Eye width-to-face width ratio

Eye width-to-face width ratio compares the average corner-to-corner width of one eye with cheekbone width. Higher values mean the openings occupy more of the face horizontally; lower values mean they occupy less.

Eye width-to-face width ratio

average visible eye width divided by cheekbone width.

The marked points show where we measure eye width-to-face width ratio.

What different ratios look like

Compare the examples on either side with the original portrait in the centre.

Baseline comparison

Compare the lower example, baseline and higher example from left to right. The eye openings are shorter horizontally relative to face width. The eye openings are longer horizontally relative to the cheekbone width.

Eye width within the facial outline

Narrower cheeks can make unchanged eyes look larger because each opening occupies more of the face. Broadening the cheeks has the opposite effect, leaving more facial width around the eye region.

Opening height adds the other dimension. A long eye can remain low and elongated, while a shorter eye can be tall and round. Relative width explains how much space the opening occupies across the face; aspect ratio explains its height compared with that length.

Long openings or a narrow face

Longer eye openings raise the ratio within the same facial outline. Their placement affects where that extra length appears: outer corners farther to the sides occupy more lateral space, while inner corners closer to the bridge reduce the central gap.

A narrower face also raises the ratio around ordinary-length eyes. If the nose and mouth look large relative to the cheeks too, the result may reflect generally substantial features within a narrow outline. Eyes that stand out against those neighbours as well are more specifically prominent through their own width.

A low ratio can similarly come from short eyes or broad cheeks. Short openings around a large gap produce a different eye region from longer openings surrounded by a broad facial outline. Comparing eye length with the inner gap helps distinguish those arrangements.

Opening height and corner direction

High relative width with a low aspect ratio describes long, low eyes. Their prominence comes mainly through horizontal extent. High relative width with a taller opening gives the eyes more presence in both dimensions and a more open appearance.

Shorter eyes can also be round or low. A high aspect ratio in a short opening creates relative roundness without making it large within the face. Low width and low opening height create a smaller aperture overall, although a partial blink should be ruled out before treating that as the usual shape.

Canthal tilt determines the direction of the opening. A rising corner line across a long eye carries a diagonal through more of the eye region than the same slope across a short eye. The inner gap then determines how much space separates the pair, while pupil-to-face width describes their combined placement within the cheeks.

Eye size and attractiveness

Torsello and colleagues found relatively enlarged eyes compared with several classical proportions in their selected female models. Mogilski and Welling also found that eye size affected rankings when varied alongside other features.

The 18–22% reference places each eye around one fifth of cheekbone width; the cited studies do not establish those endpoints as preferred limits for this exact measurement.

Torsello et al., 2010 Mogilski & Welling, 2018

Growth and adult changes in eye width

The eye region and surrounding face grow at different rates. As the cheeks broaden, the eyes can occupy a smaller share even while their own width increases. The changing ratio can therefore reflect growth of the facial outline rather than shrinking eyes.

In adulthood, the openings themselves can shorten. Flores and colleagues documented reduced horizontal eye-opening width with age in their sample. This lowers relative eye width through a different route from broader cheeks. Compare the corner-to-corner spans in similarly posed photographs to locate which part has changed.

Ferrario et al., 1998 Flores et al., 2019

Comparing the openings

Check each eye before relying on the average. One opening may be longer than the other, and head rotation can make the nearer eye appear larger. Use a frontal photograph with a relaxed gaze and clearly visible inner and outer corners.

How we measure it

We average the widths of both eyes, measured from inner to outer corner, and divide by cheekbone width.

1
Measure each eye from its inner corner to its outer corner.
2
Average the eye widths and measure across the widest cheekbone points.
3
Divide average eye width by cheekbone width.

Getting a clear photograph

Use a straight-on portrait with the camera near eye height and the head upright.
Avoid close wide-angle selfies; perspective changes central features relative to the facial outline.
Squinting and partial blinking shorten the visible eye aperture.
Liner, lashes and shadow can conceal the true eye corners.

Check the marked points

Confirm all four eye corners and both cheekbone points.
Check that neither eye is partially closed.
Retake without obscuring eye makeup or a blink.

What can change the appearance?

Lateral eye extension with makeup

Upper liner, outward shadow and lashes can extend the apparent lateral eye boundary and increase perceived eye width. The makeup continues the upper-lid line beyond the outer eye corner.

Keep the eye corners clear of liner and lashes when taking a measurement photograph.

Cosmetic makeup enhances facial attractiveness and affective neural responses, 2022 Regional contrast changes and facial attractiveness related to cosmetic use, 2018