What's Beautiful Now

Allure Magazine polled 2,000 men and women from across the country to find out what's beautiful now. The findings will surprise you...

WOMEN ARE CONFLICTED ABOUT CURVES

Seventy-three percent of women say that a curvier body type is more appealing now than it has been in the past ten years. Still, when asked if they wanted to change their hips, 85 percent of women wanted them to be narrower.

AGING ISN'T ACCEPTABLE

Ninety-three percent of women say the pressure to look young today is greater than it's ever been.

AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMEN HAVE KILLER CONFIDENCE

When asked about their personal attractiveness, African-American women were three times as likely as Caucasian women to rate themselves at the hot end of the spectrum.

MEN DIG 28-YEAR-OLDS

Men said that women are their most beautiful at age 28. In a similar study conducted by Allure in 1991, men voted 31 to be the hottest age.

THE MOST STRESSED-ABOUT BODY PART: ONE GUESS

Thirty-five percent of men and women said that, if there is one part of their bodies they'd like to change the most, it's their stomachs.

EVEN GUYS WORRY ABOUT WEIGHT

Eighty-six percent of men said that they wanted to weigh less—as did 97 percent of women.

MEN LIKE BIGGER BUTTS...ON THEMSELVES?

Twenty-two percent of men (compared to 11 percent of women) said that if they could change their butts, they would want it to be larger.

COUGARS ARE HOT!

Only 3 percent of women defined themselves as cougars. But maybe more of them should: Turns out, 26 percent of men say that cougars are hot.

HAIR COLORS HAVE SURPRISING STEREOTYPES

When asked to pick out adjectives that best describe blonde and brown hair, both men and women said that brunettes and blondes are considered to be beautiful, sexy and classy. However, brunettes were also found to be intelligent and trustworthy. And while blondes are seen as confident, they were also voted most bitchy.

MEN LOVE BOOBS AND BUTTS? SHOCKING!

When it comes to sexual attraction, women list their top five favorite male attributes as a guy's face, body type, smile, eyes, and height. And men's answers, in order? Face, body type, breasts, smile, and butt.

EVERYONE LOVES ANGELINA

Men want to be with her, and apparently women love her, too. Twelve percent of women and 9 percent of men agreed that Angelina Jolie is the celebrity that most represents the physical ideal.

The Allure Magazine Swag Bag

Call it beauty’s ultimate swag bag. Since 1996, Allure’s Best of Beauty Awards has sent several hundred attendees — including cosmetics and fashion executives, models, top photographers, hairstylists and makeup artists — home with a hard-sided suitcase stuffed with products. The 450 attendees in October came away with a snappy metallic plum and silver suitcase with $2,300 in loot — everything from a 3.4-oz. Calvin Klein Euphoria eau de parfum to a Cover Girl Smoky ShadowBlast in plum.

Still, determining which of beauty’s heavy hitters will walk out with a prize — even though there are 232 awards on average given at each event — is no easy feat, said Allure editor in chief Linda Wells during an interview. 

“We started out doing the Best of Beauty Awards and feeling maybe that this could be a dangerous operation because — what — we’re going to decide one mascara is the best mascara? Where does that leave everybody else? It was a real challenge when we started out, but we realized that we were really careful about how we report on it. We really try everything, and we argue about it and we put it through tests. We have a panel of experts — doctors, cosmetic chemists, makeup artists, hairstylists — who don’t have a financial interest in any company, which is harder and harder to find these days. They help us analyze claims and make sure that the products are living up to [them].

“So we really combine all those things together and then sometimes we just treat them the way that any kind of consumer would,” said Wells. “We use them, and we see how we look in the morning and how we look at the end of the day and after an exercise class or after cocktails. We try products every single day of the year. We’re not just doing it for the October issue and then not looking at it again.” And neither are the winners: Over the last year, 80 of them have used the Allure Best of Beauty seal on their packaging, and, according to an Allure study, the seal helps sell 85 million items a year.

Even those who aren’t selected for an award clamor to include their products in the event’s suitcase, said Allure spokeswoman Liz Bliss. “We accept requests to donate from all brands, [whether they are] mass, prestige or indie — it’s not just exclusive to advertisers or nominated companies,” she said. “The bag is highly coveted — to be in and receive. It is a great opportunity for all brands to get their products into the hands of the most influential people in the beauty industry.”

This year’s edition is scheduled for Sept. 14 at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Start pumping iron now so you won’t throw out your back picking up the swag.


Source: by JULIE NAUGHTON

Posted FRIDAY FEBRUARY 25, 2011

From WWD ISSUE 02/25/2011 WWD MILESTONES ISSUE 02/25/2011