Changes in Face Impressions Brought About by Makeup – Application of Optical Illusions in Makeup

Visual Psychology

Makeup can make face appear more attractive, and has been actively studied from psychological points of view.
These studies help us to develop development guidelines for makeup products and give customers a clear understanding of the effects of makeup to give a more attractive impression.

Optical illusions are one major factor that brings about changes in how the face appears to others, so we conducted a study on optical illusions produced by eye makeup.
Curling up eyelashes with mascara or an eyelash curler allows more light to enter the eyes, making them look more sparkle (Figure 1).

Effect of curling up eyelashes. Curling up eyelashes allows more light to enter the eyes, making them look more sparkle.

Figure 1 Effect of curling up eyelashes

We found that curling up eyelashes not only changes the impression the eyes give, but also makes the skin look more lustrous and brighter and makes the entire face look more dimensional and more sharply sculptured. These factors combine to produce optical illusions across the entire face (Figure 2).

Figure 2 Changes in impressions caused by the sparkling of the eyes. With increasing levels of apparent eye sparkling, the face is rated higher in all the impressions of “the skin looks bright,” “the face looks dimensional,” “the skin looks lustrous” and “the face looks sharply sculptured.”

Figure 2 Changes in impressions caused by the sparkling of the eyes

We also revealed that applying eyeliner in black, navy, or another dark color makes the sclera look brighter, which is another optical illusion (Figure 3).

Figure 3 Effect of eyeliner to make the whites of the eyes look brighter.　Applying black eyeliner makes the sclera look brighter.

Figure 3 Effect of eyeliner to makes the sclera look brighter

Due to the optical illusion it creates, eyeliner makes the sclera look brighter, giving the entire face a healthier and more attractive look.
Eye makeup can not only make the eyes look bigger and more beautiful but also improve skin and facial attractiveness. This is why we are currently researching changes in attractiveness that eye makeup and various other kinds of makeup deliver.
Kao will continue to shed light on how makeup produces these optical illusions and develop useful products so that our customers can enjoy makeup even more.

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