The makeup emoji and what each one means
Lipstick is the closest thing to a makeup emoji: an open red lipstick, in Unicode since version 6.0 (2010), which is why it stands for the whole category in bios and store names. Kiss Mark is a lipstick print, the emoji for a sent kiss, xoxo or a sealed-with-a-kiss sign-off; from a partner it is flirting, from a friend it is just affection. Mouth is a pair of glossy lips with no face, used for lip products, lip fillers and the stunned stare of the 2020 meme . Biting Lip, added in Unicode 14.0 (2021), is the flirty or nervous version; Tongue goes with lip and tongue piercings.
Nail Polish shows a brush painting a hand's nails. It was meant as a manicure, and nail techs still use it that way, but in texting it mostly means unbothered, sassy or slay: on its own after a sentence says "and that's that". It takes skin tones, so a nail salon can match it to the hand in the photo. Ring and Gem Stone are the bling a nail post adds for a wedding set or a gem-studded manicure.
There is no eyelash, eyebrow or eyeshadow emoji yet. Lash and brow artists use Eye (one eye, Unicode 7.0, 2014) or Eyes instead, and Mirror or Sparkles for the finished look. Artist Palette sometimes stands in for an eyeshadow palette, but with reads more clearly as makeup.
Hair emoji: haircut, barber pole, hair pick and the hair flip
Person Getting Haircut is the hair emoji: a client with scissors at their head, shown as a woman on most platforms and as a man in the variant. Add Barber Pole for the shop itself and Scissors for the cut; the three together, , are the standard fresh-cut post. Razor covers shaves, fades and waxing. The red-and-white pole is older than hairdressing as we know it: barbers once pulled teeth and let blood, and the colours are usually explained as blood and bandages.
Hair Pick arrived in Unicode 15.0 (2022) as the first comb-shaped emoji, proposed for afro-textured hair care, which until then had nothing in the set. It is the emoji for wash day, braids and natural-hair pages. Person with Blond Hair is the only hair colour with its own emoji; red, curly, white and bald come as the components (Unicode 11.0, 2018) that combine with or into or on your keyboard. Person Tipping Hand began life as "Information Desk Person" and is now the hair-flip, the sassy "as I was saying" face that pairs naturally with .
For plain-text captions and usernames the scissors are also typographic characters: come from the old Zapf Dingbats font and have been in Unicode since 1993, so they work in places that strip colour emoji. 髪 is the Japanese character for hair and 梳 for comb, nice as single-character decorations on a salon page.
Skincare and spa emoji: mirror, lotion, bubbles and the sauna
Mirror (Unicode 13.0, 2020) is the getting-ready emoji and the mirror-selfie emoji; Selfie is the photo itself. Lotion Bottle is the one bottle for every pump product: moisturiser, sunscreen, shampoo, body wash, hand sanitiser. Soap, Bubbles (2021) and Sponge are cleansing; Droplet stands in for serum, hydration and the dewy look, and Toothbrush rounds out a morning-routine line like .
Person Getting Massage was named "Face Massage" in its first Unicode release, and that is still what it looks like: hands on the temples. Person in Steamy Room is the sauna; Finland published its own sauna emoji in 2015, two years before Unicode added this one. Hot Springs is the Japanese onsen map symbol and the oldest character on this page, from Unicode 1.1. Bathtub, Person Taking Bath, Shower, Candle and Cucumber (for the face-mask cliché) finish a spa-day message. The wider relaxation set, from tea to meditation, lives in the Self-Care, Spa & Relax Emoji collection.
Beauty emoji combos for Instagram bios and salon captions
A beauty bio works best with three emoji that say what you do: for nails, for makeup, for a barber, for skincare, for natural hair. A caption under a finished look adds the feeling: for full glam, for nails you love, for a spa day. Keep bios to three or four emoji so the booking link and the city still fit on the line.
For an aesthetic caption, frame one emoji with text symbols instead of stacking more emoji: , or . The soft pink set is the coquette makeup look; is the glam-queen one; says glow-up. Flowers are the beauty-brand shorthand for scent and freshness: for a rose lipstick, for a cherry-blossom collection, and for spa and tropical lines.
Makeup emoji on iPhone, Android, WhatsApp and in plain text
Every platform draws these in its own style, so is a pink bottle and brush on an iPhone but a hand-only design elsewhere, and shows a different client on each. The meaning carries across. On an iPhone or Android, open the emoji keyboard and search "lipstick", "nail", "hair" or "mirror"; on Windows press Win . and on a Mac Control Command Space. all take the five skin-tone modifiers: long-press the emoji on a phone to pick one.
Where colour emoji are not allowed, in a game name, an old forum or a plain-text bio, use the text characters on this page: the lips pictograph , the scissors , the sparkle stars , the florettes and the heart . 美 is the Chinese and Japanese character for beautiful, a one-character sign-off that beauty pages in East Asia use the way others use .
Symbols
90Click a symbol to copy it and open its page.
Makeup and lips
The core makeup emoji: lips first, then nails and bling, then the eye stand-ins for lashes and brows.
Hair and the barbershop
Haircut, barber pole, pick and razor, then the hair-flip faces and the text scissors.
Skin, bath and spa
Getting ready at the mirror, the spa day, and the bath.
Glam and sparkle
What a beauty caption adds around the product: shine, bows, queen energy and the outfit.
How to use them
6 situationsClick to copyMakeup & Beauty Emoji combos
15Worth knowing
- Nail Polish entered Unicode in 2010 as a plain manicure. Its texting meaning, unbothered or slay, grew out of drag and Black Twitter slang and now outweighs the literal one; the Unicode name never mentions it.
- The barber pole's stripes go back to the barber-surgeons of medieval Europe, who also pulled teeth and let blood: red for blood, white for bandages. The blue stripe on is the American version of the pole.
- , and were named Haircut, Face Massage and Information Desk Person when they arrived from Japanese phone emoji in 2010; the woman and man versions were added as separate sequences in 2016.
- Hair Pick (2022) is the first comb in emoji. It was proposed as a pick rather than a flat comb because afro-textured hair care had no emoji at all.
- Hot Springs is the symbol for an onsen on Japanese maps and predates emoji by years: it has been in Unicode since 1993, long before the sauna (2017).
Questions people ask
8What does the nail polish emoji mean?
Literally a manicure, but in texts it means unbothered, sassy or "slay": sent after a sentence it says "and that's that". Nail salons use it for its plain meaning, often with a skin tone to match the hand.
What does the lipstick emoji mean?
Lipstick means makeup, glam or getting ready. From a girl it usually announces a look or a night out; from a guy it is a compliment or flirting. Kiss Mark is a lipstick kiss, the xoxo of emoji.
Is there a makeup emoji?
There is no palette or brush emoji made for makeup. People use Lipstick as the general makeup emoji, for nails, or for lashes and brows, for getting ready and for the finished look.
How do I copy and paste makeup emoji?
Tap or click any emoji on this page to copy it, then paste it into your caption, bio or message with a long press or Ctrl/Cmd V.
Is there a hair emoji?
Yes: Person Getting Haircut, Barber Pole, Hair Pick and Razor. Hair colours and styles come as Blond and the components red, curly, white and bald, which your keyboard combines with or .
What does mean from a guy?
A sent kiss. Between a couple it is romantic or flirty; from a friend it is a warm goodbye like xoxo. Face Blowing a Kiss is the softer, less lipstick-stained version.
What is the barber emoji?
Barber Pole is the barbershop itself, Man Getting Haircut the client and Scissors the cut. Barbers typically post together.
What beauty emoji work in an Instagram bio?
Three that name your work: for nails, for makeup, for a barber, for skincare, for hair. For a softer look frame one emoji with text symbols: .
