Beauty is closely related to proportions. The mathematical proportions between different sections of a face or a body determine its attractiveness. Aesthetics as the study of perception has a long and scientifically sound history.2 The golden ratio was defined in Ancient Greece – it was also known as phi or the divine proportion – and was applied to art and architecture. Studies have shown that the face of a woman is perceived to be beautiful when the vertical distance between the eyes and the mouth, measured from the hairline to the chin, is exactly thirty-six per cent of the length of the face. And, horizontally, when the distance – measured between the ears – between the eyes is forty-six per cent of the width of the face.3 It takes less than 150 milliseconds for our brain to tell us whether a face is beautiful or ugly.4 But ultimately the beautiful face is a utopia, and perfect proportions can best be attained by digitally blending as large a number of faces as possible.
