Mouth : nose width

What this ratio compares

This metric divides the width of your mouth, measured corner to corner, by the width of your nose measured across the nostrils (the alar width). Both are features of the central lower face, and the comparison asks a simple question: how much wider is the mouth than the nose beneath it?

Because both landmarks sit close together and near the midline, the ratio is fairly stable across normal expressions, though a broad smile widens the mouth and can nudge the number up. The tool measures this at roughly 1.36 on its own scale, meaning the mouth is typically a little over a third wider than the nose.

Why mouth-to-nose width reads as balance

The nose and mouth are the two strongest horizontal features of the lower face, so the eye naturally compares their widths. A mouth that is moderately wider than the nose tends to read as balanced; a mouth that is very narrow relative to a broad nose, or unusually wide, draws attention because it breaks the expected relationship. This is a harmony cue between two neighbours, not a verdict on either feature alone.

The golden-ratio claim, and the honest critique

You will often see this proportion tied to the golden ratio, the idea that an ideal mouth is about 1.618 times the width of the nose. That claim traces back to writing like Ricketts 1982 on the so-called divine proportion and the Fibonacci series in the face. It is best treated as folklore rather than fact.

Zwahlen et al. 2022 examined faces rated as attractive and found they deviate significantly from the golden ratio and other neoclassical ideals, which undercuts the strong version of the claim. On this tool the measured value sits near 1.36, well below 1.618, and the scored band of roughly 1.34 to 1.55 leans only slightly toward a wider mouth. So the number is a balance reference, not evidence that any single magic ratio governs the face.

Interpreting your value and what moves it

Read the result as a relationship, not a target to chase. A value in the band means your mouth and nose widths sit in a commonly balanced range; below it means the mouth reads narrow for the nose, above it means relatively wide. A smiling photo will inflate the figure, so a relaxed mouth gives the fairer reading.

Both widths are largely fixed structure. The reversible levers are cosmetic: lip makeup that subtly over-lines or under-lines the corners changes the apparent mouth width a little, and nose-contouring shade can slim the look of a broad nasal base. Beyond that, this is bone and cartilage, and the most honest framing is that it describes how two features relate rather than something that needs fixing.