I don’t think this is a good data point, since the makeup they wear is explicitly designed to counteract visual artifacts (glare, unnatural-seeming skin tones, etc.) that are introduced by the camera. Thus, the makeup does not necessarily have a positive effect on people who see the movie stars in person.
This is a wonderful data point. It moves our model from “if you’re a man, don’t wear makeup” to “if you’re a man, don’t wear makeup unless you’re going to appear on camera, in which case, wear just enough to counteract visual artifacts.” I expect this to be a nontrivially better model for a significant amount of men here.
Perhaps I should express myself more precisely and say that no woman I know prefers a man who wears makeup seriously. Wearing full battle makeup for funsies is perfectly fine.
Is that an expressed preference or a revealed one?
I wouldn’t be surprised if the median woman would find a guy hotter when he’s wearing suitable makeup, but if she discovered that he was wearing makeup, she would dislike that and start to avoid him or whatever. Which might still mean that the median man should not typically wear makeup, but it’s less clear-cut than if the median women rates men as less attractive when they’re wearing any kind of makeup.
(It seems implausible to me that the makeup industry would have found no product at all that could make men look more attractive to the median woman.)
I’m wondering whether two situations should be distinguished—a man might be viewed more positively if he’s wearing a little foundation to make his skin look smoother, but more negatively if a woman touches his face and notices it.
This is definitely hypothetical. Anyone have actual information?
Is that an expressed preference or a revealed one?
Hm, revealed preference is hard to disentangle from other factors. Besides, men with makeup are not all that common outside of TV studios, Burning Man (and the like), and certain areas of town. Speaking of, I think the standard interpretation of makeup on a guy is that it’s a signal he is gay or, more generally, not hetero male.
I’ve recently seen expressed preference with respect to a particularly male kind of makeup—hair “thickener”, aka hair fiber spray to cover up a bald spot. That expressed preference was very negative.
Oh, and a “median woman” is not a particularly desirable target X-D
I think I saw a subject-blind study somewhere that indicated men prefer light makeup to no makeup despite their claims to the contrary.
Depends on what is meant by ‘prefer’. I prefer no makeup too, but not because it looks better. I prefer it because I see makeup as a minor kind of lying and I don’t like that. I value honesty. It doesn’t mean that I detect all lies. Or not be influenced by them.
I’m trying to read “flamboyant” cheritably but everying I try to imagine is horrible. The more the worse.
Artful facepainting might be different though.
ADDED: I realize that this argues againt my reasoning that it results from lying—as an obvious makeup is no lie. But then I also don’t like exaggerations and maybe this falls into a more general pattern? Hm, sounds suspiciously like rationalizations. Will have to introspect a bit on this.
This answer here: http://www.quora.com/What-is-the-best-website-for-beauty-related-products Lead me to here: http://www.sephora.com/sephoratv/htfs-sephora-makeup.jsp
I think I saw a subject-blind study somewhere that indicated men prefer light makeup to no makeup despite their claims to the contrary.
Any data on whether women prefer men with light makeup?
Data: pretty much all male Hollywood stars wear (natural-looking) makeup whenever they appear on camera.
I don’t think this is a good data point, since the makeup they wear is explicitly designed to counteract visual artifacts (glare, unnatural-seeming skin tones, etc.) that are introduced by the camera. Thus, the makeup does not necessarily have a positive effect on people who see the movie stars in person.
This is a wonderful data point. It moves our model from “if you’re a man, don’t wear makeup” to “if you’re a man, don’t wear makeup unless you’re going to appear on camera, in which case, wear just enough to counteract visual artifacts.” I expect this to be a nontrivially better model for a significant amount of men here.
Anecdotally, I don’t know a single (hetero) woman who prefers men with any makeup.
Ask your female hetero friends if Tim Curry was hot in Rocky Horror.
Campy cult movies don’t count :-)
Perhaps I should express myself more precisely and say that no woman I know prefers a man who wears makeup seriously. Wearing full battle makeup for funsies is perfectly fine.
Is that an expressed preference or a revealed one?
I wouldn’t be surprised if the median woman would find a guy hotter when he’s wearing suitable makeup, but if she discovered that he was wearing makeup, she would dislike that and start to avoid him or whatever. Which might still mean that the median man should not typically wear makeup, but it’s less clear-cut than if the median women rates men as less attractive when they’re wearing any kind of makeup.
(It seems implausible to me that the makeup industry would have found no product at all that could make men look more attractive to the median woman.)
I’m wondering whether two situations should be distinguished—a man might be viewed more positively if he’s wearing a little foundation to make his skin look smoother, but more negatively if a woman touches his face and notices it.
This is definitely hypothetical. Anyone have actual information?
Hm, revealed preference is hard to disentangle from other factors. Besides, men with makeup are not all that common outside of TV studios, Burning Man (and the like), and certain areas of town. Speaking of, I think the standard interpretation of makeup on a guy is that it’s a signal he is gay or, more generally, not hetero male.
I’ve recently seen expressed preference with respect to a particularly male kind of makeup—hair “thickener”, aka hair fiber spray to cover up a bald spot. That expressed preference was very negative.
Oh, and a “median woman” is not a particularly desirable target X-D
Depends on what is meant by ‘prefer’. I prefer no makeup too, but not because it looks better. I prefer it because I see makeup as a minor kind of lying and I don’t like that. I value honesty. It doesn’t mean that I detect all lies. Or not be influenced by them.
How do you feel about flamboyant makeup which is obviously artificial?
I’m trying to read “flamboyant” cheritably but everying I try to imagine is horrible. The more the worse. Artful facepainting might be different though.
ADDED: I realize that this argues againt my reasoning that it results from lying—as an obvious makeup is no lie. But then I also don’t like exaggerations and maybe this falls into a more general pattern? Hm, sounds suspiciously like rationalizations. Will have to introspect a bit on this.