Less Is More: New Study Shows Men & Women Prefer Less Makeup On Faces

  • By Kim West
  • May 05, 2014 08:51 PM EDT



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Before you get ready to glam it up with a vanity full of products, you might wanna read this latest study. A new poll suggests that men and women prefer faces with less makeup.

Published in the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, the study explains that both males and females were shown images of women wearing different amounts of makeup and were then asked which they found more attractive. It turns out both sexes preferred women with 30 to 40 percent less makeup than they originally were wearing.

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"So a more natural look makes you appear more attractive to others," explained Dr. Alex Jones, a co-author of the study and researcher at the School of Psychology at Bangor University to the TODAY Show.

To contrast the results, the study also showed that not only do women think men prefer a lot of makeup, but men believe this as well.

"It seems we are all quite bad at understanding what others find attractive, and this can lead to self-esteem issues ..." Dr. Jones told TODAY in an e-mail.

To conduct the study, 44 females were photographed without any makeup on and then with makeup they applied themselves to echo what they'd wear on a night out. The participants of the study were then able to browse through the images with different amounts of makeup.

"We know that makeup increases attractiveness, but before we didn't know - at least scientifically - that there was an amount that looked the best, and that people out there in the world agree on how much that is," he explained.

This study is said to align with the findings of another conducted back in 2011 where women who wore makeup - but not too much - were deemed by the participants to be more "competent, likeable and trustworthy."

What are your thoughts on this new study? Tell us with a note below!

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