Page:Personal beauty how to cultivate and preserve it in accordance with the laws of health (1870).djvu/82

 THE FACE, AND EXPRESSION.

The face, like the head, should form nearly an oval when viewed from in front. Its height, from the upper border of the forehead to the base of the chin, should be three times the length of the nose, measured along its base, and equal a line drawn along the eyebrows, from the outer extremity of one to that of the other.

A line drawn from the cavity of the ear to the most prominent part of the upper jaw, should meet another line drawn from the central and highest point of the forehead to the same point, almost at right angles; that is, the upper jaw should project very little or not at all beyond the line of the forehead. This angle is called the "facial angle," and is deemed of much importance in studying heads.

The lower part of the profile should neither recede nor project more than the upper, and whether regarded from half, quarter, or full face, the outline should present soft curves, not abrupt angles, or sudden depressions. The bones, which here approach nearer the surface than in other parts of the body, should be well clothed with flesh, but not to the extent of hiding their general forms.

It is easy to lay down these rules one after another, but how are we to conform to them? What aid can cosmetic science here offer to one not gifted by nature with a handsome face?