What makes someone beautiful?

What do you think?

Is it symmetrical features?  A certain eye color?  A specific waist size?  "good hair"?  The right skin color?

Is it confidence?  Grace?  Poise?

Are you beautiful?  How important is it to be beautiful according to someone else's standard?

Does the pursuit of Beauty or Perfection distract you from other things you would enjoy or could accomplish?

How much is it worth to sacrifice for Beauty?

Edit: is beauty exterior or interior - can you have one and not the other - if you have one do you automatically have the other - just what is it that you think makes someone beautiful?  And if you wouldn't describe yourself that way, why not?

You can look at someone and think they are average looking but once you get to know them you realize they are the most beautiful person you know. 

Unfortunately, too many people put value on what is on the outside without getting to know what is on the inside of someone. 

I will admit that I do strive to be what society says is beautiful on the outside.  I am vain but I am also a good person with a loving heart.

So... you mean outer beauty, then?  Eyes, poise, how much confidence you radiate? 

Beauty is such a hard topic to discuss and even harder to define.  It would take me days to tell you what *I* think, and in the end I'd probably have written a novel. 

It's really too hard for me to say... maybe I'll come back later after I have condensed some of my thoughts on this and can summarize a little maybe!?

I'd LOVE to hear others' opinions.  Come on people, spill!  :)

Personally, I think someone can look beautiful -- but that doesn't mean they are beautiful. Sure someone can have amazing looks, but do they have the brains, heart, and personality to back that up?

As for the different physical features... I think it varies. Some people have different "types" that they are attracted to.

Although I do not believe I am physically beautiful yet, I think I do have the potential. I just need to lose a little weight, clear my skin, and gain self confidence. However I do think I have a beautiful heart and personality.

Since i'm still a teenager, it's true that striving for beauty and physical perfection is almost always on my mind. I compare the pretty girls at school with my own looks and bring myself down on a daily basis. But i'm learning to not compare myself to supermodels or even the good looking girls I pass in the hall or at the mall. I'm hoping to get to a place where I can focus on myself and not constantly compare myself to others.

I don't think we should sacrifice too much for beauty. There's the saying "no pain no gain" or "it hurts to be beautiful". I don't think people need severe plastic surgery or spends hundreds trying to find the right makeup or product to cover up their flaws. I think flaws make us beautiful.

An example I could give you (and who you would recognize) is Angelina Jolie. I believe she is physically insanely gorgeous with her figure, eyes, lips, grace on the red carpet, etc... but she also has such a wonderful heart. Look at the children she's adopted. Look at all the humanitarian work she's done. To me she's the epitome of beautiful because she has beauty, brains, and the heart.

What's interesting was they did this study, taking pictures of people and mixing them up with the computer to create a composite or average of all the people. Then when they ran these pics by test subjects, the average composite photo was rated as more attractive than the real people! In other words, average is what is considered most attractive.

Physical features can definitely make someone beautiful on the outside.  Good bone structure, good skin, healthy shiny hair, white, straight teeth, good coloring, full lips, etc.

Confidence (imho) can turn any person into a truly beautiful person.  I've seen men that I thought were just smokin' hot and later realized physically they look nothing like what I'd normally consider hot just to look at but I'd be drooling over them anyway.   Some people just have magnetism and I think that comes from being confident.  Not cocky and conceited, but comfortable in their own skin. 

Am I beautiful?  I don't think so.  Never have, likely never will.  I've had poor self esteem my whole life.  Although I have to admit right now instead of feeling ugly and disgusting like I often have in my life I don't feel like I'm repulsive at least.  I feel plain I guess is the word.  Not ugly, but certainly not beautiful. 

I don't strive to be perfect or beautiful because that's not realistic for me...although lately I've taken alot more pains with my appearance than I would have 5 years ago.  In high school and up to early 20s I was a bit of a tomboy and I'd do makeup and keep my hair long but I never worried about my nails or clothes or put alot of effort into fixing myself up.  Now I spend alot more time on those things and I find that it does make ME feel better about myself to know I've made the effort.

How much is it worth to sacrifice?  I couldn't say..not my health, not my family, not my friends.. I guess it's like everything else..in moderation.  I had a friend many years ago that actually killed herself trying to be "thin and beautiful".  She never could see herself as thin or beautiful no matter how much weight she lost.  Her body actually ate it's own organs to survive as long as it did and her kidneys shut down.   

I think natural beauty such as symetrical features, good bone structure and clean lines make someone beautiful.  Tight, toned and healthy skin is important as well but that's hard to find in someone over 30.  Very few people fall into this "beautiful" category for me.  Beauty to me if purely exterior.  You can be a great person and all, but I don't relate that to beauty.  There is a difference between being a nice person and being beautiful.   I'll give you kudos for being a good person and that's about it.  Although, I DO feel that most people are pretty or attractive in their own unique way. 

Can male put his $.02 here?

I agree with Kimne.  There are people who are beautiful, physically?  Can I nail down what makes someone attractive to me physically?   I can try, but it is more .... je ne sais que.  I can't nail it down.  Eyes and lips.  Chest in comparison to frame. (hey, you asked, I'm being honest).  How they hold themselves.  If you're talking...just looks.  But all that beauty can be fouled by vacuous or cancerous personality.  Immediately.

And, as kimne suggested...the opposite is true.  A somewhat plain-jane can have her in beauty shine out until it consumes and transforms her outer beauty  by personality, and confidence.

But...for me... it is more face...mostly face .  Shape. lips, eyes, hair.... all of that frames beauty in my mind.

Voice can affect shape if we move from just visible.  And smell. Yes...fragrance shapes, in my mind, my view of beauty.  Perfume tells you what the woman feels about herself.

So, there's one males perspective.

i habitually think other women are beautiful, particularily if I am friends with them.

I find myself gauging physical (meaning the socially acceptable definition as per the modern media), intellectual, and emotional beauty in women CONSTANTLY.

I hope that doesn't make me sound superficial, but I am AWALYS comparing myself to others.  I don't even know that it's an insecurity because I am ok with who I am, but in terms of the grander scheme of things, how do i measure up against the pack? 

It's also a very good thing when you see a beautiful woman and aspire to be like her.  She aspires for beauty for her own reasons, as well.  With that, though, I don't "want" anyone else's nose or tooshie or legs.  I just note that she's got them and I'll do the best with what I've got, and count my blessings for what I was born with.

At the end of the day, the obvious answer is that beauty is very, very internal. BUT, if you are a beautiful person, you can appreciate yourself, and care for yourself, as much as you want to take care of your husband or children or career.  and THAT is about making healthy choices...which is why we're all here to being with!

The kindness in their soul.

I know this sounds super cheesy but it is the eye of the beholder that makes a person beautiful!!
I have been called beautiful by some people and plain and even ugly by others...

Someone who is not physically beautiful can be transformed into a raving beauty by their insides.

And it works the opposite way too.

I believe I am beautiful - it took me years to get to that belief - but it is firmly entrenched now.  And - that is a beautiful feeling to love oneself as one is.

And the people who love me agree. 

I think a person's smile defines their beauty....it shines through their eyes and highlights their entire face.  It gives a glimpse of what is inside as well as highlights their physical characteristics.

However, what makes a person physically attractive can vary....the way they hold themselves, the way they look at you, and they way they treat you......Physical attraction and beauty are IMO two different things.

I agree with Glinda and I found vice versa can be true as well.  >.< 

But mostly I find people with kind hearts to be most beautiful.

I think imperfections make people beautiful. Everyone has something that they think is "wrong" with them - but this is what makes us human - and that can be a beautiful thing. When I see someone who is clearly trying to look "perfect" to society (you can tell the type - everything about them is "made" up - in the exact way that the media tells us we should look - from their clothes, to their face, to their hair) I just look away, these types all look so generic to me. They have not actually put any thought into the way they look - they have just copied what the media told them to do. I am all for trying to look your best - but I think it is important have personality and express this on the outside of you by enhancing those traits that make you a unique person. People who are unique and confident in themselves, who have not sacrificed who they are to be what society wants them to be, are beautiful to me.

I agree that inner beauty and outer beauty are very different things. But I also think that inner beauty is intrinsically connected to outer beauty. I do not think that someone who is not happy with themselves as they are can ever be truly happy - and therefore cannot be beautiful. In order to be beautiful, I think you have to embrace everything about yourself for who you are: inside and out. The face you present to the world is a mixture of what you are willing to show and what you cannot hide. I think the most beautiful people are those that choose not to hide who they really are and instead enhance their outer beauty through use of their inner beauty. 

Superficially... there is apparently a formula for the face... Its the standard for learning to draw portraits. eyes are just above half of the way down the front of the head, should be 1/5 of the width of the face, 1 eye size on either edge and between the eyes. Ears should lay flat to the head for the most part and extend from mid eye to opening of mouth. Lip edges should line up with the pupil of the eye, no thicker than the closed eyelid, nose should be at the base just larger than the eye width and sit not too far above the lips. Bridge shoudl extend straight and not too protruding or flat (I think it was a 20 degree angle..)  chin should be gently rounded and smooth. Face in general should be oval shaped with smooth skin and clear cheekbones. Eyebrows tame and separate but not too thin.

That said, there are PLENTY of exceptions. Kate Moss is/was a successful model and her eye proportions are completely off. Some people think Paris Hilton is beautiful when her face really really fails the above. Different cultures also naturally have different shapes and this is just a caucasian standard.

In person I find that posture and confidence can make or break beauty. A beautiful person who clearly slouches, walks with their head instead of their hips or legs and clearly put no effort into beign presentable (tangled and dirty hair, unobrow- the extreme of not presentable this is) will not appear as attractive as a soso person who did a bit of quick primping, looks clean, and walks properly. I cant stand guys who have an 'i just spent 10 hours playing xbox' slouch 24/7. Moving with grace I think is a big thing... extreme clumsiness really throws an image off.

I'm a bit of an artist and I am very into fashion and costume design so I naturally do have somewhat superficial standards. I would naturally and automatically choose my most superficially beautiful friend for any portraits that id do, and the most thin physically evenly proportioned and facially attractive girl I know to model any clothes I made that I plan on putting into a portfolio. I also realyl personally prefer the pre-raphaelite pale beauty with cascading rich hair to the current tanned look with pin straight blonde hair.

Other than that, people really do change when you get to know them. There is alot more to look for than simply formulas and numbers in a person, but some jobs and alot of people do judge quite quickly on image- whether natural or simply in personal effort.

well done niiko

Agreed! I enjoyed reading your post niiko.

I think everyone has beautiful qualities and everyone has a quality they don't like. Beauty really is in the eye of the beholder, and it depends on what  people see in your personality that helps determine beauty.

Personally I think beauty is confidence, pride, and will. A true understand of themself, and anyone that is secure in their own skin (imperfections and all) they are beatiful.

Beauty shouldn't be a goal, and shouldn't stop someone from reaching their dreams. Being beatiful is a state of mind, not a way of life.

I'm with kathygator, "the kindness in their soul".

This topic really satisfies my philosophical side and I keep thinking of more to add to it....

Beauty can be seen in the strangest of things, so it is VERY hard to define exactly. Aesthetically, most people like happy healthy looking things, but there is also a different kind of beauty in say a photo of a severely crippled widow in India making her way across a village square (One of my favorite Steve McCurrie photos, check out his site for some amazing and touching photos.) There is also beauty in a rotting and dying tree, just as in a fully flowered one. (Recently Ive had a thing for painting trees and Ive gone from winter decorated with lights to full blooming cherry trees to a dead twisted black thing) Usually fashion shows have very done makeup and nice hair, but the most recent Galliano ready to wear collection had a theme of what seemed to be 1920s prostitutes who got caught in a downpour. It was scary looking! Mascara was intentionally smeared across the girls faces, hair was streely and wet looking, makeup was very garish. Raquel Zimmerman looked like a zombie and Sasha Pivovarova was like one of those uber scary dolls made scarier... Yet it was strangely beautiful! Obviously Galliano's stuff is first and foremost a work of art, and second a piece of clothing. He is just wild with his designs... One of my favorite designers but I would probably not wear one of hte outfits if I were given it for free!

Really, beauty is a very interesting thing... It is in the eye of the beholder, but... is it possible to say that anything has the ability to be sublime? That is, beautiful to everyone?

The Wikipedia page on beauty has some pretty interesting summaries of it. It also suggests that people who have mastered a certain area or trade (carpentry, music etc) are much more critical about that particular area. I know this is true with me for fashion as I have not been able to buy anything with the slightest off-bias cut or in a less than very good quality fabric since I really started doign alot of sewing/ working in a high end retail store. Hell... I find that I can pick out problems with almost any suit that costs less than $200 per piece! (and not being able to afford that expensive a suit... kinda makes it more irritating lol)

Another interesting thing that is mentioned is that in times of famine or scarcity of food as well as times when women were considered producers of children, it was more attractive to be larger because it meant that you had enough food and could support life. THinner people were often viewed as being poor and unhealthy in these times.
It seems that the standards of physical beauty throughout time have been practical and were indicators of more things. Being fair skinned in the past meant that your lifestyle was leisurely enough that you did not have to spend time working outdoors to earn a living. Even and smooth complexion was an indicator of health, rosy cheeks as well indicated health. Youth indicated that a woman was in or near her prime childbearing years. Fair hair in some cultures was rare, in others it was a matter of maintaining a genetic majority. Maids were prefered to be thin so htat they could fit up the incredibly small servants staircases and passages. Muscularity in men defined the fact that they were physically able providers, hunters and protectors. High foreheads in men were prefered among greeks and romans as a standard of intelligence. Strong and prominent noses were a powerful look and also typical of many of the leaders of the civilisation so it became a sign of high birth.

Nowadays, healthier foods are actually more time consuming and expensive to get than fat-laden fast foods. With the lifestyle, it is more difficult to stay thin. It can be associated withthe money and time to prepare the foods and to spend on excercise. Tanning is generally a sign of leisure just as fairness once was. Now tanning signifies having the time to lie on a beach, even if that isnt the actual case ;) The tan-craze started with Coco Chanel going on vacation in the south of france and coming back to Paris with a dark tan which wasd apparently the after result of a bad sunburn. Needless to say, she made the tan just as popular as her little black dress and wearing mens pants!

I think that is enough for now... I might think of more later but, my philosophical and historical sides are drained now and need honey lemon tea ;)