Ever wondered why so many women choose to wear make up; let's explore the reasons....
I was about 11 years old when I saw a newspaper article entitled 'Why do women wear make up?' It wasn't my newspaper so I didn't get to read the article but that title always stayed with me. It was quite a lengthy piece; I wondered how something I had previously thought of as ordinary and routine could be worth so many words on paper and at that be an entire newspaper article. Since then, I found myself wondering about different women's perspective on why they wear make up.
When you ask any woman why she wears make up, it could be that she wants to enhance her natural features, hide away flaws, feel confident or express some creativity in her style. There are a myriad of reasons, which are personal to the individual. Once upon a time, only a select few in society would be bold enough to wear make up in public and department stores would not have cosmetics displayed on shelves. Now things are so different; make up is embraced. People see it not just as a way to make themselves look and feel more attractive but as a medium to express their artistic and creative flair.
It is estimated that approximately 41% of British females wear make up even when in the privacy of their own homes. Research suggests that there are two primary reasons why women wear make up; (i) to blend in and (ii) as a tool for seduction.
Women who wear make up in order to blend in are usually more self-conscious; they experience more anxiety and tend to feel more insecure about the way they look. For this cohort of females, the clothes and make up they select are with the view to make them less noticeable.
There are studies which suggest that attractive females are treated more favourably than those who are deemed as less attractive. The stark difference can be seen in many areas of life, including job prospects, dating life, forming new friendships and even in criminal trials. The bias towards attractive people is that people have an inherent belief that those who are physically attractive also hold other attractive personality traits such as being more honest and trustworthy. In Psychology, there is a term for this; it is the Halo effect'.
The Halo effect gives way to the reason of seduction in relation to why women wear make up. After all, an estimated 74% of women wear make up when going on a date. Sexual seduction is at play here. People are first attractive to a potential mate based on their physical appearance and then to their personality. In comparison to men, a woman's lips are brighter and more fuller, features are softer and these are often features women highlight when applying make up.
If we explore evolutionary psychology and sexual selection further, we begin to understand what is considered attractive and how this relates to the idea of fertility in both sexes. Women with symmetrical features, a fairer complexion and more youthfulness in features are thought to be in better health and more fertile and able to pass on strong, healthy genes to their offspring.
And then there is the woman who doesn't want children but she finds her reason for wearing make-up is one of seduction. Sexual selection is also at play here. But this time, it is not with. reproduction as an ulterior goal, rather it is due to social inclusion and feeling like she belongs to a social network.
This post explores just a few reasons but there are still many more reasons why women wear make up. I too like all the other women have my reasons. To me, make up makes me feel more confident, it makes me feel dressed and ready for the day and like I can be my true self. And whilst putting on make up, I am mindful about what products I am using, what order I put things onto my face and why I choose what I choose; a very small window of mindfulness in my morning routine.
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