The question of the title is deliberately set in a crude form to emphasize the literal meaning of the French word maquillage (makeup), which means applying cosmetics to the face to emphasize attractive features or camouflage existing flaws.
Of course, the opinion of professional make-up artists is unequivocal and categorical - a woman should look natural, but also beauticians and psychologists agree with the need to adjust the shape and complexion with various kinds of decorative cosmetics, that is, to make up. And the point here is not only in a selfish desire at any price to be more beautiful than others or hide it modestly under a layer of cosmetics for years, so ... a few. Many years of research by scientists, conducted under the aegis of the all-powerful company Proctor & Gamble, have defined makeup as a kind of business card in modern society. The relationship between the appearance of a woman and the perception of her by other people is clearly traced. We all know the importance of the first impression produced. Psychologists warn that our external shortcomings, conspicuous, can subconsciously distract the interlocutor, resulting in a social rating will be lower than we deserve. This can affect the career, and in a romantic relationship.
Scientists have introduced the concept of a "social triangle" - the so-called symbolic triangle, which occupies the area between the eyes and the bridge of the nose. All the social information is at the center of the face, it is the social triangle that is the look of your counterpart. Therefore, the quality of the makeup, which highlighted the advantages and hid the shortcomings, will be made a social assessment. At the same time the time factor works, after all, conclusions are often made only on the basis of a fleeting glance at the face. The participants of the experiments were shown photographs, on which women were photographed without make-up and "in combat coloring". At first it was suggested to look briefly at the faces, and then they were given the opportunity to study the images in more detail. After that, the compiled ratings of women were analyzed in terms of classification according to beauty, attractiveness, competence and confidence. It was found that when people showed up quickly, women with makeup were recognized as more competent and cute than "not made-up". Separately stressed their business appearance, inspiring confidence in reliability. When the subjects got the opportunity to study the photos in more detail, the results changed: retaining their opinion about the attractiveness and competence of women with professional (as they say, "glamorous") makeup, everyone lost all confidence in their reliability. The level of trust of others has decreased.
Well here it is possible to advise? Experts recommend that women always take into account that cosmetics can affect primary assessments from other people in terms of their efficiency and reliability. And on the other hand, psychologists remind that for the sake of their own comfort, it is important for a woman to apply such make-up as she likes, or to allow his complete absence. There is nothing more attractive than a confident woman with her own style. And this is not only in the business world, but also in family life. A curious study was conducted by psychologists among 450 married couples. Prior to the start of research for objectivity, each member of a married couple was assessed by the degree of attractiveness of an independent group of experts. For four years, a husband and wife from each family were separately asked how satisfied they were in their marriages. So, in couples where women recognized experts as very attractive, their spouses were very happy in their family life. By the way, the spouses whose husbands were categorized as handsome, did not experience such euphoria.