Your date fancies you if they're looking at THIS part of your face, scientists reveal

Daily Mail​

08-05-2025

Sometimes, on a date, it can be impossible to tell what the other person is thinking.
Do they find me attractive, or annoying? Will they want to see me again?
Now experts have discovered that when people evaluate the attractiveness of a face, their gaze focuses on the features they find the most appealing.
And tracking their gaze could give you insight into how much they fancy you.
Researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota recruited 154 adults to take part in their study.
They used eye-tracking technology to monitor where people looked while viewing a set of photographs, and asked them to rate how attractive they found them.
Their findings revealed that when people stared longer at particular areas of the face they were more likely to rate the picture as attractive.
So, can you guess where they are?
Reality star Kim Kardashian is renowned for her pout - but does it mean a man fancies you if he stares at your mouth?
Overall, for faces rated as more attractive, participants tended to spend more time looking at the mouth, nose and cheeks – an area called the central triangle.
They also spent more time looking at the hair and mouth.
On the other hand, increased attention to the forehead and neck were linked to lower attractiveness ratings.
Further analysis revealed that when male participants were rating female faces, the strongest predictor of a high attractiveness rating was a prolonged gaze at the mouth.
This ties in with previous research that suggests men often focus on features linked to fertility or youth.
Women, meanwhile, were more likely to stare at a man's eyes and hair if they found him attractive.
This could be because they may place more importance on status or trustworthiness – such as grooming and eye contact.
The study, published in the journal The Laryngoscope, reads: 'Increased gaze at the mouth in females and eyes and hair in males is associated with significantly higher ratings of attractiveness by observers of the opposite sex.'
They said their findings could be important for aesthetic treatments or even plastic surgery, as it could help guide treatment plans towards changes that have the biggest visual impact.
A recent study found that despite the popularity of lip plumping treatments, men actually prefer women with natural-sized lips.
Researchers from the University of Sydney asked 32 men and women to rate how attractive they found faces whose lips had been manipulated to different sizes.
Analysis revealed that while women preferred slightly plumped lips on female faces, men preferred women with natural-sized lips.
However, both men and women rated men with thinner lips as more attractive.
Lip size has previously been linked to being an indicator of genetic sex, reproductive health and fertility.
But the researchers warned that constant exposure to enhanced lips could lead to 'lip dysmorphia', adding that there is 'clear evidence that when participants were exposed to a new lip size, that lip size became the new norm'.
How is the Golden Ratio measured?
The 'golden ratio' is a mathematical formula devised in ancient Greece to determine 'physical perfection' by comparing measurements, ratios and symmetry.
During the Renaissance, artists and Architects used the equation, also known as Phi, as an aid during the creation of their masterpieces.
Scientists have since adapted the mathematical formula, which equates to 1/1.618, to explain what makes a person beautiful.
The length and the width of someone's face is measured and then the results are divided.
Measurements are then taken from the forehead hairline to the spot between the eyes, from the spot between the eyes and the bottom of the nose and from the bottom of the nose to the bottom of the chin.
A person is considered to be more beautiful if the numbers are equal. Attention is then given to the symmetry and proportion of the face.