Types of Kisses

Want to discover some new ways to kiss your sweetie? Get some fun ideas from this guide to the different types of kisses. You're guaranteed to learn a new kissing style!

1. The French Kiss

Probably the most famous kiss there is, the French kiss is an open-mouthed kiss where one person's tongue touches the other person's tongue. Also called a "tongue kiss," the French kiss easy enough to execute, but it can take years to master. For French kissing tips, check out the following guides:

2. The Butterfly Kiss

To give someone a butterfly kiss, get close to them so the tips of your eyelashes are touching theirs. Then blink very fast so your eyelashes flutter together like butterfly wings. It's a fun, cute thing to do while you're catching your breath from more traditional kisses. You can also give someone a solo butterfly kiss by fluttering your eyelids against their cheek.

3. The Single-Lip Kiss

To give someone a single-lip kiss, take one of their lips between yours and gently suck or tug on it. It's an awfully romantic kiss, and if you do it right, you'll send tingles up and down your sweetie's spine.

4. The Spiderman Kiss

Based on the kiss in the 2002 movie Spider-Man, the Spiderman kiss involves kissing someone whose face is upside-down from yours, so your top lip kisses their bottom lip and vice versa.

5. The Earlobe Kiss

A great kiss to to perform while you're taking a break from lip kisses, the earlobe kiss involves taking someone's earlobe lightly between your lips and tugging gently downward. For a more intense earlobe kiss, add a little bit of tongue, or use a gentle sucking motion on their earlobe.

6. The Lip Gloss Kiss

This is a fun, flirty kiss for girlfriends to give their boyfriends. Put on a healthy amount of lip gloss or ChapStick, then rub your lips on your partners' lips until theirs are coated, too. For extra fun, surprise your partner with a sweet, fruity lip gloss flavor.

7. The Eskimo Kiss

In an Eskimo kiss, two people rub their noses back and forth against each other. It's based on real kisses that people in Eskimo cultures give their friends. Just like with lip kisses, Eskimo kisses are best executed with your eyes closed.

8. The Cheek Kiss

The cheek kiss is exactly what it sounds like - a closed-mouth kiss against someone's cheek. Cheek kisses can be used as friendly greetings, flirty thank-you's or cute, unexpected ways to say good-bye to your boyfriend or girlfriend.

9. The Hickey

A hickey technically isn't a kiss; it's a red mark (a bruise, really) left on the skin after someone sucks hard enough on it. Hickeys hurt a little to get, but some people think the sucking feels good, especially on the side of the neck. It can be embarrassing to walk around with a hickey, so before you start sucking, get permission first.

10. The Secret Message Kiss

In the middle of a French kiss, spell out a secret message with the tip of your tongue against their tongue. It might feel a little funny to the other person, but at least you'll be getting your message across.

11. The Vampire Kiss

The vampire kiss is a deep kiss on someone's neck that can involve sucking or light biting on the skin. Since some people find it painful rather than sexy, and since the sucking might leave a hickey, always ask permission before you give someone a vampire kiss.

12. The Wet Kiss

Wet kisses are any open-mouthed kisses, with or without tongue. A little bit of wetness during a kiss can be sexy, but try not to overdo it: too much saliva is sloppy. Alternate between wet kisses and closed-mouth kisses and single-lip kisses, and be sure to swallow occasionally so you don't accidentally drool all over your partner.

13. The Lizard Kiss

The lizard kiss involves flicking your tongue in and out of your partner's mouth in tight, quick strokes (picture the way a lizard moves its tongue). This is a silly kiss you can try just for fun, but it generally should be avoided because it feels kind of creepy to get.

14. The Air Kiss

The air kiss is a sophisticated gesture you can use as a greeting to your friends and relatives. To give one, rest your cheek against their cheek and make a kissing sound with your lips.

15. The Biting Kiss

The biting kiss is a more aggressive form of the French kiss. Like the French kiss, it's open-mouthed and incorporates tongue, but as you pull back, your teeth lightly grab onto your sweetie's tongue for just a second. Try it once and see how your partner responds. Some people love it, but others think it's painful or weird.

16. The Angel Kiss

To give someone an angel kiss, kiss them very gently on their eyelids or on the spot right next to their eye, using just your lips. It's a very romantic way to wake someone up or say goodbye.

17. The Neck Kiss

After French kissing for a while, some people mix it up by trailing their mouth down and "Frenching" the other person's neck. To execute a neck kiss perfectly, go light on the saliva, focus on the motion of your lips, never stay in once place for very long and never suck hard enough to leave a hickey.

18. The Jawline Kiss

To plant a jawline kiss on someone, give them a firm kiss on the bottom of their jaw, right where their face meets their neck. If they respond well to it, make a path of jawline kisses up to their ear and give them an earlobe kiss.

19. The Breath Kiss

The breath kiss is a fun, silly kiss that's almost more of a game than a kiss. To do it, open your mouth, inhale deeply and lock lips with your sweetie (like you're performing CPR). Slowly exhale into their mouth while they're inhaling, "passing" the breath to them. Without moving, slowly inhale while your partner exhales. Keep passing the breath back and forth until one of you runs out of breath or you both erupt in giggles.

20. The Love Kiss

Finally, the love kiss is any kiss that you give while thinking tender, loving thoughts about your partner. You might not realize it, but your kissing style can be influenced by whatever's on your mind. Smooching with love on your mind will make your kisses extra soft and sweet. Whether it's on your partner's mouth, neck, ear or forehead, the love kiss is the most romantic kiss you can give.