Customer Watch: Laugh Crinkles

I have neither the time nor the inclination to subscribe to medical journals, but they are occasionally mined for gold by the consumer press when it comes to matters of appearance and self-esteem.

As my regular readers know, I strive to help jewelers help their customers select jewelry that brings attention to the customers’ favorite features, especially their eyes and mouths. Women can be notoriously hard on themselves as to every perceived imperfection. As retailers, you can help your customers see and acknowledge their inherent beauty.

For the woman skittish about highlighting her eyes because of the “flaws” she perceives  consisting of so-called crow’s-feet, or wrinkles at the outside corners of her eyes, comes a bit of reporting from the September 2008 issue of Elle magazine. According to a recent study in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, that type of facial wrinkles can be a good thing.

In this case, “Photoshopping crow’s-feet into a picture of a young subject’s eyes doubled viewers’ perception of her happiness,” reports Elle [emphasis added].

Let’s look at a few happy women who happen to have crow’s-feet. First, some undeniably beautiful celebrities:

Cameron Diaz at the 2007 Academy Awards.

Cate Blanchett at the 2007 Academy Awards.

And just in case that’s not enough, let’s add a supermodel into the mix:

Heidi Klum at the 2008 Academy Awards.

Notice that each of these women is wearing a show-stopping pair of earrings. Afraid of the wrinkles around their eyes? Clearly that’s a complete non-issue, as it should be.

Looking happy is definitely a good thing. So let’s discard the horrid term “crow’s-feet,” call them “laugh crinkles,” and celebrate those indicators of happiness by drawing attention to those beautiful eyes with jewelry.