Strategically stunning: The professional motivations behind the lipstick effect
Netchaeva and Rees take up the lipstick effect, the rise in demand for appearance-enhancing products during economic downturns, which earlier research attributed mainly to women wanting to appeal to financially stable partners. They propose that economic worry leads women to use these products both to attract romantic partners and to make a good impression at work, since both can help them become financially secure. Women with high economic concern invested more in their professional appearance than in their romantic attractiveness, which the authors read as showing that seeking resources through a job outweighs seeking them through a partner.
Netchaeva and Rees take up the lipstick effect, the rise in demand for appearance-enhancing products during economic downturns, which earlier research attributed mainly to women wanting to appeal to financially stable partners. They propose that economic worry leads women to use these products both to attract romantic partners and to make a good impression at work, since both can help them become financially secure. Women with high economic concern invested more in their professional appearance than in their romantic attractiveness, which the authors read as showing that seeking resources through a job outweighs seeking them through a partner.
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Netchaeva, E., & Rees, M. R. (2016). Strategically stunning: The professional motivations behind the lipstick effect. Psychological Science, 27(8), 1157-1168. doi:10.1177/0956797616654677 https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797616654677