance
Lip volume, vermilion height, Cupid’s bow definition, mouth width, symmetry, age, inherited facial structure and expression. Expression alone can move a result between categories, which is why a relaxed mouth matters so much.
What has actually been measured
Studies of lip proportion exist. Studies counting how common each shape is do not. Any exact rarity percentage you find online has no source behind it, and we would rather say so than repeat one.
Sources and methodology
Lip proportion is one input into whole-face proportion, which is covered in more depth at Golden Ratio Face. On lips specifically the most cited work is Popenko and colleagues, JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery, 2017, which reported that raters preferred an upper-to-lower ratio near 1:2. Read the method before quoting the number: the images were digitally morphed rather than photographed, and the faces were white women aged 18 to 25. More recent reviews describe a working range rather than one ideal, and preferences differ across populations. We cite it as a reference point, not a target, and we do not claim a most attractive lip shape exists.
How we classify lip shapes
What this chart measures, what the detector can and cannot determine, and who maintains it.
What the chart compares
Four traits: volume, upper-to-lower balance, width against height, and the contour of the Cupid’s bow and corners. Every category here is a combination of those four.
Where the terminology comes from
Names in common use across beauty publications and aesthetic practice. We chose one set, define each term on this page, and use the same nine across every guide so the vocabulary stays consistent.
What the detector determines
It traces the lip outline from face landmark points in your browser, calculates proportions, and matches them to the closest category. It prints every measurement alongside the result.
What it cannot determine
Anything medical. It does not diagnose, says nothing about health, and cannot tell you whether a cosmetic procedure suits you. See the disclaimer.
How this site is funded
It is not. No advertising, no affiliate links, no sponsored placements, no products. Nothing here earns money when you buy a lipstick or book an appointment.
How it is reviewed
Written and maintained by Rizwan Aslam, reviewed at least every twelve months. Corrections are published rather than made silently. See the editorial policy.
Lip shape chart FAQs
What are the 9 types of lips?
The nine descriptive categories used across this site are full, thin, wide, round, heart-shaped, bow-shaped, top-heavy, bottom-heavy and downturned lips. They describe four independent traits: volume, upper-to-lower balance, width against height, and the contour of the Cupid’s bow and corners. The labels overlap by design, so most people match two rather than one.
What is a lip shape chart?
On this site, a lip shape chart is a visual reference that places the nine descriptive lip categories side by side so you can compare your own visible features against them. It is a comparison tool for makeup and general interest. It is not a medical classification and not a standardised anatomical system.
How do I know what my lip shape is?
Relax your mouth completely in daylight and check four things in order: whether the upper or lower lip carries more visible red, how sharply defined the dip in the centre of your upper lip is, whether the mouth is much wider than it is tall, and which way the corners point at rest. Then compare against the chart, or measure it with the detector.
What is the most common lip shape?
Thin and bottom-heavy are the two most frequently reported, and both become more common with age as the upper lip loses height faster than the lower. That reflects consistent practitioner observation rather than a counted population study, so treat it as the usual answer rather than a proven statistic.
What is the rarest lip shape?
Heart-shaped is widely described as the rarest, because it needs two features at once, a sharply peaked Cupid’s bow and central lower-lip fullness, and both soften with age. No large population survey of lip shape frequency exists, so any exact percentage quoted online has no source behind it.
Can someone have more than one lip shape?
Yes, and most people do. The nine categories describe independent traits, so they overlap on purpose. Width says nothing about fullness, and corner direction says nothing about the Cupid’s bow. A two-part answer such as wide and thin, or heart-shaped with downturned corners, is usually more accurate than one label.
Can lip shape change over time?
The underlying outline stays broadly the same, but the proportions shift. The upper lip loses height faster than the lower, so balanced lips often become bottom-heavy, the Cupid’s bow flattens, the vermilion border blurs and the corners descend. Sun exposure and smoking both speed this up.
What is the difference between heart-shaped and bow-shaped lips?
The centre of the upper lip. Heart-shaped comes to a sharp point and the outline narrows toward the corners, with the lower lip fullest in the middle. Bow-shaped has two softer, rounded peaks and a wider, flatter lower lip. If you see a clear angle rather than a curve, it is heart-shaped.
What is the difference between full and thin lips?
Visible vertical height of red tissue. Full lips show noticeable height in both lips with fullness continuing toward the corners. Thin lips show less height and often a softer border. Judge it with the mouth relaxed, because pressing the lips together makes any mouth look thinner.
What is a Cupid’s bow?
The Cupid’s bow is the double curve at the top centre of the upper lip, made of two peaks with a dip between them. How sharply it is defined separates heart-shaped, bow-shaped and the softer categories from each other, which is why the detector measures its angle in degrees.
Can a lip shape detector identify my lip shape?
It measures your visible lip proportions from face landmark points and matches them to the closest descriptive category, showing every measurement it used. It is an estimate, not a measurement of record. Head tilt, lighting, a smile and lip liner all move the visible border enough to change the result, and it makes no medical assessment of any kind.
Where to go next
Each guide answers one question properly rather than repeating the chart above.
Reference
Types of lips
The full pillar guide. Every shape, the anatomy behind it, sub-types clinicians use, and a comparison chart.
Identify
What is my lip shape?
The mirror method, the photo test and the quiz in one place, with the checks in the order that narrows it fastest.
Tool
Lip shape detector
Measures ten proportions from a photo in your browser and prints every number behind the result.
Tool
Lip shape quiz
Five questions, about a minute, no photo needed. Useful if you would rather not use a camera.
Shape guide
Thin lips
The most common shape. Genetic thinness against age-related thinning, and every option ranked by evidence.
Shape guide
Heart-shaped lips
Why they are called the rarest, and how to tell them from bow-shaped.
Makeup
Lipstick for your lip shape
Liner placement, colour depth and finish for each of the nine shapes, with the mistakes to skip.
Meaning
Lip shape meaning
What each type is said to say about you, with folklore separated from what research supports.
Enhancement
Lip fillers
The vocabulary decoded before a consultation, including which styles are technique terms and which are marketing.
Enhancement
Russian lips
What the technique actually does, who it suits, and who it does not.
Enhancement
Lip flip
What it costs, why quotes vary so widely, units, duration and which lips it suits.
All guides
Every guide
The full index, newest first, each with a review date.
Who writes and reviews this page
Ready to find your lip shape?
Compare the nine categories above, then let the detector measure yours and show you the numbers.