The Rule of the “Lovely Face”

—Facial Cues to Attractiveness and the Impact of Make-Up—

Abstract

Facial attractiveness plays a crucial role in a variety of social interactions because attractive faces are preferred in general. Although it is considered that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and ethnic groups have different standards for judging beauty, facial attractiveness judgements are more similar than different across sexes, ethnic groups, and ages. Previous studies have shown that that various facial features contribute to facial attractiveness. On the other hand, facial make-up is a popular cosmetic practice throughout history and across cultures. There is evidence that make-up has a beautifying effect on facial attractiveness. This review summarizes such findings briefly and discusses how attractive faces are produced by make-up.