THE SURPRISING EMOTIONAL BENEFITS OF COSMETICS

New research shows makeup has the potential to enhance consumers' lives inside and out. Women spend a large amount of their available income to purchase cosmetics, particularly makeup. Intriguingly, while consumption on most consumer products during the Great Recession of 2007-2009 predictably...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Global Cosmetic Industry 2018-09, Vol.186 (8), p.22
Main Author: Bardey, Aurore C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anxiety
Consumption
Cosmetics
Forecasts
Lipstick
Norms
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:New research shows makeup has the potential to enhance consumers' lives inside and out. Women spend a large amount of their available income to purchase cosmetics, particularly makeup. Intriguingly, while consumption on most consumer products during the Great Recession of 2007-2009 predictably declined, cosmetics consumption continued to increase. This phenomenon, which has been named "the lipstick effect" by journalists, is still not completely understood. However, a body of existing and emerging research points to a range of emotional drivers. Authors have shown that women wear makeup to cope with anxiety about facial appearance, to conform with social norms, to alleviate their self-consciousness, and to appear more sociable and assertive to others. The author suggested that women used makeup as a form of compensation strategy to increase their levels of self-esteem by boosting their physical attractiveness, and this consequently makes them feel better during stressful times. Research has underlined a positive relationship between physical attractiveness and subjective wellbeing, i.e. the people who are perceived as physically attractive seem to feel happier.
ISSN:1523-9470