Labret An object that pierces the area below the lips and above the chin. Commonly part of regular grooming, makeup varies according to changing definitions of beauty. For vanity and social acceptance, or for medicinal or ritual purposes, people regularly transform every visible part of their body. Makeup can accentuate the contrast between men and women, camouflage perceived imperfections or signify a special occasion or ritual state. Makeup allows people to reinvent themselves in everyday life.
Theatrical makeup helps actors take on new identities.
Male Japanese actors in kabuki theater become women by using strictly codified paints and patterns, and the designs and motifs of Chinese theatrical makeup indicate the identity of a character. The art of tattoo as practiced by the Maori of New Zealand. Worn by both men and women, moko was a sign of distinction, reserved for those who were the most noble and accomplished. Most commonly pierced are the soft tissues of the face, but many peoples, past and present, have also pierced other parts of the body. Ear, nose and lip ornaments, as well as pierced figurines, have been found in ancient burials of the Inka and Moche of Peru, the Aztecs and Maya of ancient Mexico and in graves of central Asian and Mediterranean peoples.