No question, looks matter.
Pretty girls win prom queen. Gorgeous women get promoted.
That's why you'll never catch some women in public without makeup.
"The message, in general, from the cosmetics industry is that you've got to look beautiful, you have to be thin, you have to have this body type and that body type," says Joyce Pearlman, a clinical social worker and therapist based in Huntington Woods. "If that's the message, you think you have to have the most expensive things, and you think 'He won't love me unless I'm a size 4 and I have a perfect face.' "
On average, U.S. women spend $10 billion on cosmetics, beauty supplies and perfumes annually, according to Hoovers Inc. And for some guys, a woman with a perfect face -- or at least one with impeccable makeup -- opens the dialogue.
Pedro Villarreal, 31, prefers a woman who puts some effort into her appearance. The quality analyst who works in Dearborn says a woman in makeup definitely would catch his interest much faster than one not wearing makeup.
"Maybe it's just because I'm so used to seeing women in makeup," the single Woodhaven man says. "A woman not wearing makeup would be more noticeable, but wearing makeup would get my attention."
Overdoing it also gets his attention.
"When I go to the gym, and I see women in makeup, that's weird," he says.
But, experts say, makeup firms target flaws to get people to buy their products.
Paula Begoun, who has her own beauty line called Paula's Choice and calls herself the Cosmetics Cop, isn't so sure about that. She says women are less influenced than studies would lead us to believe.
"If I have a pimple, I don't need an advertisement to tell me to cover it up," says Begoun. "I understand the advertisement has to assert a negative, but let's say I have wrinkles -- even if they tell me, I know I got wrinkles."
It's far more important for a woman to express confidence in her looks, Begoun says.
Michele Lockley, 34, says that she has had more dating success without heavy makeup and that no one needs it on a regular basis.
"You can be pretty without it," says Lockley of Redford, adding that her boyfriend prefers her natural look.
"I've had the same foundation for a year," says the nursing assistant. "If I'm having a really bad day, and my face is really, really red, I'll wear a water-based sensitive skin foundation just to lighten the red."
Then there are folks like Rashida Williams, who wear cosmetics almost every day. A makeup artist with more than 10 years' experience, Williams says she wears makeup regularly because it makes her feel good and her goal is to make her clients feel the same way.
"It enhances all of this natural God-given beauty," says the married mother of one who lives in Romulus.
"When I don't have on makeup, I can admit that I do not feel that pretty," she says. "I know that sounds silly, but makeup allows me to feel a lot better about me."
While looking good bolsters self-confidence, Pearlman says makeup should never trump quality interactions with people. Sometimes cosmetics can put up a barrier when it comes to intimacy because women aren't revealing their true selves. That is, until the makeup comes off at night.
"It's got to be some middle ground," Pearlman says.
Contact Erin Hill Perry: 313-222-6428 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 313-222-6428 end_of_the_skype_highlighting or elhill@freepress.com .
Source: yellowbrix
