I remember when I was about nine or ten that I got a series of books in the mail. These were books that were supposed to teach me about style and beauty. One was all about learning my color palette (a topic that was popular back then but which didn’t actually make sense to me since I was in a late 1980′s hot pink kind of phase). Another was about the shape of my face and body and how knowing that shape could make me more skilled at choosing makeup and clothing that would flatter me.

I read the books and implemented their tips for a day or two. Then I went on about the business of being a kid. However, I actually think that a little bit of the information that I read at the time stuck with me. I eventually came to see that understanding the lines of your face and body and the color of your skin tone could go a long way towards making it easier to choose clothing.

It also makes it easier to choose hairstyles. I remembered this recently when writing an article on how to wear long layers in a haircut. This popular haircut is great because it works for almost everyone. However, how well it works for you typically depends on how you style it. And how you style it should relate to the shape of your face. If you never learned the shape of your face or body then it might be worth it to learn how to do that. It can’t hurt anyway, at least, that’s what this SmartChick thinks.

What do you think – does this stuff matter to you in terms of defining your personal style?

Tags: beauty, face shape, hubpages, shape of face, smartchick, style