← All posts

Real talk

AI told me exactly what I should change about my face. It got one big thing wrong.

I ran a full AI beauty analysis on myself. Some of it was impressive. Here's the part it can't see.

Nicole Smith, MSPA · September 25, 2026 · 6 min read

The selfie Nicole uploaded for her AI beauty analysis

The photo I uploaded for my analysis.

I had AI do a full beauty analysis on my own face. Facial proportions, symmetry, skin, and even which aesthetic treatments could enhance it. And some of it was actually really impressive.

What it actually told me

I uploaded one selfie and asked for a full beauty analysis. It came back with face, skin, makeup, and hair. A few lines that honestly impressed me:

Eyes"Your eyes are one of your strongest features. They're large, light, relatively open and visually dominant."
Under eyes"I wouldn't automatically chase that with tear-trough filler."
Cheeks"I would not build large anterior apple cheeks."
Skin"Collagen-focused treatments can outperform simply adding volume."
Hair"Width and movement around the cheekbones can visually balance it."
Makeup"Taupe, champagne, dusty rose, mauve, soft brown and muted plum around the eyes."
Read the full AI analysis

Overall

Based on this straight-on photo, you have several features that already create a youthful, feminine look: large light eyes, strong brow structure, good midface width, defined lips, and relatively good facial balance. Your face reads more long/oval with some heart-shaped influence rather than round or square.

This is a visual assessment from one photo, not a clinical exam, and camera distance and lighting can exaggerate asymmetry.

Face shape and proportions

Your face is longer than it is wide, with the greatest visual width around the upper/midface and gradual narrowing toward the chin. The vertical length is more noticeable than any lack of width, so I would avoid anything that unnecessarily elongates the lower face.

Your facial thirds look reasonably harmonious, although the lower third appears slightly long and narrow relative to the midface in this particular image. I would therefore think in terms of creating horizontal balance and subtle lateral support, rather than adding a lot of anterior projection.

Eyes

Your eyes are one of your strongest features. They're large, light, relatively open and visually dominant.

There is a little under-eye hollow/shadowing, particularly through the medial tear-trough/infraorbital transition. I wouldn't automatically chase that with tear-trough filler. In a mature face, improving the cheek-lid transition and skin quality can often look more natural than filling the trough itself.

For makeup, your eye shape can handle definition, but I'd concentrate it outward rather than downward: outer lashes, a small lifted wing and slightly more definition at the outer third. That would emphasize the width of your eyes without making them look overly round.

Brows and upper face

Your brows have a nice thickness and frame your eyes well. There is visible natural asymmetry between the two sides, which is completely normal.

I wouldn't make them dramatically higher or more arched. A soft, elongated brow with a subtle lateral lift suits your proportions better than a very peaked Botox-style brow.

If treating with neuromodulator, I'd prioritize preserving expression and avoiding excessive forehead weakening that could make the brows feel heavier.

Midface and cheeks

This is where I'd be conservative.

You already have cheek structure, so I would not build large anterior "apple cheeks." That could make the center of the face look heavier and actually work against the natural elegance of your facial shape.

If volume restoration were desired, I'd think about strategic lateral cheek/temporal support and transitions, based on an in-person assessment, rather than simply adding cheek volume.

Nose

From the frontal view, your nose is relatively narrow and doesn't dominate your face. It sits proportionately between your eyes and mouth.

Nothing about it visually demands correction. I would leave it alone unless there is something specific you personally dislike that isn't apparent from a frontal photograph.

Lips and perioral area

Your lips are nicely defined and already have visible volume. The lower lip is appropriately fuller than the upper lip, which is generally aesthetically harmonious.

I would avoid substantially increasing lip size. If anything were done, refinement of border/hydration or subtle structural support would make more sense than projection.

The perioral area is also one place where skin quality treatments can give more aesthetic payoff than additional filler.

Lower face, chin and jawline

This is the area where subtle changes could potentially make the biggest difference.

Your lower face narrows toward the chin, and there's some early softening through the pre-jowl/jawline transition. Rather than trying to create an extremely sharp, wide jaw, I'd aim for a smooth transition from cheek to jaw to chin.

I also wouldn't automatically add significant chin length. Because your face already reads vertically long, too much inferior chin projection could exaggerate that. Any chin treatment would need to be evaluated from your profile and three-quarter views before deciding whether anterior projection, width, or no treatment is preferable.

Skin

Your skin looks quite good in this photo: relatively even tone and texture without obvious heavy photodamage. What I notice more than pigmentation is subtle textural change and decreased luminosity, which is exactly where collagen-focused treatments can outperform simply adding volume.

For someone trying to look refreshed rather than "done," I'd put a high priority on retinoid + antioxidant + sunscreen at home, with appropriately selected resurfacing/laser or collagen-stimulating treatments professionally.

Hair

Your current blonde works particularly well with your eye color. The dimensional darker root prevents the blonde from washing you out.

One thing I'd consider is slightly more intentional face framing around the cheekbone/jaw rather than very long pieces hanging vertically beside the face. Because your face is already elongated, width and movement around the cheekbones can visually balance it.

Your current loose wave pattern is flattering for exactly that reason.

Makeup colors

You appear to suit soft neutral-to-cool/neutral colors particularly well from this photograph. Taupe, champagne, dusty rose, mauve, soft brown and muted plum around the eyes would make the blue/gray eyes stand out.

The current pink-mauve lip is flattering. I'd favor rose, pink-beige and neutral mauve over very brown/nude lipstick, which could flatten your coloring.

If I were designing an overall rejuvenation strategy

I would not make "more filler" the centerpiece. Your features already have good structure.

The aesthetic direction I'd pursue would be: preserve your large eyes, subtly improve the eye/cheek transition, maintain lateral facial support, refine the lower-face transition, improve collagen/skin quality, and keep lips natural.

The biggest mistake I think you could make aesthetically would be over-volumizing the medial cheeks, tear troughs or lips. Your facial characteristics are better suited to strategic structural work and skin rejuvenation than chasing every shadow with filler.

And because you have such striking eyes, I would make virtually every hair, brow, makeup and aesthetic-treatment decision around keeping the upper face open and making the eyes the focal point.

Honestly, a lot of that is what I would say in a consult.

But here's where it got it wrong.

AI is looking at a photo

It can't feel tissue. It can't see how your face moves in real life. It can't evaluate muscle strength, and it can't fully understand how your anatomy and your medical history affect a treatment.

All of that is invisible in a still image, and all of it changes what I'd actually do.

Sometimes the area AI tells you to treat isn't the area causing the imbalance.

The part most people don't realize

A shadow under the eye can come from the cheek. A heavy brow can be a forehead muscle problem, not a brow problem. The photo shows you where the issue appears. It doesn't show you where it starts.

That's why AI is an amazing starting point, but your final treatment plan should come from an experienced medical aesthetic provider evaluating your face in person.

I still think you should try it

Seriously. It's a great way to walk into a consult already knowing what you like and don't like about your face, and to have real questions ready. I uploaded the photo above with five words: "Give me a full beauty analysis." Here's a better version you can use.

Step 1: take the right photo

  • Face the camera straight on, phone at eye level, about arm's length away.
  • Natural daylight from a window in front of you. No filters, no beauty mode.
  • Hair pulled back, neutral expression, light or no makeup.
  • Optional: take a side profile and a three-quarter angle too. They change the answer.

Step 2: copy this prompt

The prompt
I'm uploading a clear, front-facing photo of my face. Give me a full beauty analysis the way an experienced aesthetic injector would in a consultation. Cover: 1. Face shape and proportions (facial thirds, balance, symmetry) 2. Eyes, brows, cheeks, nose, lips, chin and jawline 3. Skin: tone, texture, and what I should be doing at home 4. Makeup colors and placement that suit my features 5. Hair color and styling that balance my face shape For each area, start with what's already working. Only suggest changes that would look natural, and be kind and realistic, not a list of flaws. Then give me: - My top 3 priorities, in order, and why - Which aesthetic treatments might help each one, and which I should avoid - What you can't tell from a photo and would need a provider to check in person - 5 questions to bring to my consultation

Step 3: push it further

Once it answers, paste these one at a time:

Here's my side profile and three-quarter view. Does anything in your analysis change?
What would you NOT do to my face, and why?
Turn this into a one-page summary I can show my injector.

Step 4: bring it to a real consult

Screenshot the summary and bring it with you. It's a great conversation starter, and it's exactly where the real plan gets made.

A quick note: AI is working from a photo, so treat everything it says as a starting point, not a diagnosis. And if it says something that stings, remember it can't see you laugh, talk, or move. That's most of what makes a face.

Found this from my reel? Share it with a friend who needs it, and follow @lipsandlattes for the results.

Then bring it to me

Run the analysis, screenshot it, and book a consult at HēBē in Laguna Beach or Claremont. I'll tell you what it got right and what it missed.

Next week: the one thing I won't do to lips, and why it keeps showing up on my feed.

Nicole