How to tell a genuine smile from a fake one?

A sincere smile takes place in the heart and the mouth.

Wrong. When we smile we are mobilizing various muscles of the lower face: cheekbones, corners of the mouth… but not only that! The orbicular muscles surrounding the corners of our eyes reflect the degree of sincerity in a person’s smile. The more the eyes crinkle, the more sincere the smile is.

A ‘dazzling’ smile is always synonymous with a dishonest smile.

True.  A recent study asked a group of women to smile in order to study closely the details of ‘betrayal’. The result showed that when we are forced, our smile extends more widely. The corners of the mouth go up and back very quickly. Another feature of a fake smile is that it falls faster than a sincere smile.

Beware therefore that the way you smile might betray you. In fact, during a job interview, for example, offer a less dazzling smile as a more spontaneous smile gives a better and more authentic impression.

A selfish person never smiles.

Neither true nor false. According to researchers, the less altruistic of us actually have very little tendency to contract their orbicular muscles when they smile. And when they do, their tension creates a very particular gesture as they roll up their mouth of one side.

So does this mean that anyone who smiles to one side is less sincere? Here’s how to tell… If it’s the right side that rises, it is a bad sign: it shows that the person has taken over his will control, an action which occurs in the left hemisphere of the brain. However, if it is the left side that goes up, it’s a good sign because it means that it is the right hemisphere – the centre of emotions – which is mobilized and therefore the smile is likely to come out of true spontaneity.

The ‘fighters’ are always smiling!

It all depends on their sex. A survey has recently highlighted that, unlike men where smiling and one’s social position have nothing to do with eachother, women in high career positions smile half as much as others! Shame… wouldn’t it be great if we had a sky rocketing career and still enjoyed ourselves and smiled? Yes we’re talking to you Anna Wintour!

 Mélissa Beau & Laura Baquela