Young Women Are Wearing Less Makeup

According to a market research group, NPD, makeup sales are on a steady increase.  Though we are, as a culture, buying more beauty products than ever does it then mean that we are wearing more products than ever? StumbleUpon recently conducted a survey nationwide in the US concerning women's skin, hair, and beauty routines and came up with a rather shocking conclusion. In a study of women ages 18-25, 67 percent said they use 0-3 products in their morning hair and beauty routine. In contrast, 20 percent said they use 4-7 products and 10 percent said they use 8-12 products. Only 3 percent of young adult women use 12+ products in the morning.  StumbleUpon found that around 75 percent of women in the West use just 0-3 products in the AM and are the most likely to go nail polish-free. Their Northeastern counterparts are more high-maintenance, with triple the amount of Northeastern women using 8-12 products in the morning compared to the West and Midwest. When it comes to actual makeup, four times more women in the Northeast use lipstick daily compared to the Midwest. The amount of makeup also varies drastically with age.  24% of 21 year olds are using 8-12 products in the morning compared to only 5% of 25 year olds.  An overwhelming 72% of 25 year olds use only 0-3 products in the morning.  Which may translate to the fact that as women age they decide the time in front of the mirror simply isn't worth it. The drastic dip in makeup use is heartening when compared along studies that have shown that we spend 172 hours of the year applying makeup and over 44% of us feel unattractive without makeup on.  Maybe the slow progression of less makeup means we become more comfortable in our own skin and the less we feel the need to conform to society's notion of beauty.