Makeup gives a woman a higher status--higher than a woman who doesn't use blush, lipstick and mascara. Specifically, when a woman wears makeup, men perceive her as having great prestige, while women see her as being a dominant personality and a possible threat. That's the word from researchers at the University of Stirling in Scotland, who found that perceptions of a woman's status change depending on whether it is a man or a woman who is making the judgment.

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"While both sexes agree that women with makeup look more attractive when it comes to 'high status,' it really depends on who is looking," explains study leader Dr. Viktoria Mileva. "Men think women with makeup are more 'prestigious,' while women think women with makeup are more 'dominant.'"

Research suggests that "high status" can be obtained in two ways:

• You are dominant, which means you are happy using forcefulness or manipulation to make people follow you.

• You have prestige, which means you have positive merits and qualities that make others want to follow you.

So why do women perceive other women who wear makeup as being dominant? Mileva suspects it has something to do with jealousy and threat potential. Specifically, women who rated other women who wore makeup said they would be more jealous of them, thought they were promiscuous and suspected they would be more attractive to men than women who didn't wear makeup.

The study findings were published in the journal Perception.

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