The looksmax glossary

Twenty-one terms, defined plainly, with the folklore separated from the geometry.

• Bone smashingDeliberate facial injury, sold as a technique. It is not one.
• Buccal fatA cheek fat pad. Removing it is permanent, and that is the point to sit with.
• Canthal tiltThe angle from inner to outer eye corner, in degrees.
• E-lineA profile line from nose tip to chin, used to judge the lips.
• Face shape testSix categories, from three width ratios and the jaw angle.
• Face symmetryHow closely the two halves match across the midline.
• Facial thirdsHairline to brow, brow to nose base, nose base to chin. A convention from drawing.
• fWHRCheekbone width over upper-face height. Average around 1.9.
• Golden ratioPhi, 1.618, applied to facial proportions as a target.
• Gonial angleThe angle at the jaw corner. Lower is sharper.
• Halo effectOne good impression bleeds into unrelated judgements. Real, replicated, and routinely overstated.
• Hunter eyesCommunity shorthand for a deep-set eye with a positive tilt.
• Intercanthal distanceThe gap between the inner eye corners, measured in eye widths.
• Jawline scoreThe gonial angle and jaw width, scored together.
• LooksmaxxingImproving your appearance deliberately, and measuring it.
• MaxillaThe upper jaw. Its forward position sets the midface, and it is mostly settled early.
• MewingTongue-to-palate posture. What it can and cannot change.
• Mewing chartThe before-and-after images, and what they usually show.
• Midface ratioThe middle third of the face, against the lower third.
• MoggingSlang for outclassing someone by standing next to them. The word describes a comparison, not a trait.
• Negative canthal tiltThe outer eye corner sitting lower than the inner corner.
• NeotenyJuvenile facial features retained into adulthood.
• Ogee curveThe S-shaped line running from cheekbone to mid-cheek.
• Orbital vectorWhether the bone under your eye sits ahead of the eye or behind it. Seen from the side.
• PhiltrumThe vertical groove between the nose and the upper lip.
• Positive canthal tiltThe outer eye corner sitting higher than the inner corner.
• Prey eyesThe coined opposite of hunter eyes. A bundle of impressions, not a measurement.
• PSL scoreA forum rating scale, not a measurement.
• Sexual dimorphismThe average differences between male and female faces.
• Submental cervical angleWhere the underside of the chin meets the neck. The line people mean by 'jaw definition'.
• Upper eyelid exposureHow much upper lid shows between the lashes and the crease. Less reads as hooded.