Choosing a Mustache
A mustache sits in the middle of the face, so its size should match your features: big, full mustaches suit wide faces and strong features; thin ones suit narrow faces and finer features. Shape matters too: styles that drop down at the sides add length, and styles that sweep out to the sides add width. Here are 12 styles.
1. Chevron
Thick and wide, covering the top lip, trimmed to follow the lip line. Made famous by Tom Selleck and Freddie Mercury. It's the most versatile style and suits oval, square and round faces.
Read more: Beard Styles for Your Face Shape: A Guide for All 7
2. Pencil
A thin, precise line just above the lip, with a gap under the nose. A classic of 1930s and 1940s film stars. It suits narrow faces and fine features, and needs trimming every few days.
3. Handlebar
Long enough at the ends to be waxed and curled upward. Bold and vintage; it adds width, so it suits oval and long faces.
Read more: Patchy Beard: Causes, Fixes and Styles That Hide It
4. Horseshoe
A full mustache that runs down past the corners of the mouth to the jawline, like an upside-down U. The vertical lines lengthen round and square faces.
5. Walrus
Thick and bushy, drooping over the top lip. It needs a large face and strong features to carry it.
6. Fu Manchu
Grows only from the corners of the upper lip, with long, thin ends hanging down past the chin. Dramatic, and lengthening for round faces.
7. Lampshade
Trimmed short and neat, with the sides angled like a lampshade and kept within the width of the mouth. Tidy and understated.
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8. Painter's Brush
Like a chevron but a little wider and thinner, shaped like a broad paintbrush. Suits most faces.
9. English
Long and thin, parted in the middle and combed out to the sides, often lightly waxed into points. It adds width, so it suits long and oval faces.
10. Dalí
Thin, with long, upward-pointing waxed tips, named after Salvador Dalí. A statement style for confident wearers.
11. Imperial
Full and curled upward at the sides, with hair from the cheeks joining the upper lip. Formal and old-fashioned in the best sense.
12. Pyramid
Trimmed into a triangle that's narrow under the nose and wider at the lip. Simple, and it suits square and oval faces.
How to Grow and Keep One
Grow the whole upper lip for four to six weeks before shaping; it's much easier to trim down than to wait for a gap to fill. Trim along the lip line with small scissors, comb daily, and use a little wax for any style with curled or pointed ends.
The free face scan in Ollie Stylist measures your face shape and suggests beard styles to match. See also beard styles by face shape.