Make-up hides visual clues to fertility
Published: November 2, 2005
WOMEN with attractive faces tend to have higher levels of the sex hormone oestrogen, according to a study published yesterday. It suggests that features such as large eyes and lips are linked to higher fertility and make women appear to be more attractive.
The study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Science, concluded that make-up hid the visual clues to fertility.
Miriam Law Smith and colleagues at the University of St Andrews photographed 56 women students aged 18-24 and collected urine samples from each before measuring their oestrogen levels at the same point during their menstrual cycles.
A group of 15 women and 14 men volunteers rated the photographs for attractiveness, femininity and health. Researchers found that the higher a woman’s oestrogen levels the more attractive on average she was judged to be.
The study, although carried out on a small pool of women, supported previous research that showed a person’s body could give visual clues about fertility.
Evolutionary psychologist at the University of Liverpool Tony Little said that 56 people amounted to a reasonable sample size.
“If it had been 30 or less then I would be worried about the results being statistically significant, but this should be enough to demonstrate an effect,” he said.
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