I've been fooling around a bit with vampirism and realized that the new (and IMO awesome) vampire look seems to be random.
Out of 10 changes with a dunmer male, I got the new face once.
Out of 10 with a nord male and female, none got the new face.
Out of 5 a bosmer female never got it.

So what determines if I get "the face"? Can it be triggered by console commands?

You will always acquire a vampiric head (rough skin and a red line on the upper lip), but to get the complexion requires some trifling with presets.

You see, you must choose a preset that has no specific complexion (instead using the default for their race); then, when becoming a vampire, this complexion will be overwritten by the default complexion for the vampire races. You must not edit the complexion when creating the character.

Let me see if I got this right:
- when I create my character I must choose preset that has no complexion (furthest to the left)
- and I may not change the complexion during the creation

Gonna fool around a bit more with this and see if I can get my vamp to look rad, thanks!

Well, now I have been trying to get the vampire head but only succeed with dark elves though the features are very bleak. What I've tried is a male and a female from each non-beast-race with a preset with a complexion with I have kept and of of each when I've started out with a complexion and removed it. As I said, only the dark elves.

But what I realized running around a bit with friendly vampires in Mara's Eye is... the feature we players can get aren't the cool one, I think.
I want the looks of Feran Sadri, Garan Marethi, Namasur, Rargal Thrallmaster and Salonia Caelia (Check their images on UESPWiki) - the batsnout and so on, just not some red lines.
Guess that requires a mod? Is there one out there which allows it?

I am interested in this too, I would love my nord to look like some of the other vampires in the castle. Is there a console command at all? I'll dig around please let us know if you people find anything as well.

can you ever look as bizzare as rargal thrallmaster?

I don't think so sadly.

I have found a mod that allows the monster-faces BUT it demands you to create the characters as a vampire from the start.

you could download it and type in showracemenu to change to vampire race while keeping the powers.

I'd be interested to know at what point your face begins to change. Can it change if you catch vampirus sanguinare and then cure it, or does it only happen if you get the full blown disease?

I ask because I've never become a vamp, but I've caught the infection many times and cured it, but I seem to be more gaunt than I was when I started. Have you noticed anything like that with your experiments?

Face wouldn't change until you had the full change.

problem is i play on xbox due to not having a good computer or the funds to get a good computer. perhaps i will be an orc vampire they look monstrous enough already and with the addition of that red line and some glowing eyes they could probably make a vampire lord look cuddly.

I'd avoid doing that seeing how it most likely ruins the entire save in the end.

how's it ruin the save?

This HAS been a lingering issue in Dawnguard however if you have the PC version then you can re adjust your facial features to match the Dawnguard Vampires with the help of mods

Stat additions and perks lost, looks changed (usually a complexion added and skin made to the brighest option, different skin-hand colour compared to body), quests that won't start or cannot be finished and so on.

Dunno about the stats but the appearance stuff I've never had.

I just made a Khajit named Mr. Whiskers a day or so ago and made him a snow white Khajit Vampire..made me realize, he looked more epic than the glowing eyed Vampires, the giant fangs hanging out and the red tinted white eyes with the black cat eye slit, looks epic.

Anyone find out how to make a nord character have the facial features of one of the vamps in the castle?

Someone told me you have to make a completely vanilla character and become a Vampire, don't change anything...I doubt that is how its done but that is what I've heard.

Other people say its like a 15% chance of it happening.

As far as I understand the NPC vampires have their own race and through that the look, one you cannot achieve without a mod. The standard vampiric changes are colour around the eyes and lips but only changes in texture and not mesh. There has been some issues with USKP not allowing the changes, there's a fix for it on Nexus.