UK Wedding News
04/10/2011
Using coloured cosmetics significantly alters how women are perceived, even at first glance, a new study has shown.
The research confirms that make-up application specifically impacts judgements of attractiveness and character when viewed rapidly or for unlimited amounts of time.
P&G Beauty & Grooming and lead investigator Nancy Etcoff, PhD., Assistant Clinical Professor at Harvard University and Associate Researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Psychiatry were responsible for the study. The finding were published in PLoS ONE.
Researchers conducted two studies in which 100 photos of 25 women's faces were judged without makeup and with three different applied make-up looks that included varying levels of luminous contrast (different levels of light to dark make-up shades). The looks were informally classified as "natural," "professional" and "glamorous."
When viewed for 250 milliseconds, all three make-up looks increased ratings of attractiveness, competence, likeability and trust compared to the ratings of the same faces without make-up.
Further, participants in the second study who had unlimited time to inspect the faces gave both the natural and professional make-up looks increased ratings of attractiveness, competence, likeability and trust. The glamorous look, which had the highest luminous contrast, was judged to be equally likeable, less trustworthy and significantly more attractive and competent than the faces without make-up. The reverse connotations associated with this look demonstrate that make-up impacts both automatic, instinctual responses and conscious, deliberative judgements, causing people to make impressions based on the visual alterations caused by cosmetics and their conscious ideas about make-up users and looks.
"Researchers have studied first impressions of innate facial characteristics, such as facial symmetry, but until now, no research has rigorously examined the role that applied beauty or features of the extended human phenotype, such as make-up and hair colour, play in perception of beauty, personality and character at first glance and longer inspection," said Nancy Etcoff, PhD. "For the first time, we have found that applying make-up has an effect beyond increasing attractiveness – it impacts first impressions and overall judgements of perceived likeability, trustworthiness, and competence. In today's world of self-portraits appearing on networking and dating websites, ballots, resumes and applications, the results of the study have broad implications."
Sarah Vickery, PhD, Principal Scientist, Research & Development, Colour Cosmetics, P&G Beauty & Grooming, believes the data's implications also suggest make-up can give women the power to determine which aspects of their personality they want communicated to others.
"This study examined the impact of relevant make-up looks that women in the western world commonly wear, showing that make-up is a real-life tool in their arsenal to effectively control the way they want to be—and are—perceived," said Dr. Vickery. "Makers of colour cosmetics and other beauty products can take these findings into consideration to further develop science-based solutions that empower women to display different aspects of their personalities and to really take charge of the way others see them."
(GK/CD)
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Make-up Alters Instinctual Perception
Using coloured cosmetics significantly alters how women are perceived, even at first glance, a new study has shown.
The research confirms that make-up application specifically impacts judgements of attractiveness and character when viewed rapidly or for unlimited amounts of time.
P&G Beauty & Grooming and lead investigator Nancy Etcoff, PhD., Assistant Clinical Professor at Harvard University and Associate Researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Psychiatry were responsible for the study. The finding were published in PLoS ONE.
Researchers conducted two studies in which 100 photos of 25 women's faces were judged without makeup and with three different applied make-up looks that included varying levels of luminous contrast (different levels of light to dark make-up shades). The looks were informally classified as "natural," "professional" and "glamorous."
When viewed for 250 milliseconds, all three make-up looks increased ratings of attractiveness, competence, likeability and trust compared to the ratings of the same faces without make-up.
Further, participants in the second study who had unlimited time to inspect the faces gave both the natural and professional make-up looks increased ratings of attractiveness, competence, likeability and trust. The glamorous look, which had the highest luminous contrast, was judged to be equally likeable, less trustworthy and significantly more attractive and competent than the faces without make-up. The reverse connotations associated with this look demonstrate that make-up impacts both automatic, instinctual responses and conscious, deliberative judgements, causing people to make impressions based on the visual alterations caused by cosmetics and their conscious ideas about make-up users and looks.
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"Researchers have studied first impressions of innate facial characteristics, such as facial symmetry, but until now, no research has rigorously examined the role that applied beauty or features of the extended human phenotype, such as make-up and hair colour, play in perception of beauty, personality and character at first glance and longer inspection," said Nancy Etcoff, PhD. "For the first time, we have found that applying make-up has an effect beyond increasing attractiveness – it impacts first impressions and overall judgements of perceived likeability, trustworthiness, and competence. In today's world of self-portraits appearing on networking and dating websites, ballots, resumes and applications, the results of the study have broad implications."
Sarah Vickery, PhD, Principal Scientist, Research & Development, Colour Cosmetics, P&G Beauty & Grooming, believes the data's implications also suggest make-up can give women the power to determine which aspects of their personality they want communicated to others.
"This study examined the impact of relevant make-up looks that women in the western world commonly wear, showing that make-up is a real-life tool in their arsenal to effectively control the way they want to be—and are—perceived," said Dr. Vickery. "Makers of colour cosmetics and other beauty products can take these findings into consideration to further develop science-based solutions that empower women to display different aspects of their personalities and to really take charge of the way others see them."
(GK/CD)
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