Effects of Cosmetics Use on the Physical Attractiveness and Body Image of American College Women

TLDR

Physical appearance is viewed as a dynamic, controllable attribute that individuals modify to manage self‑ and social images. The study employed a counterbalanced within‑subject design in which 38 female college students completed body‑image measures and were photographed with and without makeup, and 16 peer judges rated the attractiveness of the resulting images. Women reported more positive body image when wearing cosmetics, with larger effects for those who normally wore more makeup, and male judges rated them less favorably without cosmetics while female judges showed no difference.

Abstract

Abstract Thirty-eight American female college students completed several body-image measures and were photographed while wearing their typical facial cosmetics and following the removal of their makeup, in a counterbalanced within-subject experimental design. Results indicated more positive body-image cognitions and affect in the cosmetics-present than the cosmetics-absent condition. The more makeup typically worn by the subject, the greater the body-image differences between the two cosmetics conditions. Sixteen peer judges rated the attractiveness of the women in either the cosmetics-present or the cosmetics-absent photograph. Male judges were less favorable when the women were cosmetics free; female judges were not differentially affected. Findings are discussed in the context of a dynamic state-trait perspective that physical appearance is not simply a fixed, immutable attribute, but rather is altered by individuals to manage and control their self- and social images.