What Is My Lip Shape? Take the Quiz, Photo Test or Mirror Check
Three verified ways to answer one question. Take the 7-question scored quiz below, upload a photo to the AI lip shape detector, or follow the 4-step mirror method. Every route places you in one of the 9 lip types — and we explain exactly how, so you can trust the result.
Start the Quiz ↓ Use Photo DetectorQuick Answer
How do I know what lip shape I have? Relax your face and check four traits: which lip is fuller (upper vs lower), how sharp your Cupid’s bow is, whether your lips are wider than they are tall, and where your corners sit at rest. Those four observations sort you into one of 9 lip shapes — full, thin, wide, round, heart, bow, top-heavy, bottom-heavy or downturned. A scored quiz or a photo detector that measures the actual ratios removes the guesswork, especially if you sit between two types.
Key Takeaways
- Four traits decide your lip shape: balance, Cupid’s bow, width-to-height, and corners.
- Quiz = fast and educational; photo detector = most consistent for borderline cases.
- Always assess with a relaxed, closed mouth — smiling thins the upper lip and widens the mouth.
- A photo shows asymmetry that a mirror hides; use an un-mirrored front-camera shot.
- Most people are a blend of two types; identify the dominant trait first, then the secondary.
- The same 9 shapes apply to men and women; only the average proportions differ.
Three Ways to Find Your Lip Shape — Compared
There is no single “correct” way to identify a lip shape; each method trades speed for precision. Use the quiz to learn what you’re looking at, the detector to measure it, and the mirror method when you have neither a phone nor a minute to spare.
Scored Quiz
Seven observation questions scored against all 9 lip types. Returns a primary shape, secondary trait and a confidence rating.
- Time
- ~60 seconds
- Needs
- Mirror or selfie
- Best for
- Clear-cut shapes; learning the traits
AI Photo Detector
Locates lip landmarks in a photo and calculates width, heights, ratio, bow angle and symmetry, then matches the closest type.
- Time
- ~10 seconds
- Needs
- Front-facing photo
- Best for
- Borderline cases; asymmetry; measurable ratios
Mirror Method
Four sequential checks in daylight. Slower, but you’ll understand why you’re a given type — useful before a makeup or filler consult.
- Time
- ~2 minutes
- Needs
- Daylight + mirror
- Best for
- Understanding your features
What Is My Lip Shape? Quiz
Look in a mirror with a relaxed, closed mouth. Answer honestly — there’s no “best” result.
Scoring: each answer adds weighted points to all 9 lip types; your result is the highest-scoring type, with the runner-up shown as a secondary trait when it scores at least 60% of the winner. Confidence reflects the gap between the two.
How to Know Your Lip Shape in a Mirror: 4 Checks in Order
The mirror method works because lip shapes are defined by only four measurable traits. Check them in this exact order — balance first, because a strongly top- or bottom-heavy pair overrides everything else.
Set up correctly
Face a window in daylight. Remove lipstick and balm. Let your jaw hang loose, then close your lips without pressing. Camera or mirror at eye level.
Check balance
Is the pink area of your upper lip clearly shorter or taller than the lower? Clearly taller = top-heavy. Clearly shorter (about half) = bottom-heavy. Similar = continue.
Read the Cupid’s bow
Sharp V with high peaks = heart-shaped. Two rounded, defined peaks = bow-shaped. Soft or flat = go to step 4.
Compare width to height
Much wider than tall = wide. Nearly as tall as wide = round. In between: plump = full, slim = thin.
Check the corners
Corners dipping below the centre line at rest add downturned as a trait to any result above.
Confirm with a photo
Take a front-camera photo with mirroring turned off and repeat. A photo freezes the shape and reveals asymmetry your brain “corrects” in a mirror.
Decision tree — follow the first line that matches
- Upper lip clearly fuller than lower
- Top-heavy lips (add bow/corner traits as secondary)
- Lower lip clearly fuller than upper
- Bottom-heavy lips (add bow/corner traits as secondary)
- Balanced + sharp V bow + rounded lower lip
- Heart-shaped lips
- Balanced + two rounded peaks + flat lower lip
- Bow-shaped lips
- Balanced + soft bow + much wider than tall
- Wide lips (thin or full as secondary)
- Balanced + soft bow + nearly as tall as wide
- Round lips
- Balanced + soft bow + normal proportion
- Plump → Full lips
- Slim → Thin lips
- Any of the above + corners below centre line
- Add “downturned”
How the Lip Shape Detector Works
A lip shape detector is a computer-vision tool that locates fixed anatomical points on the lips in a photo, measures the distances and angles between them, and matches the pattern to the closest named lip type. It’s the same principle facial-anthropometry researchers use — just automated. The points it relies on have formal names in craniofacial research (labiale superius, stomion, labiale inferius and cheilion), which you can see defined in this peer-reviewed study of automated craniofacial landmark detection (NCBI).
- 1Cheilion (ch) — mouth corners
- Define total lip width and, by their height relative to the stomion, whether the corners are level, upturned or downturned.
- 2Cupid’s bow peaks
- The two high points of the upper vermilion border. The angle between the peaks and the dip decides sharp (heart), rounded (bow) or shallow (full/round).
- 3Labiale superius (ls)
- The top edge of the upper lip at the midline — the bottom of the Cupid’s bow dip.
- 4Stomion (sto)
- The midpoint where the lips meet. Everything above is upper lip height; everything below is lower lip height.
- 5Labiale inferius (li)
- The lowest point of the lower lip at the midline. Together with sto it gives lower lip height.
From points to a lip type
| Measurement | Calculated from | What it decides |
|---|---|---|
| Upper : lower ratio | (ls→sto) ÷ (sto→li) | Balanced vs top-heavy vs bottom-heavy |
| Total vermilion height | ls→li, normalised to face size | Full vs medium vs thin |
| Width : height ratio | (ch→ch) ÷ (ls→li) | Wide vs typical vs round |
| Bow angle & peak height | Peaks relative to ls | Heart (sharp) vs bow (rounded) vs soft/flat |
| Commissure angle | ch height vs sto | Level, upturned or downturned |
| Symmetry index | Left vs right landmark mirror distance | Flags uneven lips; adjusts confidence |
All distances are normalised to a reference like the distance between the eyes, so the result doesn’t depend on how close the camera was. The final classification is the type whose typical measurement profile is closest to yours — which is also why borderline lips get a lower confidence score. Read the full methodology on How Our Lip Shape Detector Works.
How to Take the Right Photo for a Lip Shape Test
The single biggest source of wrong results is the photo, not the algorithm. A smile stretches the mouth wider and flattens the upper lip; a pout inflates it; overhead light casts a shadow that fakes a Cupid’s bow. Follow the list on the left and avoid everything on the right.
✓Do
- Face a window. Soft, even daylight from the front shows the true vermilion border.
- Camera at eye level, arm’s length. Looking down or up changes the visible lip heights.
- Relax completely. Lips closed but not pressed; jaw loose; no expression.
- Bare lips. No lipstick, liner, gloss or tinted balm — colour hides the real border.
- Turn off mirroring & beauty filters. Filters reshape lips; mirroring flips asymmetry.
- Take two. If they differ, your expression moved — use the more relaxed one.
✕Don’t
- Smile or pout. Either one changes your apparent type.
- Shoot from an angle. Three-quarter views shorten one side and hide corner position.
- Use overhead or ring light straight on. Top light fakes depth; harsh ring light flattens the bow.
- Wear lipstick or overline. The detector will measure the makeup, not your lips.
- Test right after filler, cold weather or dehydration. Temporary swelling or dryness shifts volume readings.
- Crop too tight. The detector needs your eyes in frame to normalise the measurements.
Understanding Your Lip Shape Result
Your result is a description, not a grade. Each of the 9 types has a full profile in our Types of Lips guide covering anatomy, celebrity examples, makeup and how the shape changes with age. Jump straight to yours:
Then put it to use: match finish and liner in Lipstick for Your Lip Shape, explore the folklore (clearly labelled) in Lip Shape Meaning, or — if you’re considering enhancement — read Which Filler Style Suits Your Natural Lip Shape before any consultation.
Quiz Says One Thing, Detector Says Another — What Now?
Disagreement between methods almost always means you sit near the boundary between two types — which is the normal case, not the exception. Here’s how to interpret the five most common mismatches.
Quiz: Full · Detector: Bottom-heavy
Your lower lip is fuller than you perceive. The detector measures the ratio; most “full” lips are actually 1:1.5–1:2. Primary = bottom-heavy, secondary = full.
Quiz: Heart · Detector: Bow
Your peaks are defined but not a sharp V, or your lower lip is flatter than you think. Check the lower lip: rounded and tapering = heart; broad and flat = bow.
Quiz: Round · Detector: Full
Volume is similar; the difference is width-to-height. If the detector’s ratio is above ~2.5:1, you’re full, not round.
Quiz: Thin · Detector: Wide
Both can be true — wide lips often look thin because volume is spread horizontally. Primary = wide, secondary = thin.
Any result · Detector adds Downturned
Photos catch corner position more reliably than mirrors, where people unconsciously lift the corners. Trust the photo.
Results differ a lot between photos
Your expression changed. Retake with a fully relaxed mouth in the same light; if it still differs, you have notable asymmetry — see Uneven Lips.
Rule of thumb: treat the detector as your primary type (it measures), the quiz as your secondary trait (it observes), and retake both after 30 if you haven’t checked in a few years — the upper lip thins with age and results shift.
7 Mistakes People Make When Identifying Their Lip Shape
- Judging while smiling. A smile stretches width and flattens the upper lip — full lips read as thin and round lips as wide.
- Assessing with lipstick on. Liner and colour redraw the border; you measure the makeup, not the lip.
- Trusting the mirror for corners. People unconsciously lift the corners when self-viewing; a photo is more honest.
- Confusing “thin” with “small.” Thin is low vertical volume; small is short horizontal span. You can be one without the other.
- Forcing a single label. Two-trait results (“wide + bow-shaped”) are more accurate than one, not less.
- Comparing to celebrity photos. Professional lighting, angles and makeup make celebrity lips a poor reference for your own.
- Assuming it’s permanent. Aging, weight change, filler and even season alter your apparent type. Recheck every few years.
About the Author
Rizwan Aslam
Founder & Lead Beauty-Tech Editor, Lip Shape ChartRizwan Aslam is the founder of LipShapeChart.com and the developer behind this lip shape detector. He builds and tests face-analysis tools on real, diverse faces, and writes evidence-based guides on lip shapes, facial proportions, and makeup technique so readers get clear answers instead of filters and guesswork.
What Is My Lip Shape? — Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know what lip shape I have?
Check four things with a relaxed face: whether your upper or lower lip is fuller, how sharp your Cupid’s bow is, whether your lips are wider than tall, and where your corners sit. Those traits place you in one of 9 lip shapes. The quiz above or the photo detector removes the guesswork.
Is a lip shape quiz accurate?
For clear-cut shapes, yes — a good quiz asks you to observe the same traits a professional would. It is less reliable for borderline cases, where a detector that measures actual ratios is more consistent. Personality-style quizzes that ask about your habits rather than your lips are entertainment, not identification.
How does an AI lip shape detector work?
It locates anatomical landmarks — mouth corners (cheilion), Cupid’s bow peaks, and the midline points of the upper lip, lip junction and lower lip — then measures width, upper and lower heights, their ratio, bow angle and symmetry, normalised to your face size. The measurement pattern is matched to the closest lip type.
What photo should I use?
Front-facing, camera at eye level about arm’s length away, even daylight from the front, relaxed closed mouth, no lipstick or filter, mirroring off, and your eyes in frame. Smiling, pouting, angles and overhead light all distort results.
What if the quiz and detector disagree?
You’re probably a blend of two types. Use the detector result as your primary shape and the quiz result as your secondary trait. If they’re far apart, retake the photo with a fully relaxed expression.
Can my lip shape be two types at once?
Yes, and most people are. Common blends include wide + thin, heart-shaped + downturned, and full + bow-shaped. Identify the dominant trait (balance or volume) first, then the secondary (bow, width or corners).
Does my lip shape change when I smile?
The underlying shape doesn’t, but a smile stretches the lips horizontally and thins the upper lip, so it can make full lips look thin and round lips look wide. Always assess at rest.
Do men have the same lip shapes as women?
Yes — the same 9 categories apply. On average men have slightly wider, thinner lips with a softer Cupid’s bow, so thin, wide and straight results are more common in men, but every type appears in every gender.
Is my photo stored when I use the detector?
No. Analysis runs in your browser and the image is not uploaded or saved. See our privacy policy for details.
Keep Exploring
Want the measured answer?
Upload one relaxed, front-facing photo. The detector maps your lip landmarks, calculates your ratios and gives you a primary type, secondary trait and confidence score — free, private, no sign-up.
Detect My Lip Shape →Editorial note: This page is for educational and cosmetic guidance only and is not medical advice. Quiz and detector results describe appearance; they do not diagnose any condition. Consult a qualified practitioner before any aesthetic procedure.