Duckface Isn't the Only Cheesy Selfie Trend on Instagram
By Megan Cahn
My friends used to make fun of me for what they dubbed my “mirror face.” Every time I caught sight of my own reflection — whether in the bathroom or walking past a storefront window — I inadvertently (or perhaps a wee advertently) puckered my lips into an unnatural, slightly open, what-I-thought-seemed-prettier pout. It was an awkward look (hence the teasing), something models could pull off on the catwalk and in magazines — not teenage girls with obsessive crushes and frizzy hair. And this was all before you could even take a picture with your phone.
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But eventually, everyone would catch on (or catch up). First came digital cameras and the ability to almost instantly check out your look. Then came phones that let you see yourself and take your own photo simultaneously. Add in the internet shareability factor, and everyone’s “mirror faces” came out. Sucking in cheeks, widening eyes, and puffing out lips became the norm. It still looks just as silly, but people like it. I will put a duckface selfie on Instagram and the likes will come rolling in, while my beautiful shot of the scenic lake I’m visiting tops out in the low double-digits.
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There’s no wrong way to take a selfie, or pose for any pic (except, of course, looking down at the camera). But since the world has become our mirror and each of us has become a curator of our own image, many new selfie techniques have popped up. Here, we take a look at the standout poses we’ve seen over the years — get ready to master the Squinch.
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PHOTO: RON GALELLA, LTD./ WIREIMAGE/ GETTY IMAGES
The Model Pout
The pout has always been an acceptable model pose — see Cindy Crawford circa 1990. We’ve never been a culture to shy away from excess, so why not try and make her already full lips more pillowy, her angular cheekbones more razor-sharp, and her sparkling almond-shaped eyes even more twinkly? That will sell more Bongo jeans, right?
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PHOTO: RINDOFF PETROFF/ CASTEL/ GETTY IMAGES
In real life, outside of the pages of magazines, the legendary Supers of the ‘90s were more inclined to flash big toothy grins, like Crawford and Claudia Schiffer are doing here while flanking Karl Lagerfeld in 1993. Yes, the Kaiser pulled out his selfie face, but he’s always been ahead of the times.
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PHOTO: DAVE HOGAN/ GETTY IMAGES
Blue Steel
The model pout was such a thing that it got its own parody. In 2001, Ben Stiller played Derek Zoolander and introduced the world to Blue Steel, his signature male-model face. This was when the masses started to take note of how a simple puckering of the lips could make someone instantly really, really, really, really, ridiculously good looking.
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PHOTO: COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM/@CARADELEVINGNE
Fifteen years later, in honor of the 2016 release of Zoolander 2, Stiller gave Blue Steel another turn (though not a left one) on the fall 2015 Valentino runway. It was an unexpected, but very welcome, addition to the sea of oversized sunglasses and selfie faces at Paris Fashion Week. Here, he’s joined by his longtime rival Hansel (also known as Owen Wilson) and Cara Delevingne for a three-way Blue Steel stare-off.
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PHOTO: ALEX BERLINER/ BEIMAGES/ REX USA
The Smize
America’s Next Top Model premiered in 2003, and Tyra Banks began teaching her minions — and the world — how to smile with their eyes, a.k.a. smize. The Banks-branded look is all about letting your face relax and widening your eyes until they get that extra-alluring twinkle. A Smize may or may not be accompanied by a slight smile. Be warned: When smizing (as with all things Tyra), there is a very fine line between gorgeous and freaky.
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PHOTO: COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM/@KENDALLJENNER
After 21 seasons (er, cycles) of ANTM, the Smize is still one of the strongest selfie faces on Instagram. Here’s some recent proof via Kendall Jenner, Balmain designer Olivier Rousteing, and Jourdan Dunn.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM/@MINGEY
You can do the Smize on its own, but Banks recommends adding a reptilian jut of the neck to the look. “The Turtle” will elongate your body and deflect any possible double-chin action — as demonstrated by super-smizer Amanda Seyfried and hairstylist Jenny Cho.
PHOTO: ERIC RYAN/GETTY IMAGES
The Prune
When Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen traded in their acting careers for power-player positions in the fashion industry, another swap went down, too. Those America’s-sweetheart smiles were replaced with two pretty, permanent pouts. Like most Olsen endeavors, this lip look was not taken lightly — it was all part of a well thought-out, intentionally crafted plan. In 2008, it was widely reported that the sisters repeated the word “prune” when they posed for photos. They believed this tactic helped them capture their now-trademark sucked-in cheeks and pursed lips without it seeming too forced.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM/@ZENDAYA
The Olsens may have started pruning when Instagram was still just a glimmer in some techie’s eye, but the pose has proven to be just as effective for selfies today as it was for paparazzi shots then. Just take a look at Zendaya. P-p-p-perfection.
PHOTO COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM/@RITAORA
Who needs to say “cheese” when you can say “prune”? You can almost hear the word breathlessly coming out of Rita Ora’s pursed lips.
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PHOTO: COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM/@KIMKARDASHIAN
The Duckface
We’ve always had self-portraits or posed solo shots, but it wasn’t until 2010 — with the launches of both the front-facing iPhone 4 and Instagram — that we were #blessed with what we now know as the selfie (though the word itself can be traced back to 2002).
Kim Kardashian didn’t join the ‘gram until two years later in 2012, but we think it’s safe to say that she has become Queen of the Selfie — she even published Selfish, a coffee-table tome featuring, well, a whole lot of her — and the duckface is her signature move.
Here, she shares the screen and the expression with Caitlyn Jenner, who joined social media (setting major records) earlier this year. Jenner posted her first selfie (complete with duckface) this June, after she was nominated for the #SocialMediaQueen Teen Choice Award — which she went on to win. She’s obviously learned from the pros.
PHOTO COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM/@LADYGAGA
Lady Gaga gives us a lovely profile view of her quacker.
PHOTO COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM/@JESSICASIMPSON
The duckface is not, nor will it ever be, limited to the selfie. Here, Jessica Simpson demonstrates just how versatile it can be.
PHOTO: COURESY OF INSTAGRAM/@LINDSAYLOHAN
The Sparrow Face
In 2013, the Oxford Dictionary named “selfie” its Word of the Year — and another bird face swooped in and threatened to oust the duckface as the selfie pose du jour. Sparrow Face, first popular in Japan, is when you widen your eyes like when smizing, but make a chirping shape with your lips slightly parted. Though it’s a favorite of Lindsay Lohan and Miley Cyrus (and the closest look to my infamous mirror face), sparrowing never became quite as ubiquitous as Kim K’s good ol’ duck.
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PHOTO: COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM/@MILEYCYRUS
Miley Cyrus proves you can still look sexy with zit cream if you do a little sparrowing.
