Do I Have iPhone Face?

A new celebrity debate has been being asked all across the internet: do they have iPhone face? This term refers to celebrities and actors whose faces seem just too modern to fit in a period piece movie or TV show. Basically, they look like they’ve seen and used a smartphone in their life. Although it might be a little tricky to understand at first, some examples of people who have less modern and more timeless faces include Keira Knightly, Florence Pugh and Timothée Chalamet.

Although this trendy debate might seem like a harmless argument about pop culture and history, iPhone face reveals a lot about the way technology is engrained into our society, as well as modern beauty standards.

The Technology Bubble

It’s no secret that society’s constant digital exposure changes the way that our faces look. Everything from selfies, front-facing cameras and a million kinds of social media platforms really do shape the way we hold our faces. Now people are constantly worried about who might be taking a photo or how they look on camera instead of enjoying the moments that they are in where currently. Instead of being our authentic selves, the importance is placed on what your followers might think. The high use of technology in our everyday lives also changes our perception of others as well. When we think of different people, all we think of is a highlight real of their social media pages.

Taking the constant trend cycle and digital enhancements too far to give us a false sense of what a face should look like. There are also some very detrimental physical affects of technology and too much screen time that will leave you looking and feeling worse. Some of these include bad posture and neck pain, headaches, blurry vision and insomnia.

Movie Magic

Comparing two celebrities like Florence Pugh and Sidney Sweeney keeps us wondering why one face looks modern while the other looks timeless. One of the biggest subjects to study these faces are TV shows and movies that are set in early historical periods, otherwise known as period pieces. “Pride and Prejudice”, “Little Women” and “Downton Abbey” are all examples of this type of media. Obviously there are a lot of external factors in movie-magic that helps convince the viewer that they have traveled back in time. Set-design, hair, makeup, costumes and the ways actors speak all contribute to the believability.

The very popular Netflix TV show, “Bridgerton” becomes a very interesting case of debate for the iPhone face phenomenon. Fans have begun to argue that in the earlier seasons, each actor seemed fit to portray the Regency era, but season 3 brought the introduction of many modern-seeming actors and actresses. Fans describe Hannah Dodd, who plays Francesca Bridgerton, as having iPhone face. Many fans are attributing this phenomenon to use increased use of heavy makeup in season 3, as well as fake nails on some characters and other modern enhancements.

Changing Beauty Standards

As beauty standards continue to cycle, society is seeing more and more celebrities ‘enhance’ their faces through fillers and botox. The increase of these modern beauty tools can lead to actors and actresses look younger, but not timeless. The use of makeup in the 21st century is also becoming a telltale sight of a person’s modern-ness. On the set of “Pride and Prejudice”, a well loved period piece, makeup artist Far Hammond claims that no real makeup was used on set. Instead, only sunscreen, a lash curler, and beet juice were the only things used. Not only do our physical enhancements set our faces in a time period, but so do digital enhancements such as filters and retouching – we erase any flaws we see.

Although it may be easy to get wrapped up in the debate, asking yourself if you have iPhone face, focusing on the beauty of those period piece films may be a way to champion natural beauty. We see natural beauty with little to no enhancements as flawless and timeless. Appreciating these beauty standards may also be a way to detach ourselves from our ever-growing dependence on technology.

What actors and actresses do you think have iPhone face? Do you think you have iPhone face? Let us know by messaging us @VALLEYmag on X!