Scientists have confirmed that gazing is one key to facial attraction:
The study used pictures of male and female faces which had been subtly digitally manipulated.In one picture, a woman might be looking straight at the camera, while in the next, a tiny adjustment meant she would be looking marginally to the left or right.
The difference was so small that it was not immediately obvious to the viewer.
However, after these pictures were shown to 460 men and women, who were asked to rate them for “attractiveness”, it became clear that it was having a pronounced subliminal effect.
In some pictures, there was an eight-fold difference in ratings between the “straight to camera” and averted gazes.