Table of Contents
Alice Hart-Davis, 61
We like to think that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. However, the way our eyes evaluate a face seems to come down to cold, hard numbers and a mathematical formula known as the “golden ratio.”
This classical proportion, or “divine proportion,” dates back to the ancient Greek scholar Pythagoras, and was later used by Leonardo da Vinci to paint the face of the Mona Lisa.
Today, Harley Street plastic surgeon Dr Julian De Silva has come up with software that uses the golden ratio and facial mapping technology to measure beauty.
Rating: 86.61%
A front-facing, unsmiling photograph (think your best passport photo) is scanned into the computer and the result is a series of complicated calculations derived from measuring a dozen angles and distances across the face.
‘The premise is that the closer a face’s proportions are to the number 1.618 (also known as ‘Phi’), the more beautiful it will be,’ he explains.
Dr De Silva found that actress Anya Taylor-Joy’s face was almost 95 percent closer to the ancient Greeks’ idea of the most beautiful woman.
‘There are many facial measurements that are based on the Phi index: for example, the distance between the eyes compared to the length of the eyes. The analysis shows whether the facial features are in proportion to each other and to the rest of the face.’
Dr De Silva found that actress Anya Taylor-Joy’s face was almost 95 percent closer to the ancient Greeks’ idea of the most beautiful woman.
My score is very positive: 86.61, but I have had so many procedures that my appearance is more due to the beauty professionals than to genes. I have had Botox, fillers, skin tightening and two eyelid lifts. Also, this is a professional photo. Believe me, I don’t look like this on a normal morning!
Liz Jones, 65
Score: 79.55
I’m last! I’m always last. Oh thank God Dr. Julian De Silva wasn’t holding his square next to my actual ass. Just next to my face.
Should we really judge ourselves this way, comparing our faces to those of supermodels and actresses (many of whom, after all, undergo cosmetic surgery and retouch their photos)?
Isn’t it much more important to be funny and kind and full of anecdotes about an interesting career?
But then I see that my jawline scores 90 percent and I’m thrilled! Yes! Not far behind Bella Hadid, who scored 94.35 percent. I always look at news anchors and think, “She’s younger than me, but look at her neck!” Apparently, according to Dr. De Silva, I have a “wonderfully refined nose,” which scores 86 percent; and “beautifully arched eyebrows,” which score 90 percent. That’s just one percentage point behind Zendaya, 27. And eight percentage points ahead of Margot Robbie, 33.
But as Dr. De Silva, the second-oldest participant, reminds me: “The aging process affects us all.”
I actually think the “golden ratio” – equivalent to the Miss World swimsuit section – is nonsense. Imperfections are what make us interesting.
I hate the way I look, I always have. To this day, I still refuse to look in the hairdresser’s mirror to see my face. I don’t need any man to tell me that I’ve always been right.
Clara Gaspar, 26
Rating: 86.55%
The idea of having my face analysed by a plastic surgeon was a little terrifying, but what a result! With 86.5 per cent (a fraction of a point behind Helen Mirren), I have no complaints, although I am surprised by the breakdown of the score.
My parents nicknamed me “tennis ball head” because of the roundness of my face as a child, and I longed to have a more chiseled jawline.
So the news that I have a “truly exceptional” jaw (in Dr. De Silva’s words) that is 98 percent perfect is truly astonishing. It’s a credential I’ll be adding to my CV.
I’ve also never paid much attention to my forehead, which seems like an oversight since it scored 96 percent.
I’d say that’s an amazing score, but after seeing the miserable score they gave my brows (81 percent), I’m going to have to even them out and freeze them in place with Botox.
But the worst score goes to my chin. Why so low? It has never been a feature that has worried me, but Dr. De Silva has unleashed a new insecurity. What on earth can you do about a crooked chin?
Meanwhile, my somewhat pointed nose, inherited from my father, was something I had wanted to change.
I wonder what “touch-ups” Dr. De Silva would recommend to get me closer to that all-important “golden ratio.” Maybe fuller lips? Chin filler? No wonder there are so many online forums among people in my age group posting pictures of jawlines and noses and asking strangers for cosmetic surgery recommendations.
Of course, I’m sure if I could just manage that weak chin and those pesky eyebrows, I’d find something else to worry about. Such is the life of a 20-year-old woman!
Amanda Platell, 66
Rating:82.27%
Dr De Silva’s baffling conclusion that I have a “beautiful” face, with a score of 82.27 per cent (just five per cent below the Princess of Wales and Angelina Jolie), was a truly hilarious moment.
He gave me a very high mark for the “harmony” of my nose and lips, reaching 91 percent. Luckily, he didn’t take a profile picture of me showing the famous Platell nose.
Even my ex-husband used to say, “Mandy, your nose is too big, your mouth is too wide, your eyes are too far apart, but I love you anyway.” Me, a beauty? Wow! Until my mid-teens, I proudly passed myself off as a boy.
The kindest thing anyone has ever written about me is that I am “handsome,” which I think is a fair, if not entirely flattering, description.
I have large features, although fortunately I inherited my mother’s delicate high cheekbones and full, arched mouth, as well as my father’s solid chin, which gave me a score of 89 percent.
Therefore, I totally disagree with Dr. De Silva’s analysis. I have never, not for a moment, considered or felt myself to be beautiful.
But despite some setbacks along the way, I have always been, as Platell’s mantra goes, not just a glass-half-full person, but a glass-overflowing person. I have smiled a lot, and now it shows on my face.
With apologies to Dr. De Silva, I am pleased to say that my optimism, my joy for life, is the closest I will ever come to being beautiful.
Sarah Vine, 57
Rating: 82.85%
Dr. De Silva is very kind, but I have never considered myself an attractive person, much less “exceptionally beautiful” as he put it. Like many women, I only focus on the flaws.
When I was about 17, someone told me I had a short neck and a pronounced jaw, and I’ve been paranoid about both of those things ever since.
But now that a real doctor has said my lip-to-nose ratio exceeds Anya Taylor-Joy’s at 95.7 percent, I’ll be eating out just as often.
It’s also interesting that I scored well on eye position (92 percent). I was always told that my eyes were too close together.
In truth, I’m not sure how much these measurements really matter. I know they appeal to a deep core of our reptilian brain, the part of us that is purely instinctive. But beauty is much more than a person’s static appearance. It’s also about the way a person moves, their expressions, their charisma.
Some of the most beautiful women in the world have strange features, but when they come to life, it all makes sense.
That’s why the surgically modified faces (the ubiquitous ‘lip flip’, cheekbones enhanced with filler, exaggerated cat eyes) we see on so many celebrities and wannabes now seem so creepy. In theory, it should work, but in practice everyone ends up looking a bit odd. That loss of individuality and uniqueness is a great shame in my opinion.
In the end, beauty is much more than geometry.
If you love someone, if they have a wonderful personality, if they are incredibly kind, that is a kind of beauty in itself. And arguably, it is a better kind.
Daisy Buchanan, 39
Rating 82.2%
At first I was delighted with my 82.2 percent, but when I studied maths and compared my results with those of others, I didn’t feel so good.
I always thought my relationship with my body was complicated – the one I have with my face might be even more complicated, since there’s less I can do about it.
I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be beautiful and experience that power. Still, I’ve always been comforted and inspired by a quote from Henry James about a character who isn’t beautiful “but carries her head like a pretty woman.” Confidence is so important.
The problem is that it’s very difficult to feel confident when your pros and cons have been weighed, measured and presented as if they were exam results. And I can’t take any more exams.
Every three years I see a photo of myself that makes me think about getting my nose done, but when I think about the expense, I realise I’d rather go on holiday.
Beauty is not guaranteed, no matter how much money you spend. I would like to look and be happy, and I don’t think surgery will make me happier.
When I’m attracted to beautiful people, it’s usually because they’re extraordinarily vivacious. And that’s something I can try for, provided I’ve had a good night’s sleep and am well hydrated.
My mother’s advice for looking good is “Think beautiful thoughts.” Now I suspect she’s right.