Sigh.

[Malc]

Yep, I agree with all those.

What it boils down to (when you reduce beauty to basics) is symmetry and proportion.

I studied this stuff as a young artist, because it's important for cartoonists to know.
 I was intrigued as to why some people were deemed good looking by most of the population and some were not.

In cartooning, the slightest movement of a mouth or eyes changes an expression, or a character totally.

[Calypso]

I'm a regional makeup artist, Malc, for an international cosmetics company (or I was until very recent budget cuts and restructuring eliminated my position).  Symmetry and proportion are what I have to try and create on a person and not make it look so obvious and fake. The goal is to enhance and conceal but keep it subtle and natural-looking.  I think my job is basically shit.  I had a client not long ago who was a portrait artist. She told me that the techniques I was using were like what she did when she painted a portrait. I was even using colors to enhance features the way she said she did. I had not looked at my job that way. Go figure.

[The Peepmaster]

If I was a regional make-up artist, I'd just do the left cheekbone.

[Vulture]

If I was a regional make-up artist, I'd just do the left cheekbone.