A series of two studies suggest that women adjust their makeup application based on context, increasing intensity and effort in social or mating scenarios, and reducing or avoiding makeup application in threatening situations. This research was published in Evolutionary Psychology.
Human fascination with physical appearance is both ancient and evolutionarily driven, as evidenced by the extensive use of beauty products and women’s significant investment in appearance-enhancing activities. Women’s makeup serves various purposes, such as attracting mates, gaining status, and competing with other women.
The perception of women’s attractiveness and mate quality is greatly influenced by their physical appearance, and makeup allows them to accentuate or modify facial features to create their desired impressions across contexts. Previous research has primarily focused on everyday makeup use, overlooking the variation in makeup application depending on the situation.
Researchers Malgorzata Biesiadecka and colleagues conducted two studies to address this gap. Study 1 surveyed 533 Polish women (average age 27.51), using an online platform, with situational context manipulation through vignettes. Participants were randomly assigned to imagine preparing for either a usual workday (everyday context) or a party with attractive people (party context).
The study measured the intensity of intended makeup for lips and eyes on a 0-100 scale, and diligence of application on a 1-7 scale. Sociosexual orientation was included as a moderating variable, and measured using the Revised Sociosexuality Orientation Inventory (e.g., “Sex without love is OK”). The researchers controlled for participants’ age.
Results showed significant differences in makeup application intentions between contexts. Women intended to apply more intense makeup, and with greater diligence, in party vs. everyday contexts. Sociosexual orientation did not moderate these relationships. In other words, women intended to apply more intense and diligent makeup in a party context, regardless of their sociosexual orientation.
Study 2 incorporated two more contexts: presence of an attractive potential partner and presence of a threatening man, and explored the motivation to make an impression as a potential mediator. This study recruited 400 Polish women (average age 31.84), using a similar online survey method. In addition to the previous contexts, new scenarios included a party with an attractive man (mating context) and a party with a threatening man (threatening context).
The study measured the intensity and diligence of intended makeup application and the number of cosmetic categories intended to be used. Moderating variables included sociosexual orientation and appearance orientation (e.g., “I check myself in the mirror whenever I can.”). Motivation to make a good impression was assessed as a mediating variable. Makeup frequency and typical number of cosmetic categories used were included as control variables.
The results indicated significant contextual influences on makeup application intentions. Women intended to apply more intense makeup and use more cosmetic categories in party contexts, especially in the presence of an attractive potential partner, compared to the everyday context. However, in the threatening context, there was less motivation to impress, leading to less diligent makeup application.
Motivation to make an impression fully mediated the relationship between context and makeup application intentions, indicating that context-driven motivation to impress significantly impacts how women intend to apply makeup. Sociosexual and appearance orientations did not moderate these effects, suggesting that the impact of context on makeup application is consistent across different levels of sociosexuality and appearance orientation.
The researchers note that the use of declarative measures for makeup intensity and diligence are common but not ideal in this field, and suggest future research employ laboratory settings to assess actual makeup application in specific contexts.
The research, “To Enhance, or not to Enhance: The Situational Context Shapes Women’s Intentions on Amount and Diligence of Makeup Application”, was authored by Malgorzata Biesiadecka, Aleksandra Szymkow, and Wieslaw Baryla.