The Blueprint
By Janelle Hopkins
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One way is if the nose is flat at the bridge. Flat further down the nose can work, too. It makes sense, if these judgments can be said to be capable of such a thing. What doesn’t make sense is when the tip of the nose hooks down, which should remind us of a witch or a granny, but on the right face it’s the best thing ever. Even big noses work given the right context. There’s that thing that Fitzgerald wrote once about the familiarity of it. It must remind us of other noses, of the prototype of the nose. These are all ways, for the nose. To contribute.
The eyes are bound by more specific requirements. Almond-shaped or doe-eyed, nothing else will do. Long lashes. Color is irrelevant unless it’s striking. Not too far apart and not too close together. There isn’t much to say about the eyes unless there is something wrong with them. They are like dull office jobs; you only get noticed if you fuck up. Or if you are extraordinary. The eyes don’t as a general rule contribute, unless they are extraordinary. Their only potential is to detract – either by ruining the overall picture or by overpowering it. Except, if there is an intelligent look in them. But that is not the eyes themselves.
Skin’s a funny thing. It’s crucial, but there is no standard. Olive is not better than fair is not better than brown. But smoothness. Smoothness alone can break up marriages. But even wrinkles and blemishes can add to the overall effect, if they are fortuitously positioned. Oily, dry. No one likes extremes.
Hair: a poker bluff. The right hair can fool those who think they are admiring the face. And it can be a definition of the person. There is no hipster in the nose, no lawyer in the lips. But the hair. The hair can contain either or none. It reveals truths, shames. Money. Lack of. Hair can speak.
But also, it can give off a scent. And it can be soft to the touch. Proving it’s not all in the sight of the thing (just like skin in this way).
There are rules, then.
But. Oh…
I cry that my brow furrows. I make a demand. Beauty is what I say it is.
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Janelle Hopkins was born in Canada and currently lives in San Francisco. She can be reached here.
© 2005 Me Three
