Verdi Beard: A Rounded Full Beard With a Standout Moustache

The name and the shape

The Verdi takes its name from Giuseppe Verdi, the 19th-century Italian opera composer, who wore a trimmed full beard with a neat, separately groomed moustache in his later portraits. The modern style keeps those proportions.

Compared with a Garibaldi, the Verdi is shorter and more polished. The beard is full on the cheeks and jaw, rounded at the bottom, and kept compact. The difference is that the moustache is groomed as its own feature instead of disappearing into the beard.

Why the moustache has to stand apart

The Verdi is recognised by its moustache, so the beard around it needs to be slightly shorter at the mouth corners to create visual separation. Without that, you just have a rounded full beard.

The separation is not a shaved gap. Instead, we trim the hair just under the moustache ends and at the upper corners of the chin a little shorter, so the moustache sits on top like a distinct layer. A common guideline is to let the moustache ends extend no more than about 1.5 cm beyond the corners of the mouth, which keeps it prominent without turning it into a handlebar.

Styling the moustache with wax

Moustache wax gives the Verdi its tidy, shaped look, holding the hairs sideways and away from the lip. You only need a small amount, roughly the size of a grain of rice, for a moustache of this length.

1. Start with a clean, dry moustache; wax does not grip damp hair well.
2. Warm the wax between your thumbnail and fingertip until it softens.
3. Work it in from the centre outward, coating the hairs on both sides of the lip.
4. Comb from the middle to each side with a fine moustache comb.
5. Twist the ends lightly if you want a subtle lift, or leave them combed flat.
6. Remove it at night with warm water or a gentle wash.

Keeping the beard rounded and in proportion

The beard should be rounded at the base and slightly narrower than the widest point of the face. Letting the sides spread makes the moustache look small, while keeping them trim makes the moustache the focus.

We shape it dry with scissors and a comb, rounding the bottom and tapering the sides lightly toward the jaw. The cheek line stays natural and the neckline sits just above the Adam's apple, set with a razor. If you are still building length, our full beard page describes the earlier stages.

• Bottom: rounded, not pointed or squared.
• Sides: a little slimmer than the cheekbones.
• Mouth corners: trimmed slightly short to let the moustache stand out.
• Moustache: longer than the surrounding beard, off the lip, waxed.

Faces that suit a Verdi

The moderate length and rounded base suit oval, square and oblong faces well. On a square face the rounded bottom softens the jaw, and on a long face the fuller sides add width.

Round faces can wear it too, but we keep the sides tighter and let the bottom run a touch longer. A strong moustache draws the eye to the centre of the face, which suits men with prominent features.

Upkeep

Comb and wax the moustache daily, trim moustache hairs crossing the lip every few days, and oil the beard after washing. A Beard Only + Lineup every 3 to 4 weeks keeps the round bottom and the moustache proportions consistent.