Smizing, AKA a Duchenne smile, ups your Times of Corona selfies by sparking your eyes over the top of your mask, so your smile shines, even with your mouth covered.
Our smiles convey so much – amusement, sociability, welcome – but at this time when we so want to connect, our smiles are hidden behind our face masks. Selfies look stiff, and it’s harder to connect with people you meet – six feet away and mouths covered.
Learning to smile with your eyes is a game-changer. It starts with eye contact, so don’t be shy! Try slightly tilting your head down to minimize the mask and optimize your eyes.
A French neurologist, Guillaume Duchenne, studied smiles in the 19th century. He found that smiling involved two muscle contractions, one which raises the corner of the mouth (the zygomatic major muscle if you want to get technical) and one which raises the check (orbicularis oculi muscle.)
More recently, researchers using MRI machines learned that a Duchenne smile can actually change the way you feel by stimulating your brain’s feel-good responses, meaning the smile-er and the smile-ee benefit.
You can amplify a smile over your mask by learning to contract your orbicularis muscle.
The key is to not overdo it. Practice making a slight squint which adds little pillows under your eyes. A pro tip is to start with a blank expression, then practice your squint using your bottom eye lid only.
Of course, some of us don’t want to active those smile lines – or can’t, you know, ‘cos Botox!
Great lashes (thanks, Latisse and our VMV Hypoallergenics Ooh-La-Lash! Volumizing Mascara) are a help. And also, beautiful eyes, aided by our medical team’s repertoire of treatment options and our selection of medical-grade eye creams and masks. Call for a consult!
Related info: Preventing and Treating Maskne
