Alice Hart-Davis, 61
We like to think that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But the way our eyes judge a face, it seems, comes down to cold, hard numbers — and a mathematical formula known as the Golden Ratio.
This classical proportion, or ‘divine proportion’, dates back to the time of 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 developed software that uses the golden ratio and facial mapping technology to measure beauty.
Rating: 86.61%
A photo of you not smiling, but looking from the front – think of your best passport photo – is scanned into the computer and a series of complicated calculations are produced, 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 becomes,” he explains.
Dr. De Silva found that actress Anya Taylor-Joy’s face came closest to matching the ancient Greeks’ idea of the most beautiful woman, by almost 95 percent
‘There are many facial measurements that adhere to the Phi ratio – the distance between the eyes compared to the length of the eyes, for example. The analysis shows whether your facial features are in proportion to themselves and to the rest of the face.’
Dr. De Silva found that actress Anya Taylor-Joy’s face came closest to matching the ancient Greeks’ idea of the most beautiful woman, at almost 95 percent.
I score a flattering 86.61, but I’ve had so many procedures that my appearance is more a matter of cosmetic doctors than genes. I’ve had Botox, fillers, skin tightening, and two eye lifts. And this is a professional photo. Trust me, I don’t look like this on an average morning!
Liz Jones, 65
Rating: 79.55
I’m a bottom! I’m always a bottom. Oh, thank God Dr. Julian De Silva didn’t hold his square next to my ass. Just my face.
Should we really judge ourselves this way, comparing our faces to those of supermodels and actresses (many of whom, after all, have cosmetic surgery and airbrushed photos)?
Isn’t it much more important to be funny and nice, and full of anecdotes about an interesting career?
But then I see that my jawline scores 90 percent and I’m elated! Yes! Not much less than Bella Hadid, who scored 94.35 pc. I always look at female 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 above Margot Robbie, 33.
But as the second oldest participant, Dr. De Silva, reminds me, “The aging process affects all of us.”
The truth is that I believe the ‘Golden Ratio’ – similar to the swimsuit section of Miss World – is a load of nonsense. Imperfections are what make us interesting.
I hate the way I look, always have. To this day I still refuse to look in the barbershop mirror and face my face. I don’t need a man to tell me I’ve always been right.
Clara Gaspar, 26
Rating: 86.55%
The idea of a plastic surgeon analysing my face was slightly terrifying. But what a result! At 86.5 percent – a fraction of a point behind Helen Mirren – I have no complaints, although I am surprised by the distribution of the score.
My parents called me “tennis ball head” because of the round shape of my face as a child. I longed for a more chiseled jawline.
So the news that I have a “truly exceptional” jawline (in Dr. De Silva’s words) at 98 percent is indeed surprising. It’s a qualification I’ll be adding to my resume.
I also never really paid attention to my forehead, a mistake it seems, because it scored 96 percent.
I’d say this is a surprising score, but considering the poor score my eyebrows received (81 percent), I’m going to have to get them smoothed out and Botoxed.
But the worst score goes to my chin. Why so low!? It’s never been a feature I’ve worried about, but Dr. De Silva has unlocked a new insecurity. What on earth can you do about a crooked chin?
In the meantime, I wanted to change my beak-shaped nose, which I inherited from my father.
I wonder what “tweakments” Dr. De Silva would recommend to get me closer to that all-important “Golden Ratio.” Fuller lips, perhaps? Chin fillers? No wonder there are so many online forums among my age group posting pictures of jawlines and noses and asking strangers for recommendations for cosmetic surgery.
Of course, I’m sure if I could just address that weak chin and those pesky eyebrows, I’d find something else to worry about. Such is life as a twenty-something woman!
Amanda Platell, 66
Rating:82.27%
Dr De Silva’s astonishing conclusion that I have a “beautiful” face, scoring 82.27 percent – just five percent lower than the Princess of Wales and Angelina Jolie – was a real laugh-out-loud moment.
He rated me highly on the “harmony” of my nose and lips, which scored 91 percent. Fortunately, he didn’t take a side-on photo of me showing off the famous Platell schnozz.
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? Man, I proudly called myself a boy until I was a teenager.
The nicest thing anyone has ever written about me is that I’m “pretty,” which I find to be a fair but not entirely flattering description.
I have a large face, but fortunately I inherited my mother’s high, delicate cheekbones and full, arched mouth, and my father’s strong chin, which gave me an 89 percent score.
So I totally disagree with Dr. De Silva’s analysis. I have never been considered beautiful or even felt beautiful for a single moment.
But despite a few setbacks along the way, I have always been, as the Platell mantra goes, not just a glass half full, but a glass overflowing person. I have laughed a lot – and it shows on my face now.
With apologies to Dr. De Silva, I can say that my optimism and my zest for life are the closest I will ever come to beauty.
Sarah Wijnstok, 57
Rating: 82.85%
Very kind of Dr. De Silva, but I have never considered myself a real looker, let alone “exceptionally beautiful” — his words. Like many women, I see only the flaws.
When I was about 17, someone told me I had a short neck and a heavy jawline, and I’ve been paranoid about both ever since.
But now that a real doctor has said my lip-to-nose ratio is 95.7 percent higher than Anya Taylor-Joy’s, I’m going to enjoy that as often as possible.
It is also interesting that I scored well on eye position (92 percent). I was always told that my eyes were a little too close together.
To be honest, I’m not sure how much these measurements really matter. I know they tap into some deep-seated core of our reptilian brain, the part of us that is purely instinctive. But beauty is about so much more than a person’s static appearance. It’s also about the way a person moves, their facial expressions, their charisma.
Some of the most beautiful women in the world have strange facial features, but when brought to life, it all comes together.
That’s why the surgically altered faces — the ubiquitous lip flip, the fillered cheekbones, the exaggerated cat eyes — that you see on so many celebrities and wannabes today are so creepy. In theory, it should work, but in practice, everyone ends up looking a little weird. That loss of individuality and uniqueness is a shame, in my opinion.
Ultimately, beauty is about more than just geometry.
When you love someone, when they have a great personality, when they are incredibly kind – that is a kind of beauty in itself. And maybe a better kind.
Daisy Buchanan, 39
Rating 82.2%
At first I was very happy with my 82.2 percent, but when I looked at the math and compared my results with others, I didn’t feel so good about it.
I always thought I had a complicated relationship with my body, when it comes to my face it’s maybe even more complicated because there’s less I can do about it.
I have always wondered what it would be like to be beautiful and experience that power. Yet I have always been comforted and inspired by a line from Henry James about a character who is not beautiful ‘but carries her head like a beautiful woman’. Confidence is very important.
The problem is that it is very difficult to feel confident when your pros and cons have been weighed, measured and presented as exam results. And I can’t do resits.
Every three years I see a picture of myself that reminds me of a nose job, but when I think about the cost, I realize I’d rather go on vacation.
Being beautiful is not guaranteed, no matter how much money you spend. I want to look and be happy – and I don’t think surgery will make me happier.
When I am attracted to beautiful people, it is usually because they are extremely lively. And that is something I can try, as long as I have slept well and am well hydrated.
My mother’s tip for looking good is ‘Think beautiful thoughts’. I now suspect she is on the right track somewhere.