The billion-dollar colour cosmetics industry only means one thing: that we ladies adore our makeup. As much as some of us cannot leave without our cosmetics, we are not sure if our male counterparts share the same sentiments as we do. We sourced the web for some answers and here are some pretty amazing revelations:
“I think a woman should look natural. When there’s too much going on around the eyes, then it’s definitely too much and is completely distracting. Women look more beautiful without too much going on,” says Christopher, 19-year old student.
“When I see heavy makeup, it takes away from who a woman really is and it’s usually a negative for me when it’s overdone. It makes me have some prejudgements about them and I usually stay away,” reveals Kevin, 21-year old bartender.
“If you can tell it’s there, it’s too much. For eye makeup, young people tend to go overboard. Frankly, I’ve never seen heavy eye makeup like glitter and such where it’s been attractive to me,” admits Jan, director in late 50s.
Drawing inspiration from the revelational finding on the differences between what men and women think an attractive female figure is, Beauty Insider scoured the virtual library for scientific enlightenment on how men really judge our makeup.
Published in Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, researchers at the University of Bangor in Wales provided 44 ladies with a full selection of makeup and instructed them to primp for a night out. They photographed each woman before and after makeup, and then created realistic digital mock-ups of every point on the spectrum, ranging from totally bare skin to a full-on face. These photos were then shown to male and female subjects, who were asked to select 3 photos for each model: Their personal favourite, the one they thought most women would prefer, and the one they thought most men would find most attractive.
While most subjects assumed that men would fall for a more intense makeup look, the results told a different story. The girls picked photos with more makeup when estimating the preferences of others (especially men), as compared to the male participants. When, in reality, both men and women participants personally favoured looks with 40% less makeup than what models had actually applied.
Of course, we’d like to point out that some of us make a conscious decision to doll up in a certain way just for ourselves – because it makes us feel happy, hot or unique, and not necessarily to attract others. But for those who pile on the entire counter worth of products because they think it’s expected of them, this study is proof that less is way, way more.
Instagram selfies of Rosie Huntington-Whitely and Miranda Kerr looking fabulously bare-faced in bed
For sufficient confidence to step out of the house almost au natural, prior complexion-perfecting prep work for clear, radiant skin is key.
“Most of my clients aim to improve their complexion so that they can use less makeup,” explains Eileen Seah, Beauty Expert from Fabulous Aesthetics. “And what many of them realise eventually is that less makeup often means better complexion as well.”
xoxo,
The Fabulous Team