Abstract Emotional faces are thought to have prioritized access to visual awareness. It is, however, not trivial to pinpoint the cause of this prioritized access since facial expressions differ in many (image-) features. Since any difference between expressions is a valid candidate to explain observed differences in behaviour, we tested which images-features determine prioritization for awareness. We presented two face images depicting either an angry, happy or a neutral expression to either side of fixation to one eye while presenting masks to the other eye. Participants reported which of the two faces was perceived first. Although the results show that happy expressions have prioritized for awareness, the prioritization was better predicted by contrast energy differences between images. In fact, the type of expression had no predictive value concerning prioritization. These findings suggest that image-features that determine access to awareness do not reflect the emotional content of a face.