Beauty may not be subjective after all. 

Several studies conducted in Europe and America provide scientific reasons why individuals with good looks are generally perceived to be intelligent and successful. Bright eyes, clear skin, full lips, high cheekbones, high-bridged nose, broad chin and shiny hair can affect one’s career advancement and paycheck. In some cases, facial structure seems to matter even more to potential employers or clients than a well-composed cover letter. 

Traditional Feng Shui face reading practitioners say looks can impact one’s fortune or misfortune, in career and in life. A mole, a flat nose, a receding hairline, a pointed chin and drooping eyebrows in relation to one’s general face shape are believed to reveal a glimpse into one’s past, present and future personal and financial state of affairs. Thus, to boost luck, aesthetic doctors are performing procedures to modify some patients’ faces based on Feng Shui masters’ specifications.  

Will improving your looks improve your luck?

Fascinated by the subject of Feng Shui, mostly in the areas related to space (architecture, home décor, colours) and objects (gemstones, plants, furniture), I had to learn more about face Feng Shui. 

I had the opportunity to talk to two prominent and highly regarded people – a Feng Shui master and an aesthetics medical specialist – who are chief players in their fields with a wealth of knowledge and experience when it comes to faces. It’s been almost 10 years since I sat across the table interviewing them, but their stories left such an ineffaceable mark on me.

Every face tells a story

The Chinese believe in lucky and unlucky faces. For centuries they have been using face reading to uncover a person’s character, wealth and health. Considered an ancient art, the concept is not about dissecting one’s face into tiny parts. Rather it takes the principles of Feng Shui where each fraction influences a person’s life based on the five elements (water, wood, fire, earth and metal), Ying Yang and seasons. These collectively signify a person’s energies reflected on the face at various stages of his life. 

“The face is like a GPS that tells me a person’s story,” according to Madame Yeo Siew Li, Singapore’s renowned leading Metaphysics, Bazi and Feng Shui Master Guide. In essence, each face is a map of the past, present and future. 

Madame Yeo reads a person’s face – including crevices, wrinkles, moles and blemishes – in proportion to the overall shape and key features (brows, cheeks, nose, lips, forehead, chin, ears). Symmetry, fullness and texture are indicators of good fortune and prosperity. The teeth are also very important, she says, as crooked teeth can hinder success. 

Once her reading is completed, she advises “correctors” to bring good luck. For example, moles on the face are generally considered inauspicious, so are very flat (no bridge) noses and too bony cheeks – all of which can be aesthetically modified through non-invasive and minimally invasive aesthetic therapies. Madame Yeo counsels her clients to visit aesthetic doctors for treatments to help improve their luck.

Modifying certain facial features was never even considered by the masters Madame Yeo apprenticed under years ago. But the world is changing and there are available treatments that could be utilised as correctors to change one’s luck. She emphasises, however, that the correctors are mere recommendations. Ultimately, it is up to the person to take action or not. 

“Most people who come to me for a reading already have problems. They need counsel,” says Madame Yeo, who offers a ‘diagnosis’ (analysis) and recommends a ‘remedy’. “But it’s up to them to decide whether to follow my advice.”

Interestingly, companies looking to hire key staff engage Madame Yeo’s services. They send pictures of candidates they want to hire, especially for positions that require facing clients and customers. 

Look good, feel great

Aesthetic doctors, and even plastic surgeons, are reporting a new wave of clients coming to them not for aesthetic reasons but because they have been referred by their Feng Shui masters to have unlucky features corrected. 

Dr. Elias Tam, founder and residing doctor at the EHA Clinic in Singapore, noticed that there has been an increase in the number of patients who ask for very specific treatment. EHA gets referrals from Feng Shui masters.

“Initially it was just to remove moles on the face – around or on the nose – upon the advice of their Feng Shui masters because these are generally considered bad luck,” says Dr. Tam. “When such patients come to me, I would examine the part and, if medically reasonable, I will do the necessary procedure.” 

He underscores that these are essentially minimally invasive aesthetic procedures such as fillers, botox and lasers. Fundamentally, they make a person look better based on textbook-described elements of beauty in proportion to the face shape and overall features. 

To illustrate: a patient came to him to ‘repair’ certain things. His Feng Shui master pointed out that his nose is too flat and the eyes are too close, which could make him lose his wealth. In addition, he has a sunken temple, which is said to cast a dark shadow like bad luck hovering around him. Dr. Tam performed the necessary treatment to fill in the temple, increase the nose bridge and improve the eyes area. 

“I did not study Feng Shui. I’m not a practitioner of Feng Shui. But I’m not against it for as long as what the patient wants is reasonable,” says Dr. Tam, who admits losing count of such patients who call on him regularly. 

Harmonious Blend

Dr. Tam and Madame Yeo disclosed that about 80% - 90% of those who come to them report positive changes in their life or luck after aesthetic corrections.  

There is no conflict in mixing Feng Shui face reading and aesthetic remedies. They both cater to people who need a change in their life, or change how they feel. After all, everybody wants to look and feel good, and succeed in love, career or business. 

“Post-procedure, my patients come back looking more confident. They say things are getting better. I think it’s the way they believe in themselves. Interestingly, there is a difference between what is beautiful and what is charismatic. Although it’s true beautiful people can easily be charming, I feel that confident people are always charming,” says Dr. Tam. 

“My clients tell me things have changed [since they had aesthetic treatments]. They’re more successful in their careers, have better relationships with their family and peers, feel more confident, or their luck has improved,” says Madame Yeo. 

Improve your looks. Improve your luck. Either way you’ll feel better. And who knows, it may lead to that career advancement or life partner you’ve been dreaming about. 

Towards the end of our conversation, I remember the one thing Madame Yeo said, that I have a generous, kind face… and blessed with loving children. That’s good enough for me.

The Nine Feng Shui Wealth Features Of The Face 

The Chinese believe in lucky and unlucky faces and a great deal is made of the mountains and rivers of the face, which indicate wealth and fortune. Generally, the central axis of the face is deemed to be a crucial indicator of a person’s lot in life, and when this appears to balance both sides of the face, the powerful trinity of luck is said to be properly aligned for prosperity. 

Here are some excerpts from the book “Discover Yourself” by Lillian Too, one of world's leading exponents of Feng Shui and renowned author of over 80 best-selling books (translated into 30 languages). Her Feng Shui books sell in the millions of copies around the world, and in the process she helps popularise Feng Shui worldwide.

The first wealth spot, the forehead (which also represents the luck from heaven and is the foremost mountain of the face) is round, high, curved and protruding. Such a forehead indicates power, wealth and great authority. A perfect forehead is rare, but as long as this protrudes and looks prominent and wide, good fortune is indicated. A good forehead augments all the other luck features since this also signifies the place of the heavenly celestial dragon. This is a yang spot in the face and means a great deal in terms of one’s luck potential. Look after your forehead and keep it clear of blemishes, spots and unsightly pimples. Use artificial aids to ensure a smooth forehead. Moles on the forehead are acceptable unless they are placed dead in the centre, in which case they should really be removed. Black moles here are deemed to be most inauspicious. 

The second wealth spot. The trinity of luck is expressed in terms of tien, ti and ren – heaven, earth and mankind – with man in the centre, located at the middle space above the nose and between the eyes. This is the man spot, also referred to as the ‘life palace’. Here the space should be clear, bright and luminous if it is to represent a life of good fortune. There should be no hair, colourings, spots or moles in this area since these collectively or by themselves signify obstacles to one’s luck. When this space is clear and luminous it symbolises a life of affluence and influence.

The third wealth spot of the face is the nose. This is deemed a yin spot and it signifies one of the rivers of the face. In the Chinese classic texts on face reading, the nose signifies the river Jie, which brings wealth. The rounder and fleshier the nose looks, the better is the wealth luck indicated. Nostrils should not be too small nor too large. The nose must look balanced and smooth. Spots – white or black – are seen as obstacles, and moles at the tip of the nose are regarded as a major sign of misfortune. The Chinese always regard a big nose with some indulgence, no matter how out of place they look in the overall face. This is because the nose is the repository of money fortune and it indicates wealth from many different sources. 

The fourth wealth spot.  Directly below the nose is the tip of the lips and if you are deemed to possess the mighty gift of the gab – tremendous prosperity luck from speaking – you will see here what is termed the phoenix pearl. It looks rounded and is protruding, and usually those who have it will probably have had it from childhood. Like the cleft chin or the dimple, the pearl is deemed also to be a beauty spot. It brings good fortune in both men and women. The pearl is considered the fourth wealth feature on the face. 

The fifth wealth spot. Directly below the pearl is the mouth, which is considered the second river on the face. It is known as the river Huai. The mouth is deemed auspicious when it is soft and succulent. Irrespective of its size, the mouth must never appear dry, since this indicates loss of luck. As long as the mouth is always moist, it indicates money luck. The mouth is the fifth wealth spot on the face. Moles around the mouth, as long as they are not black, are deemed to enhance the good luck of the mouth and indicate that the person will never lack for good. 

The sixth wealth spot is the second mountain on the face – the chin. This is also the place of earth in the trinity of tien ti ren and is sometimes viewed as the jawline. To be auspicious, the chin should be protruding and prominent. A receding jawline is one sign of misfortune in old age, or it can even be a sign of premature death. A prominent chin indicates a strong base mountain, and this is also suggestive of longevity. 

The seventh wealth spot on the face is the eyes. The eyes are said to indicate great good fortune when they shine and are slightly moist. It does not matter what shape, size or colouring the eyes are – what is most significant is their vitality. When eyes are bright and are well protected by arched eyebrows, life is healthy and prosperous. Eyebrows should never be overly plucked or shaved. When a face lacks eyebrows the person simply cannot climb up the ladder of success. When one eye is smaller than the other, it is a good idea to use artificial aids like eye-liners to correct the imbalance. 

The eighth wealth spot on the face is the cheekbones. In terms of age luck one enters into the center section of the face, which indicates the mature years, at the age of 21. When the cheekbones stand out prominently and appear bright and shiny, it is one of the surest signs that serious wealth luck is about to manifest. Cheekbones should always have flesh and never look bony since this would indicate excessive yang. For cheekbones to appear balanced they must look good enough to pinch! 

The ninth wealth spot. The final indicator is the ears. When your ears are well formed and proportionate, they indicate great good fortune and wisdom. They are said to represent the flow of the Yellow River. Remember that face reading is based also on manifestations of yin and yang and clues can also be gleaned by superimposing Chinese trigrams – shapes that make up the hexagrams of the I Ching – on the face. These trigrams, which are made by combining yin and yang lines, are another way of looking at the kind of luck intrinsic to the different parts of the face. 

Of the nine wealth features only one is placed in the youth section of the face and two in the old age section. This suggests that our destiny manifests mostly during the time of life between youth and old age – this is named the age of maturity. Thus, while face reading gives you a good idea of luck potential, it is essential to note that the bridge between heaven and earth is mankind. It is mankind luck that has the most impact on our destiny as it unfolds. The face over time can undergo change. Mountains can flatten and rivers can run dry. It is vital to stay ever watchful, as much over our physical bodies as over the luck that we are constantly creating for ourselves. 

Will improving your looks improve your luck? Well, Chinese New Year is coming. This could be a time to consult Madame Yeo or leaf through Lilian Too’s book.

Gong Xi Fa Cai. Kung Hei Fat Choi. May the Year of the Wooden Dragon bring you more wealth, better health and more joy!

Debbie | ws

For more info: Master Siewli | Dr. Elias Tam, EHA | SCMP: What is a ‘lucky face’… | Lillian Too