This probably won't have me laying off the lipstick anytime soon, but guys are apparently super-into the barefaced look for ladies. According to new research published in the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, women's perceptions of what men think is attractive could be way off.
Researchers at Bangor University and Aberdeen University gave a group of women foundation, lipstick, eye shadow, and mascara, then told them to pile it all on like they were going out for the night. When they showed students before and after photos of the women, the male students tended to think the makeup-free photos were prettier, while females didn't mind the ones where the subject was all gussied up.
The most popular photos across the board, however, were ones the researchers had edited to make them look like the subjects were wearing makeup, but slightly less than they actually applied themselves. This made the researchers conclude that women are putting on makeup for a theoretical standard of beauty that may not actually exist.
This isn't the first time smoky eyes have been called to trial — stories about the trends men hate are popping up constantly, most having to do with looks that don't appear in nature, like false lashes and dark lipstick. Of course, I know you're mostly wearing makeup because it makes you happy and feel pretty, but it can be kind of comforting to know that hitting the deli sans concealer on a Sunday afternoon probably isn't freaking out your fellow breakfast sandwich-seekers out as much as you're imagining.
