Saint Louis, Catherine. Up the Career Ladder, Lipstick in Hand. Skin Deep.

New York Times

12 Oct. 2011. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.

Catherine Saint Louis has worked with New York Times since 1999 and has covered a broad
spectrum of topics, including: health, science, beauty and fitness. Her goal is ultimately to inform
the readers about whatever she is writing, so they can may knowledgeable decisions. She
majored in English at Princeton University and received her masters at University of Oxford in
English. The article Up the Career Ladder, Lipstick in Hand, targets women but more
specifically women in the work place.
She opens up with a question, WANT more respect, trust and affection from your coworkers?,
then argues Wearing makeup but nor gobs of Gaga- conspicuous makeup apparently can
help. She supports her thesis with copious amounts of quotes and studys. The study that she
mainly focuses on is Cosmetics as a Feature of the Extended Human Phenotype: Modulation of
the Perception of Biologically Important Facial Signals, performed by Nancy Etcoff and others.
This study showed how makeup was relevant when it came to attractiveness, likability,
trustworthiness and even competence. She did incorporate quotes said by others who strongly
disliked the fact makeup is so relevant in our society, such as, Deborah Rhode.

It increase peoples perception of a womans likability, her competence and (provided

she does not overdo it) her trustworthiness, according to a new study, which confirmed
what is obvious: that cosmetics boost a womans attractiveness

There is also some evidence that women feel more confident when wearing makeup, a
kind of placebo effect, said Nancy Etcoff, the studys lead author and assistant clinical

professor of psychology at Harvard University..

She is no beauty basher, she said. Im against our preoccupation, and how judgements
about attractiveness spill over into judgement about competence and job performance. We
like individuals in the job market to be judged on the basis of competence, not

cosmetics. (Rhode, 2010)

People will have a bad reaction if its not the right color, not the right texture, or if the
makeup is not enhancing your natural beauty she said. (Bobbi Brown)

Analysis: This piece was very informational on how makeup is a key factor in a lot of things in a
womens life. For my composing process, my thesis this article will allow me to elaborate on my
subtopic of makeup. The read was an easy follow. Other people focusing on how makeup effects
womens appearance can use this article and the studies within as factual evidence to support
their thesis.