Pineau also conducted a study, “Cosmetics: they Influence More than Caucasian Female Facial Attractiveness”, which focused on whether or not women would be evaluated differently on four different social measures depending on if they were viewed with or without makeup. The authors believed that “cosmetics could play a significant part in increasing attractiveness because they may, in part, enhance facial symmetry” (Nash, Fieldman, Hussey, Lévêque, & Pineau 2006, p. 493). This is probably no secret to most of the women who use cosmetics. It’s commonly accepted that makeup can cover up blemishes, enhance eye color, or brighten up features. In a previous report done by Fieldman, and Hussy, along with Mulhern, Leveque, and Pineau, it was found that female faces were viewed as more attractive when wearing makeup, and “eye makeup and foundation were the most significant contributors to the enhancement of female facial attractiveness” (Nash et al., 2006, p. 493). Assuming that female facial attractiveness is what women are looking for by applying cosmetics, this study attempts to determine what exactly female facial attractiveness is attributed to, and it turns out it is more than just looking good. The study found that “images of women wearing makeup were judged to be healthier and more confident than the images of the same women without makeup. When wearing cosmetics women were also assigned greater earning potential and considered to have more prestigious jobs than when they were presented without makeup” (Nash et al., 2006, p. 501). Similar to other studies the report also found that wearing cosmetics caused ratings of self-confidence within the females to be higher than ratings of women without makeup. Based on these results, it is no wonder that women place such value on achieving facial attractiveness through using cosmetics. Along with being viewed as more confident, they are also viewed as healthier and more successful individuals. The research further suggests, “women therefore employ cosmetics to THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY’S INFLUENCE ON WOMEN 8 manipulate their appearance and in so doing, may also benefit from a boost in positive selfperception and well-being that appears to be associated with wearing makeup” (Nash et al., 2006, p. 503). By using these cosmetics as a tool to control social situations, consumers have the ability to influence how others perceive them and how at ease they feel in different situations. It would be useful to look into the possibility that makeup can be used to create a malleable self in order to gain benefits from different situations. In 2008, Fieldman and Hussey along with Robertson conducted another study, “’Who wears cosmetics?’ Individual Differences and Their Relationship with Cosmetic Usage,” which sought to determine if different personality variables predicted rates of cosmetic usage. The research found that positive relationships were established between cosmetic usage and “anxiety, self-consciousness, introversion, conformity, and self-presentation” and that negative relationships were found between cosmetic usage and “extroversion, social confidence, emotional stability, self-esteem, physical attractiveness, and intellectual complexity” (Robertson, Fieldman, & Hussey, 2008, p. 41). Much of the previous research has not focused on factors that create a negative relationship between cosmetics. The results fit into the reasonable assumption that if people are comfortable with themselves, they do not have as much desire to use cosmetics as a person who had low self-esteem. The results for the positive relationships are also very reasonably assumed; if people have low self-esteem, they will find it practical to seek out cosmetics to enhance themselves. Although beyond the scope of the current research, another interesting research question would be to determine how much of this anxiety, selfconsciousness, etc., is caused by advertising. Although this study does not prove a link between advertising and these elements, it can be sensibly hypothesized that advertising might play a part in causing consumers to have these “negative” traits. It was also shown in this study that there is THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY’S INFLUENCE ON WOMEN 9 a positive relationship between using cosmetics and conformity. This relates to the previous idea that consumers use makeup as a way to create a malleable self. By using makeup, it can allow consumers to favorably alter their appearance for any type of situation. This idea of using makeup to create a malleable self is also discussed in the work of Sarah Scott, the “Influence of Cosmetics on the Confidence of College Women.” Scott’s study attempted to determine the relationship between cosmetics, their match to specific situations, and the resulting