Using color cosmetics does significantly alter how women are perceived by others—even at very first glance, according to a new study from P&G Beauty & Grooming, Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Psychiatry. Results of the study show that makeup application specifically impacts judgments of attractiveness and character when viewed rapidly or for unlimited amounts of time.

Lead investigator Nancy Etcoff, PhD., assistant clinical professor at Harvard University and associate researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Psychiatry, conducted two studies in which 100 photos of 25 women’s faces were judged without makeup and with three different applied makeup looks that included varying levels of luminous contrast (different levels of light to dark makeup shades). The looks were informally classified as “natural,” “professional” and “glamorous.” When viewed for 250 milliseconds, all three make up looks increased ratings of attractiveness, competence, likability and trust compared to the ratings of the same faces without makeup.

Participants in the second study who had unlimited time to inspect the faces gave both the natural and professional makeup looks increased ratings of attractiveness, competence, likability and trust. The glamorous look, which had the highest contrast, was judged to be equally likeable, less trustworthy and significantly more attractive and competent than the faces without makeup. The reverse connotations associated with this look demonstrate that makeup impacts both automatic, instinctual responses and conscious, deliberative judgments, causing people to make impressions based on the visual alterations caused by cosmetics and their conscious ideas about makeup users and looks, according to the researchers.

Sarah Vickery, PhD, principal scientist, research & development, color cosmetics, P&G Beauty & Grooming, believes the data’s implications also suggest makeup can give women the power to determine which aspects of their personality they want communicated to others. “This study examined the impact of relevant makeup looks that women in the western world commonly wear, showing that makeup is a real-life tool in their arsenal to effectively control the way they want to be—and are—perceived,” said Dr. Vickery. “Makers of color cosmetics and other beauty products can take these findings into consideration to further develop science-based solutions that empower women to display different aspects of their personalities and to really take charge of the way others see them.”