Global survey: What would you do to be beautiful?

Beautiful things give us great pleasure. Art, music, landscapes... it goes without saying. But where do we stand on beautiful people? It's a tougher proposition because, frankly, we're not all 'Brangelina' or Aishwarya Rai. Of course many of us would say people are beautiful within.

Synovate tackled a range of beauty issues in a global survey... how do people define beauty? Where do people from different cultures see themselves on the beauty scale? And would they want to do anything to change their looks? Over 7,000 people in nine markets across the world spilled their beauty secrets and here's what they told us...

A mixed beauty bag

Two thirds of all people say that beauty is primarily about non-physical attributes, yet as many as 40% would change their looks if they could, according to Synovate's global survey on beauty.

Virginia Weil, Synovate Senior Vice President, Consumer & Business Insights, said beauty is an issue that spawns as many opinions as it does products.

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Beauty is as beauty does

While much of the survey was about beauty-on-the-outside, Synovate started by asking respondents to define beauty, with two thirds of all people choosing a definition about something other than appearance. Overall, 35% attribute beauty to 'what's on the inside' and another 32% say it's all about confidence. So which nations are moved more by appearance?

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Don't go changing

Not everyone can actually be beautiful but culture, gender and confidence influence whether you think you are. Synovate asked respondents to place themselves on the beauty continuum, anywhere from 'I am beautiful and do not need to change anything about the way I look' through to 'I do not think I am beautiful or attractive and want to change the way I look'.

So who's hot and who's not?

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It's a kind of magic

Nearly half of all people think beauty advertisements make women feel inadequate; and 28% agreed beauty advertisements do the same for men, according to the survey. Most likely to feel lacking when viewing ads were Canadian women at 74% and Brazilian men (50%).

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Putting your mouth where your money is
(and other things people will do to improve their looks!)

When you think plastic surgery, it's hard not to think Hollywood and the United States of America. Think again. While the number of people in the States who would consider plastic surgery (if money was no issue) was quite high, it was eclipsed by the Brazilians. More than four in ten Brazilians would have plastic or cosmetic surgery if their wallets allowed, rising to nearly 60% among Brazilian women.

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About the Synovate global beauty survey

Synovate spoke with over 7,000 adult consumers in nine markets around the world - Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, India, Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Spain and the United States of America. The study was conducted in May 2008 using online, telephone and face-to-face methodologies.