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.

"Humans are complex. Some of us are quite open about wishing we were beautiful, others feel they already are, and many dismiss beauty as an 'on-the-surface' issue. Still more of us think all these things at once!"

The Synovate survey picked up some intriguing attitudes across cultures and across gender.

• Nearly one in five respondents would have plastic surgery if they had the money but another 30% would do absolutely nothing differently if money were no object.
• The Spaniards desire darker skin and the Koreans strive for paler skin.
• More South African men than women would use a personal shopping / style service if they could.
• Wash'n'go Canadians spend less time in front of the mirror than people in other parts of the globe, yet are more likely than nearly everyone else to feel inadequate courtesy of beauty advertisements.
• Americans have the poorest self image when it comes to beauty with 7% saying they are not beautiful and want to change.
• Beauty doesn't buy you any extra kudos in Korea where 96% disagreed that beautiful people do not have to work as hard.

And so go the inner (and outer) conflicts when it comes to people's attitudes to beauty.

Back to front page   |  On to next section > 

> Beauty is as beauty does

> Don't go changing

> It's a kind of magic

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