Do you have a button nose?

What a button nose looks like

The word describes size and the tip. A button nose is short from bridge to tip, narrow at the base, and finishes in a rounded tip that turns up a little. From the front, the tip reads as a small circle, which is where the name comes from.

The bridge is short and sits low, with little height between the eyes. In profile the line from bridge to tip is short, straight or gently concave, and ends in a soft curve rather than a point. Because the tip lifts slightly, a little of the nostril openings shows from the front.

Width is the trait that separates it from the other small noses. The base of a button nose is narrow, so the nostrils are small and close together. A short nose with a wide base reads snub; a nose with a round tip that is wider than the bridge reads bulbous.

Button noses are found in every population and are the usual shape in children. Many adults keep the shape, and it is drawn on almost every cartoon face, which is why it reads as friendly. Nothing on this page assumes it needs changing.

How to tell if you have a button nose

The front view does most of the work here, which makes a button nose easier to check than most. Face a mirror in even light with your head level, eyes on your own eyes, and look at three things.

1. Length. Compare the nose from the top of the bridge to the tip with the width of one eye. A button nose is about that length or shorter.
2. Base width. Look at the space between the inner corners of your eyes. A button nose is narrower at the base than that gap, with small nostrils.
3. The tip. A button tip is round and soft, wider than it is tall, with no point. If the tip is pointed, the nose is small but not a button nose.

Then check the profile with a hand mirror or a photo from the side at eye level, taken from a couple of metres away. The bridge should be short and low, the line straight or slightly concave, and the tip should lift a little above the base. Close side selfies stretch the nose.

The tools on this site work from a front photo, so they do not read length in the profile. They measure nose width at the nostrils against mouth width and face width, and nostril symmetry. A button nose usually gives a mouth-to-nose ratio above the typical face, because the base is narrow.

If two of the three front checks pass and one does not, read the neighbour. Short and round but wide at the base is snub. Short and narrow but pointed is a small Greek nose. Round and narrow but long is simply a straight nose with a soft tip.

Button vs snub and bulbous noses

Button and snub overlap so much that many people use the words for the same nose. The distinction is what defines each. Snub is about the concave dip in the bridge and the lifted tip, at any width. Button is about small size and a round tip. A pointed tip is snub.

Width is the quickest tie-breaker. A button base is narrow, with small, close nostrils. A snub base is of ordinary width or a little wide for the length. Both lift at the tip and both show a little nostril from the front, so that check does not separate them.

Button and bulbous share the round tip and nothing else. A bulbous tip is enlarged, wider than the bridge above it, and sits on a nose of any length. A button tip is small and in proportion to a small nose. If the tip is clearly the widest point, read bulbous.

A Roman nose is the far end of the scale: long, high in the bridge, with a bump and a tip that continues the line. The two shapes have nothing in common, which is useful; if you are choosing between button and Roman, the answer is neither.

Glasses for a button nose

Two things matter: keeping the frame on a low bridge, and keeping the frame in proportion with a small nose. Fit first. A button nose has a short, low bridge, so glasses have little to rest on and tend to slide down and sit on the cheeks.

Adjustable nose pads solve most of it, set close together to grip at the top of the nose. Frames sold as low-bridge fit, sometimes called Asian fit, have the bridge set lower and the pads further apart, which suits a button nose well. A flat plastic saddle bridge with no pads slides the most.

Keep the frame light. Heavy acetate pulls down on a low bridge and slips within minutes. Thin acetate, metal and combination frames stay put. If you want a bold shape, pick it in a lighter material.

For proportion, a small nose looks balanced with smaller lenses and thinner rims. A large, deep lens makes a button nose disappear behind the frame and the glasses read as the main feature. Moderate lens height, a narrow bridge and a frame that matches the face width all keep the nose in view.

Sunglasses follow the same rules. Slim metal aviators with adjustable pads and small round or oval frames sit well. Oversized plastic sunglasses cover most of a small nose and slide; try them on and look down before buying. The face shape guides cover which outline suits your face.

Contouring, makeup and hair for a button nose

Most people with a button nose contour nothing, and that is the right default. Contouring works by shadow, and shadow makes things look smaller. A button nose is already small, so contour on the sides of the bridge tends to make it look smaller still and can leave the tip looking heavier by comparison.

If there is an aim, it is usually length. A thin line of a lighter matte shade down the full length of the bridge, from between the brows to just above the tip, makes the nose read longer from the front. Keep it narrow and unbroken. A broken highlight shortens.

Leave the tip alone. Highlight on a round tip makes it rounder; contour under it makes the nose look shorter. If the round tip is what you like about the nose, a small dot of highlight exactly on it draws the eye there.

Keep everything matte. Shimmer on a short bridge draws the eye to the middle of the face and makes the nose look shorter. If you prefer no product on the nose, a defined brow and blush placed a little higher on the cheek shift attention outward.

Hair can lengthen the face in a way makeup cannot. Height at the crown, a side part, layers that fall past the chin, all make the face read longer and a small nose smaller in proportion. A heavy straight fringe cuts the face short and makes a short nose more noticeable.

For men, a beard with some length at the chin lengthens the lower face in the same way and adds a second line below a small nose. See the beard guides for your face shape.

A button nose and the rest of the face

A nose is read against the face around it. A button nose on a round face matches the softness and reads as part of the whole. On a heart face it sits in the narrow lower half and looks smaller still. On a long or square face it is a soft feature against strong lines.

The golden ratio test measures the width of the nose at the nostrils against the width of the mouth. A narrow button base gives a mouth-to-nose ratio above the typical face, which is why a defined mouth and a fuller lip colour balance it well.

Symmetry is worth checking. The symmetry test mirrors the nostril landmarks across the midline and reports the nose region separately from eyes, brows, mouth and jaw. Small noses usually score high here, because there is little length for a lean to show in.

Age changes the shape in a known direction. The tip of every nose drops slightly over the decades, so the upturn on a button nose softens and the nostrils gradually stop showing from the front. The small size and the round tip usually stay for life.

Frequently asked questions