Face Shape vs Face Structure
Face shape labels (oval, round, square, heart, diamond, oblong, triangle) describe one thing: the outline of your face. They're useful for choosing haircuts and glasses, but they're broad. In Ollie's face scan of 4,032 celebrities, 21.2% of men came out oval, and square faces made up 16.7% of men. Thousands of very different-looking people share each label.
A celebrity match works at a much finer level. Ollie's model turns your face into 512 numbers that capture the outline and also what's inside it: how far apart your eyes are compared with your face's width, the shape of your brows, the length of your nose, the height of your cheekbones, the line of your jaw and how all of these relate.
| Face shape | Celebrity match | |
|---|---|---|
| What it describes | The outline | The outline plus the layout of features |
| Number of categories | About 7 | Effectively unlimited |
| Best for | Haircuts, glasses, beards | Finding who you resemble |
| How it's measured | Ratios of width and length | A neural network's 512-number embedding |
Why Same Face Shape Doesn't Mean Lookalike
Two people with square faces can look nothing alike. One has wide-set eyes, a short nose and full lips; the other has close-set eyes, a long nose and a thin mouth. Same outline, completely different faces. The model would never pair them.
On the other hand, your top match might have a different face shape label from yours, especially if you're on the border between two shapes (oval and oblong, say). What matters to the model is the overall pattern.
So a list of "celebrities with your face shape" is a style guide, not a lookalike list. Pages like celebrities with oval faces are great for haircut ideas. For who you actually resemble, use a face match.
How to Read Your Top Five
Your first match is the single closest face. Your top five together tell you more. Put the five photos side by side and work through this list:
- Brows: straight or arched? Thick or thin? High above the eyes or low?
- Eyes: wide-set or close-set? Hooded, round or almond?
- Nose: long or short? Narrow or wide bridge?
- Cheekbones: high and prominent, or soft?
- Jaw and chin: angular or rounded? Pointed or broad chin?
- Overall length: long face or short face?
Any feature that three or more of your matches share is probably a defining feature of your face, in the model's eyes. If they share nothing obvious, your face is likely close to average on most measures, which is common and, according to face research, often considered attractive.
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Why Your Match Might Look Surprising
- You're comparing styling. Different hair, makeup or facial hair can hide a structural resemblance. Mentally strip those away.
- You're comparing the wrong photo. Look at the specific photo that matched, not the celebrity's most famous look.
- You're comparing with your mirror image. You know your face flipped. See why you don't recognise your own face.
- The photo shifted things. Close selfies, side light or a big smile change your proportions. See how to get better results.
Read more: The Most Commonly Matched Celebrities, and What It Says About Facial Geometry
Want Your Actual Face Shape?
If it's your face shape you're after, a different tool does that job. The free face scan in Ollie Stylist measures the width of your forehead, cheekbones and jaw and the length of your face, in your browser, and tells you which shape you are and which haircuts suit it.
Together, the two give a full picture: your face shape tells you what suits you; your celebrity match tells you who you resemble. For the details of each shape, see what is my face shape.