Where do you suppose the expression “it was written all over her face” came from if not from the same source who said “you are what you eat”? Our faces tell a lot about who we are, the life we’ve lived, whether or not we smoke, how often we smile or frown, and whether or not we had acne or the chicken pox. Most women don’t exactly embrace the reflection they see and are often more willing to point out their flaws first. Those with freckles want clear skin, those with oily skin want dry skin, the porcelain beauties want color, the aging faces want volume and the round faces want to be chiseled. And then forget it when it comes to the individual features like the size of the nose, the length of the eyelashes, the fullness of the lips and so on and so on. It is those critical encounters we have with our mirrors that have sent so many to the plastic surgeon. And yet….so many of us want to be “seen” for whom we really are.

I rarely see a face that offends me. I can’t remember the last time I was repulsed by someone’s larger than average nose or too thin lips. Perhaps it is the artist in me that automatically puts symmetry in a not so beautiful face. But then again, it is the lack of symmetry which makes a face interesting to me. We all define beauty differently even though we’d have to travel afar to find someone who would debate the perfection in Halle Berry’s face. I have seen so many very attractive people who all look very different. To me it is the little bits of quirkiness that I find attractive in other people’s faces, but that I just can’t see in my own. Are we ever able to see ourselves as others see us? Why does it seem impossible to pass a mirror without self-examination and ensuing criticism? My guess is that it is just the nature of the beast. If the sun and the moon and the stars are all properly aligned, and our hair, and our make-up perfectly done, brows groomed and teeth perfectly whitened, our eyes would undoubtedly still fix on the frown lines that have been placed by too many disdainful glances in the mirror.