"Beauty is not in the eye of the beholder"

says

co-researcher Cohen-Or. "Beauty is merely a function of mathematical distances or ratios. …

Three Israeli computer scientists from Tel Aviv University (TAU) have developed the ultimate enhancement tool for retouching digital images. Called the Beauty Function, their program scans an image of your face, studies it and produces a slightly more beautiful you. …

In developing the Beauty Function, they surveyed 300 men and women and asked them to rank pictures of peoples' faces with varying degrees of beauty, on an attractiveness scale of 1-7. The scores were correlated to detailed measurements and ratios of facial features such as nose width, chin length and distance from eyes to ears.

Some 250 measurement points were taken into account and once formulated, researchers developed an algorithm that could let them apply some of the desired elements of attractiveness - as mathematical equations - to a fresh image.

The result is a computer program that within minutes can decide how to make you more beautiful.