THE MEASURE
OF
BEAUTY
SMALL NOSE, SMALL
CHIN, HIGH
CHEEKBONES, LARGE
EYES - THESE ARE THE
FEATURES OF THE IDEAL
FEMALE FACE.
BY BARBARA PASH
hat beauty is in the eye
of the beholder is a
widely held belief. Now,
however, an experiment
proves otherwise. Rather than
being an inexplicable quality
based on individual, subjective
judgment, beauty can be de-
fined in precise measurements.
The features of the female
face — eyes, nose, lips, chin,
cheeks — can be mathemati-
cally rated for physical attrac-
tiveness, according to a recent
experiment by Dr. Michael Cun-
ningham, a psychologist at the
University of Louisville in
Kentucky.
Cunningham's experiment is
the latest in a chain of studies
by psychologists who are inves-
tigating physical attractiveness
and social behavior, and finding
that a pretty face is a major
plus in life. "The intent of the
studies is to uncover this over-
whelming prejudice people
have about attractive/unattractive
20 FALL '87
1 = Length of face, distance from hairline to base of chin; 2 = Width of face at cheekbones, distance be-
tween outer edges of cheekbones at most prominent point; 3 = Width of face at mouth, distance between
outer edges of cheeks at the level of the middle of the smile; 4 = Height of forehead, distance from eyebrow
to hairline — length of face; 5 = Height of upper head, measured from pupil center to top of head estimated
without hair — length of face; 6 = Height of eyebrows, measured from pupil center to lower edge of eyebrow
— ratio to length of face; 7 = Height of eyes, distance from upper to lower edge of visible eye within eyelids
at pupil center — length of face; 8 = Width of eyes, inner corner to outer corner of eye — width of face at
cheekbones; 9 = Width of iris, measured diameter — width of face at cheekbones; 11 = Standardized width
of pupil, calculated as a ratio of the width of the pupil to the width of the iris — width of face at cheekbones
(not shown). 12 = Separation of eyes, distance between pupil centers — width of face at cheekbones; 13
= Cheekbone width, an assessment of relative cheekbone prominence calculated as difference between
the width of the face at the cheekbones and the width of the face at the mouth — length of the face (not shown);
14 = Nostril width, width of nose at outer edges of nostrils at widest point — width of face at mouth; 15 =
Nose tip width, width of protrusion at tip of nose, usually associated with crease from nostril — width of face
at mouth; 16 = Length of nose, measured from forehead bridge at level of upper edge of visible eye to nose
tip — length of face; 17 = Nose area, calculated as the product of the length of nose and width of nose at
the tip — length of the face (not shown); 18 = Midface length, distance from pupil center to upper edge of
upper lip, calculated by subtracting from the length of the face the height of forehead, height of eyebrows,
width of upper lip, height of smile, width of lower lip, and length of chin — length of face; 19 = Width of cheeks,
calculated as an assessment of facial roundness based on the measured width of face at mouth — length
of face; 20 = Thickness of upper lip, measured vertically at center — length of face; 21 = Thickness of lower
lip, measured vertically at center — length of face; 22 = Height of smile, vertical distance between lips at center
of smile — length of face; 23 = Width of smile, distance between mouth inner corners — width of face at
mouth; 24 = Length of chin, distance from lower edge of lower lip to base of chin — length of face.