If I told you there was something really quick, inexpensive, non-invasive, painless, temporary and most of all, SIMPLE which you could do to reap the following benefits, what would you guess it was and would you be interested?

 

Study after study I have seen shows women are perceived as more physically attractive, cleaner, more tidy, more feminine and sexy, as well as being more secure, sociable, interesting, poised, confident, organized and popular… just by wearing a little light, natural-looking make up!

 

One study (Nash et all, 171 women) examined how average-looking women were perceived after a professional make-over versus cosmetics-free and found that cosmetics and grooming were positively associated with femininity and sexiness, a greater earning potential and more prestigious jobs. The report concluded, “The results suggest that women can successfully employ cosmetics to manipulate how they are assessed, which may be advantageous in social situations where women may be judged on their appearance, such as job interviews.”

 

In another very interesting study, photographs and CVs were sent out to top personnel officers; in some of the photos women wore makeup and in some they did not. These professionals were asked which of the women they would hire and how much would they pay if they needed to fill positions in their field. The results showed that not only were the candidates wearing makeup more likely to be offered jobs, but they were offered salaries between 20 and 25 percent higher than the un-made-up women. That study concluded, “Makeup for professional women is as important as their outfit. The good news is that an appropriate makeup is one that is well blended and looks minimal.”

 

As a marketeer, image consultant and former job club leader, I have to sit up and take notice of those findings. Whether I am helping women develop their own special and unique brand, or training employees facing redundancy or school leavers facing the most uncertain job market for decades, my advice on make-up is always the same.

 

My daughter is 10. When she was younger, she wanted to join in family board games like Monopoly with us and her older brother, but found it the complex rules difficult. In our own home, we created some Smith family rules that enabled her to participate and have fun, while being careful to explain other families will play the “proper rules” when she ventures out of the safe confines of her own sphere. Make up is like that. I meet die-hard feminists who sometimes start out wanting to lynch me when my slide show starts, then I explain: in your own environment you may have certain standards (think cabin crew, cosmetics house consultants, celebs on red carpets), but “out there” in the hugely competitive market, sadly but emphatically so, people are judged on appearances. I show them slides of a rather scruffily dressed but clean bare-faced woman in jeans and a fleece, then a beautifully groomed woman wearing light attractive make up an elegant suit and ask them to describe them to me- profession, earnings, car, house, partner etc.

 

The first woman is almost inevitably labeled a teacher, volunteer, social worker or at home mum, the second a lawyer, accountant, doctor, business women. Then the light bulb moment… we just can’t help it. Fight or flight cave women reactions? Is this person like me? Will they be a friend or foe? Dull or interesting? Useful or boring? We all do it, however we might prefer to claim we don’t. The clincher is showing a photo of the smashing Susan Boyle on her first BGT appearance. Everyone remembers the audience’s hoots of derision, the cat calls, the judges gloomy or stony faces, the sighs….  Then I show a picture of Susan as she appears on her latest album cover. Every bit the superstar she has become. Now how would the audience have reacted if she’d have commanded the stage looking like that I ask? Point made. Resistance is futile!

 

As I continually help women “be their best selves” inside AND outside, I need to point out I don’t feel women should or have to wear make up. It’s a personal choice that should come from an inner confidence and creative expression either way. When I come to important situations such as pitching to clients, networking meeting s, I do because I enjoy being creative and improving on nature! I look better, so I feel better, so I act better, so people treat me better. Tried it with and without this is what I have found. On office days like today, I will usually be found in my walking gear with no make up. That’s fine too.

 

My experience over the years shows there appear to be three main reasons women don’t wear make-up: practical (they don’t know how to use the right colours or techniques, so just leave it, emotional (mum said lipstick was for hookers, husband says it makes her look cheap- I’ve heard a lot in the confessional of out studio over the past few years!) or moral (why should women “have” to wear make up to appear more attractive when men don’t need to? Aren’t we going to be victims of some partriarchal society?  Forever dismissed as more frivolous and interested in the opposite sex (a study of US students) or as Kyle and Mahler’s study showed, some respondents perceived women with makeup as more feminine and hence less assertive and less self-reliant. 

 

None of that need be true. A couple of hours and small financial investment in a make-up class, such as those offered by my colleagues at True Colours Image Consultancy in Broomhill http://truecoloursforlife.com/ , will have you looking and feeling fabulous for day or evening in a way that you can easily replicate in colours that flatter your unique skin tone and eye and hair colour and sits comfortably with you and your lifestyle. What’s not to love? As the old Rimmel ad used to say, “Life’s a war. Make-up’s ammunition!”

 

If I still haven’t convinced you, then grooming is the way forward instead. Clean, fresh moisturized skin, tidy brows, a flattering hair cut… Employers and customers everywhere assume, if you look like a polished professional who takes care of yourself, the subliminal message is you can certainly take care of their business.

 

I’ll leave the final word to well respected make-up artist to the stars, Bobbi Brown, “I want women to look and feel like themselves, only prettier and more confident.” Amen to that sister.