SURVEY: Why We Wear Makeup… And What We Spend On It

It's known as the bag or tricks, and for good reason. We know more than most about the thrill of finding the perfect red lippy or mastering a smokey eye pre a big night out, but one a newly released survey has examined our fascination with foundation much closer. 

Beauty subscription service GLOSSYBOX asked subscribers to fill in a detailed survey on their makeup habits, including what's in their bag and why they use what they do, and the results, garnered from over 8,000 women, were really interesting.

Seventy-five per cent of women said that they wear makup every day. While 18 per cent used it as "a tool to express their personalities" and 11 per cent confessed it was to attract a partner, 74 per cent of respondents revealed that they used makeup to feel more confident about themselves.

Over 82 per cent  of suveyed women said that makeup made them look more attractive, while a whopping 43 per cent confessed that they would never be seen in public bare faced. Two thirds of women said they considered makeup a necessity in their everyday lives.

In some good news, it seems that makeup fans are prepared to forego the slap in a relationship - with 83 per cent confident enough not to conceal their face in front of a partner. However, 17 per cent still said that they would only take the bare faced plunge if they thought they were looking good enough without makeup at the time. Less than one per cent of subscribers admitted they would "never" let their other half see them without makeup.

When it comes to first picking up a brush, it was a case of "do as I say, not as I do", with the majority of respondents wearing makup between the ages of 13 and 14, but more than half feeling that 15 to 16 should be the appropriate age for girls to start experimenting with makeup. Over 100 subscribers that felt girls younger than 10 should be able to wear makup whilst almost 2000 said that girls should be discouraged from experimenting with makeup until they are at least 19.

On the matter of a beauty budget, 68 per cent of women admitted to spending between €31.50 and €56 on makeup alone each month. Makeup might get a sizeable amount of our money, but we're more frugal with time - 68 per cent of responders said they apply their makeup in under 15 minutes daily.

To find out more about GLOSSYBOX, visit www.glossybox.co.uk