Personality inferences and cosmetics: The particular case of make up

authors

• Richetin Juliette
• Huguet Pascal
• Croizet Jean-Claude

document type

abstract

This paper offers a review about the still neglected and manifestly complex effects of cosmetics use, especially facial make-up, on personality inferences and thus social perception. Sometimes positive and sometimes negative, like those related to physical attractiveness, these effects appear irreducible to the latter and thus seem to reflect the intervention of an independent stereotype, relative to that on beauty. Some prospects are suggested and then the stake attached to further developments in this area is emphasized, most notably due to the increasing use of cosmetics in our societies and its probable impact on social interaction.

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