Makeup Color Harmony for Facial Shapes Based on Birren’s Form–Color Association Theory

This study adopts a literature-based conceptual approach to apply Birren’s form–color association theory to facial shapes in order to analyze the harmony among facial shape, image, and color, and to propose a makeup color harmony model. Facial shape categories were based on the classification and morphological criteria suggested by Park and Song (2004), while the psychological meanings of form and interpretative potential of form images were supplemented by Kim (2017). Based on these sources, facial shapes were analytically reinterpreted in relation to geometric forms, and corresponding color image relationships were comparatively examined in the context of makeup application. The findings indicate that the relationship between form and color is not a fixed one-to-one correspondence but rather a flexible interaction in which color images are adjusted according to the structural characteristics and impression images of facial shapes. Accordingly, makeup color application should be approached strategically to maintain, soften, or enhance the inherent image of each facial shape. Furthermore, this study presents Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 to visualize the analytical framework and the proposed harmony model. In addition, Fig. 3 provides exploratory application cases in which identical color strategies derived from specific forms were applied to different facial shapes (e.g., inverted triangle vs. oval, square vs. oval), allowing intuitive comparison of impression changes in real makeup contexts. In particular, the oval face demonstrated high color adaptability, supporting its role as a variable structural type capable of accommodating diverse color strategies. Although these cases do not constitute controlled experimental verification, they serve as supplementary evidence demonstrating how the proposed model can operate in practical settings. This study is limited in that it is based on literature review and conceptual integration without empirical validation. Future research should examine perceptual responses through controlled experiments and expand applicability across different demographic and cultural groups.