The mighty moustache has been a part of culture for as long as humans have had facial hair, but only in the last two decades has it become a force for good!

2023 marks the 20th year of Movember, the annual event in which people are encouraged to grow out a moustache to raise awareness and funds for men’s health issues, particularly prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and suicide prevention.

We’re celebrating the mighty mo’ by combing through our sponsored artists’ work to find the best moustaches we can manage!

David Corden & Kenji Diederen - Pencil Moustache

This thin, neat little stache has been popular for over a century, with many early movie stars sporting the look. However, it also saw a lot of love from musicians and rock stars! David Corden’s incredible colour realism Prince portrait shows the artist with a fairly full pencil moustache as seen in the 1984 film Purple Rain, while Kenji Diederen’s black and grey Jimi Hendrix is rocking the suave and sophisticated pencil moustache that some say was a nod to rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Little Richard.

Rachel Van Mechelen & Thomas Carli Jarlier - Parted Pencil

Not too be a downer, but this list is already turning into a memorial thread for iconic celebrities and their upper lip hair! Tupac’s distinctive parted pencil moustache was sometimes connected to a beard, and sometimes left separate, as in this black and grey portrait by Rachel Van Mechelen. While you can’t quite see the entire upper lip in Thomas Carli Jarlier’s portrait of Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh in Gone With the Wind, his perfectly clipped parted pencil had all of our grandmothers swooning at the sight.

Adrian Hidalgo & Duncan Whitfield - Handlebar Moustache

Finally, we’ve got moustache-wearers who are still alive!  Daniel Day Lewis sported this incredible handlebar moustache for his role as Billy the Butcher in Gangs of New York. This black and grey portrait from Adrian Hidalgo feels pretty menacing thanks to the pointed finger and the intensity in his eyes! Duncan Whitfield created this tattoo of the infamous Charles Bronson with his iconic round glasses and handlebar moustache. The Handlebar Club describes this kind of moustache as “a hirsute appendage of the upper lip and with graspable extremities” – but we wouldn’t recommend anyone try to grab a hold of these!

Paul Vaughan & Sissy_Ink - Horseshoe Moustache

Sometimes known as a biker moustache – and sometimes confused with a Fu Manchu – the horseshoe moustache keeps the middle of the lip full, with the side whiskers grown down the side of the mouth. In Sissy_Ink’s piece, Lemmy’s legendary horseshoe can be seen to meet up with his sideburns (some may argue that this connection means he has mutton chops rather than a moustache, but we’re not listening to them). Paul Vaughan’s fantastic colour realism portrait of Hulk Hogan captures his bushy brush of the early 90s – the very one he’s still sporting it today!


Steve Butcher & Carolina Caos Avalle - Chevron Moustache

The Chevron moustache is probably the boldest of moustaches, and many famous men have worn them, including the most famous physicist of all time, Albert Einstein! This colour realism portrait by Steve Butcher shows the scientist later on in life, when his hair and moustache had both turned a sophisticated grey. A slightly more modern chevron can be seen on Carolina Caos Avalle’s profile portrait of Freddie Mercury – it’s also seen on the Funkopop-styled version of him as seen in the “I Want To Break Free” video, where it makes a striking contrast against his pink woollen top and coiffed hairstyle.

Duda Lozano & Dimitris Panagoupolis - Artistic Moustaches

It benefits artists to look distinctive, and more than a few have used the humble moustache to make their mark on the world! As an artist and feminist, our token moustachioed woman Frida Kahlo always made sure to exaggerate her moustache and monobrow in self-portraits, although outside of her own work it is frequently censored. Duda Lozano’s patchwork portrait of the artist proudly displays her full complement of facial hair, while Dimitris Panagopoulos inked this black and grey Salvador Dali, whose remarkable moustache has inspired generations of weirdos!

Anshin Anshin & Inal Bersekov - Fake Moustaches

Some of the most iconic moustaches in cinema are – shock horror – actually fakes! Anshin Anshin’s brilliant Marx Brothers blackwork piece features Groucho with the huge moustache that would become his signature style – the drawn-on greasepaint moustache was funny enough by itself, but once combined with his glasses and gait, it became perfect physical comedy. Hercule Poirot, the fictional Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie, is well-known for his tight curly moustache, especially in David Suchet’s fantastic performances – and while that perfect little ‘tache is a fake, Inal Bersekov’s rendering of it in black and grey is truly realistic.

Matt Daniels & Rob Blythin - Cartoon Moustaches

It’s easier to have a huge moustache when you’re animated, and these are the guys to prove it! Matt Daniels tattooed this fantastic Dr Robotnik – aka Eggman – which makes great use of the character’s big bushy moustache. He’s almost got a bit of a Charles Bronson look about him with those round glasses! Rob Blythin took on this pseudo-realistic portrait of Captain Hook from Disney’s Peter Pan – in this animated film, Hook sports something remarkably similar to Dali’s moustache.

And that’s your lot! We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about the wonderful world of moustaches with us, and got some inspiration for your own soup strainer.

If you’ve got a killer ‘tache tattooed on your body, why not share it with the class? You can find us on Facebook or Instagram – make sure to let us know which tattoo is your favourite!