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LONDON, Nov 2, 2005 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Makeup may help less attractive women catch men's eyes but it masks the natural glow of more attractive, estrogen-rich women, Scottish researchers say.
In a four-week study of 56 female students, University of St. Andrews researchers photographed them with and without makeup and monitored their hormone levels -- a key indicator of fertility, the London Daily Mail reported.
Men found the makeup-free faces of women high in estrogen more attractive than those with lower levels of the hormone. Makeup, however, confused males into thinking a given woman was more fertile, and thus attractive, than she really was, researchers said.
"The use of makeup may compensate for or mask cues indicating low hormone levels," researchers said of the study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
The finding fits with research earlier this year that found 68 percent of men prefer natural beauty to cosmetics, the newspaper reported.
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2005 by United Press International
