J. Cosmet. Sci., 70, 47–56 (January/February 2019) 47 Relationship Between Cosmetics Use, Self-Esteem, and Self-Perceived Attractiveness Among Lebanese Women KASSANDRA FARES, SOUHEIL HALLIT, CHADIA HADDAD, MARWAN AKEL, TATIANA KHACHAN, and SAHAR OBEID, Faculty of Science, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), Jounieh, Lebanon (K.S.), Faculty of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), Jounieh, Lebanon (S.H.), Institut National de Santé Publique, Epidémiologie Clinique et Toxicologie (INSPECT-LB), Beirut, Lebanon (S.H., M.A.), Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross, Jal Eddib, Lebanon (C.H., S.O.), School of Pharmacy, Lebanese International University, Beirut, Lebanon (M.A.), Faculty of Philosophy and Human Sciences, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), Jounieh, Lebanon (S.O.), Faculty of Pedagogy, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon (S.O.) Accepted for publication January 19, 2019. Synopsis The objective was to assess the variables related to the usage of cosmetic products among a representative sample of the Lebanese population, including self-perception, facial attractiveness satisfaction, body image, and self-esteem. This is a cross-sectional study, conducted between January 2018 and June 2018, which enrolled 2,072 female participants using a proportionate random sample from all Lebanese Mohafazat. The results of a linear regression, taking the customary cosmetic usage score as the dependent variable, showed that an increase in the self-esteem score = -0.21) and being of Muslim religion compared with Christianity = -1.39) were signifi cantly associated with lower cosmetic usage score. On another hand, an increase in the appearance orientation (AO) score = 0.55) and having a high = 2.18) and an intermediate = 0.99) socioeconomic status compared with a low one were associated with a higher cosmetic usage score respectively. According to our study, the use of cosmetic products by Lebanese women is associated with many factors such as AO, self-esteem, socioeconomic status, religion, and marital status. These results can open a window to other studies that might consider the relationship between personality traits, depression, and anxiety with the frequency of makeup use. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY Physical appearance has become essential for most of the women, for various reasons, among others, to attract the attention of others, for personal satisfaction, for more self- Address all correspondence to Souheil Hallit at souheilhallit@hotmail.com and Sahar Obeid at saharobeid23@ hotmail.com. Kassandra Fares and Souheil Hallit are fi rst co-authors.
JOURNAL OF COSMETIC SCIENCE 48 confi dence, or to feel desired. Study of these results can open a window to other studies that might consider the relationship between personality traits, depression, and anxiety with the frequency of makeup use. INTRODUCTION Many factors infl uence the development of a person’s personality and relationships (1). Physical appearance, especially the facial features, is considered a vital factor behind phys- ical attractiveness, which is directly correlated with the improvement of social skills (2). Thus, Nielsen and Kernaleguen showed that the attractiveness of the face, but not of the body, infl uences the subjective evaluation of their appearance and general physical attrac- tiveness, as well as the social and professional satisfaction and social desirability (2). Now- adays, one of the main ways women increase their perceived attractiveness of the face is through the use of commercial cosmetics. These products allow women to conform to the standards of current feminine beauty by artifi cially changing the appearance of a few facial features, such as enhancing the visual impact of the eyes and lips, reducing the eyebrows, blushing the cheeks, coloring gray hair, or masking wrinkles. In addition, some studies pointed out that displaying young or slightly immature facial features (large eyes, small nose, fl eshy lips, small chin, delicate jaw, etc.) increases the woman’s attrac- tiveness (3–5). Moreover, makeup products and cosmetics are initially used with the inten- tion of protecting the skin from hazards and ensuring feelings of comfort after application. The role of cosmetic procedures is compensatory. It is a sort of a mask that enhances any feature that is lacking and that may be responsible for making the person feel embarrassed when exposed to the public eye (6). However, the main reason for putting on lipstick, foundation, and mascara is to reveal beautiful skin and make eyes and lips more attractive (7). In the purpose of proving the positive effect of makeup on physical attractiveness, Jones and Russell executed before and after use photographs and found supporting re- sults. Their fi ndings demonstrate that cosmetics manipulate with the facial contrast of the brows and the eyes to increase beauty factors (8). Regarding the relationship between body image and the consumption of cosmetics, pre- vious fi ndings (9) have suggested that some negative aspects of body image are associated with increased use of cosmetics, to boost their image and improve the appearance of a look considered defective (10). Thus, women trying to improve various unsatisfactory aspects of their body desire a fl awless self-image. On another hand, other authors showed that a positive facial image corresponds to a higher use of cosmetics (11). Therefore, greater facial image satisfaction also involved excessive use of cosmetics. Furthermore, it has been reported that the variations of the face appearance caused by cosmetics are incorporated in many personality traits. Self-esteem, body image conscious- ness, and anxiety are found to be related to wearing makeup in public or in front of other people (12). Furthermore, Leveque also studied the correlation between makeup and women’s mental health (13). The use of cosmetics helped in the manifestation of emotional benefi ts such as having a good mood, refl ecting a positive self-evaluation, and showing a signifi cant escalation in the confi dence level (14). In addition, women who put on makeup are more likely to have good jobs and higher salaries. Those who lack interest in such beauty products are women with low work positions and little earnings (15,16). Nielsen and
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