What the 'ideal' face looked like in 1934

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

While it may be hard to pinpoint one 'perfect' face, actress Sylvia Sidney's was considered the ideal.

At a 1934 Southern California Cosmetologists meeting that took place in Hollywood, the screen legend's face was chosen as a standard of beauty because of its symmetry and 'perfect oval shape'.

'The elliptical symmetry of Miss Sidney's features made our choice an easy one,' Paramount makeup artist Wally Westmore told The Day on July 2, 1934. 

At a 1934 Southern California Cosmetologists meeting in Hollywood, Sylvia Sidney face was chosen as a standard of beauty because of its 'perfect oval shape'

The paper ran an image showing Sidney's face divided into sections so that 'the average woman' could measure their own face in the same way. 

 

Some of her 'ideal' features include the fact that the length of her face equaled the length of three noses and that her upper and lower lips were the same width.  

Also, the space between Sidney's eyes was the width of one eye, and the width of her face accross the cheeks equaled two lengths of a nose.

'The elliptical symmetry of Miss Sidney's features made our choice an easy one,' Paramount makeup artist Wally Westmore told The Day on July 2, 1934

Some of the actress's 'ideal' features include the fact that the length of her face equaled the length of three noses and that her upper and lower lips were the same width (Sylvia Sidney pictured 1935)

'It was her oval cheeks that won her the honor, the contour considered the ideal for the perfect feminine face,' wrote the paper.

At the time, Sidney's standard of beauty was served as a guide to make-up experts who were tasked with bringing photographic perfection to 'less-favored' screen actresses - as well as women who wanted to make the most of their looks.

And a woman's hairstyle was actually considered the magic trick.

'It was her oval cheeks that won her the honor, the contour considered the ideal for the perfect feminine face,' wrote the paper (Sylvia Sidney pictured as Cassie Bowwman in the 1946 film The Searching Wind)

'For example, a face that is too round we make look thinner,' said Mr Westmore. 'A neck that is too long we make appear shorter, and if the neck seems a bit too short we make it look longer. All by the arrangement of the hair.'

The paper explains that for the average girl, 'it is a good plan to chnage the style of one's coiffure occasionally'.

A woman who parts her hair in the middle was advised to try a right or left side part, placed high or low, to make her look younger. 'Or that a small curled bang will flatter her face wonderfully,' it explained.