“Visage,” coming into English from Old French, but originally from the Latin “videre,” meaning “to see,” has multiple usages. The most common refer to the face, but “visage” can either be a literal reference to the features and form of the face, or refer more generally to someone’s facial expression, as in, “He projected a sunny visage to everyone he saw on his walk.” Either usage is more poetic than saying “face,” “nose,” or “smile.” You can also use “visage” to refer to the surface of an object presented to view, as in the “face” of a house presented to the street.