thumb|Supermodel [[Cindy Crawford is known for her beauty mark.]]

A beauty mark or beauty spot is a euphemism for a type of dark facial mark so named because such birthmarks are sometimes considered an attractive feature. Medically, such "beauty marks" are generally melanocytic nevus, more specifically the compound variant. Moles of this type may also be located elsewhere on the body, and may also be considered beauty marks if located on the face, shoulder, neck or breast. Artificial beauty marks have been fashionable in some periods.

Artificial beauty marks

thumb|alt=painting described in caption; the black woman is on the left|[[Allegorical Painting of Two Ladies, English School, c. 1650, by an anonymous hand. The two women, who appear to be of equal standing, are wearing face patches, which were a fashion of the time. The painting is captioned "I black with white bespott y white with blacke this evil proceeds from thy proud hart then take her: Devill."]]

History

The wearing of artificial beauty marks trace back to the Roman Empire; it was believed that the Goddess of beauty, Venus, had a single beauty mark that accentuated her beauty. As such, beauty patches became a recognizable symbol of beauty designed to highlight the pale, unblemished skin of the wearer. In Europe, mouches (French, 'flies'), became fashionable in sixteenth-century France, and the fashion persisted into the eighteenth century. When the fashion spread to Spain and the Spanish Empire they were called a chiqueador. In 1668, the English diarist Samuel Pepys recorded attending the theatre and witnessing Barbara Villiers, one of the King's mistresses "called to one of her women… for a little patch off her face, and put it into her mouth and wetted it, and so clapped it upon her own by the side of her mouth, I suppose she feeling a pimple rising there." Contemporary satire or beauty manuals like R. Smith's A Wonder of Wonders: or, a Metamorphosis of fair Faces voluntarily transformed into foul Visages attested the wearing of patches could "turn botches into beauty."

Criticism of the beauty patch

Moral commentators in the early modern period increasingly expressed concern about the wearing of beauty patches, and linked it to sexual immorality and prostitution. The British diarist and intellectual John Evelyn referred to the wearing of patches, and make-up more general, as a "most ignominious thing." Other commentators saw the wearing of a black patch as a physical symbol of the wearers black morals, or soul, commonly attributing the wearing of patches to signs of the wearer's vanity. However, despite moral outcry, patches continued to be worn by men and women of diverse social ranks.

Contemporary beauty patches

Natural beauty marks are also often enhanced with color from an eyebrow pencil or pen.

Celebrities with beauty marks

thumb|upright|A [[Monroe piercing is a lip piercing placed off-center, above the upper lip, meant to resemble Marilyn Monroe's beauty mark.]]

Many female sex symbols, actresses, and other celebrities are known for their beauty marks:

<!-- birth dates shown as an indication of periods of fashionability -->

  • Gloria Swanson (1899–1983)
  • Arlene Dahl (1925–2021)
  • Jean Patchett (1926–2002)
  • Marilyn Monroe (1926–1962)
  • Anne Francis (1930–2011)
  • Elizabeth Taylor (1932–2011)
  • Sophia Loren (born 1934)
  • Tina Louise (born 1934)
  • Edie Sedgwick (1943–1971)
  • Goldie Hawn (born 1945)
  • Dolly Parton (born 1946)
  • Kate Pierson (born 1948)
  • Lynsey de Paul (1948–2014)
  • Paloma Picasso (born 1949)
  • Christine Baranski (born 1952)
  • Geena Davis (born 1956)
  • Kim Cattrall (born 1956)
  • Madonna (born 1958)
  • Sheryl Crow (born 1962)
  • Paula Abdul (born 1962)
  • Sarah Jessica Parker (born 1965)
  • Michelle Forbes (born 1965)
  • Cindy Crawford (born 1966)
  • Janet Jackson (born 1966)
  • Halle Berry (born 1966)
  • Julia Roberts (born 1967)
  • Lisa Marie Presley (1968–2023)
  • Mariah Carey (born 1969)
  • Jennifer Connelly (born 1970)
  • Severina (born 1972)
  • Lil' Kim (born 1974)
  • Eva Mendes (born 1974)
  • Mel B (born 1975)
  • Angelina Jolie (born 1975)
  • Kate Winslet (born 1975)
  • Rachel McAdams (born 1978)
  • Pink (born 1979)
  • Sarah Buxton (born 1980)
  • Kelly Rowland (born 1981)
  • Natalie Portman (born 1981)
  • Erin Wasson (born 1982)
  • Mandy Moore (born 1984)
  • Scarlett Johansson (born 1984)
  • Khloé Kardashian (born 1984)
  • Caroline Polachek (born 1985)
  • Lady Gaga (born 1986)
  • INNA (born 1986)
  • BC Jean (born 1987)
  • AJ Lee (born 1987)
  • Blake Lively (born 1987)
  • Ronda Rousey (born 1987)
  • Brie Larson (born 1989)
  • Aly Michalka (born 1989)
  • Jennifer Lawrence (born 1990)
  • Charli XCX (born 1992)
  • Karlie Kloss (born 1992)
  • Neelam Muneer (born 1992)
  • Kate Upton (born 1992)
  • Debby Ryan (born 1993)
  • Frida Gustavsson (born 1993)
  • Phoebe Dynevor (born 1995)
  • Gigi Hadid (born 1995)
  • Son Chaeyoung (born 1999)
  • Kaia Gerber (born 2001)
  • Daniela Avanzini (born 2004)
  • Élodie Grace Orkin (born 2004)

Male public figures known for their beauty marks include: