Relationship of Cosmetics to Self-Esteem

Christianie Ann Nemis, Divine Grace Silva

Colegio de San Juan de Letran
Introduction:
There has been a significant amount of research done on the effect that advertising in the
fashion and beauty industry has on women. By creating advertisements with unrealistic images
of beauty, it has resulted in anxiety, low self-esteem, and low self-confidence in many women.
Most of these negative emotions stems from unhappiness among body and appearance. Less
research has been performed relating to cosmetics and how this can have an influence on women,
and how women can use cosmetics to manipulate their appearance.
Statement of the Problem:
Women today are very productive on making themselves beautiful. Since we are now
living in a very modern world, technology is very bountiful. There were different surgeries,
treatments for beautification and of course, cosmetics. The researchers have come up with the
question What is the Relationship of Cosmetics to Self-Esteem?. They want to know if
Cosmetics would really enhance self-esteem. Does women who wear cosmetics were the ones to
have low self-esteem? What are the other benefits of using cosmetics?
Objectives:

To determine the relationship between cosmetics and self-esteem.

To define the different factors that contributes to the self-esteem of a person.

To know the benefits of using cosmetics.

Working Bibliography:

Cosmetic books

E-books

Journals about Cosmetics

Charts (Maslows Hierarchy of Needs)

Then God said, Let us make man in our image. Genesis 1:26. A beautiful woman
lacking modesty is like a beautiful god ring in a pigs nose. Proverbs 11:22
Your image is what the world sees. That includes how women wear cosmetics. It has an
impact on how people see you. It has been said from psychological studies that most people
form first impression within 15 seconds. The image you project is very important. (Grimes,
2003)
Cosmetic practices are unique to humans as no other species on the planet has a history
of bodily adornment and modification for the sake of modification. (Kligman, 1985; as stated by
Tyner, 2008)
If you think you can, you can. If you think you cant, youre right.
Mary Kay Ash, Founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics
Self-Esteem refers to our feelings of self-worth and our liking or
disliking of ourselves. Research suggests that self-esteem is strongly related
to motivational process such as specific self-efficacy, self-set goals, and effort
as well as emotional processes, such as anxiety and regulating emotion. Selfesteem is positively related to job performance and learning. (Phillips &
Gully, 2011)
The majority of research on women and their self-esteem has
historically been related to how they feel about their body shape and size
(Trampe,
Siero,
&
Stapel,
2007).
Retrieved
from
http://psych.hanover.edu/research/Thesis07/ScottPaper.pdf. October 1, 2014
Makeup is femininity made tangible. Makeup can mean a lot of
different things to a lot of different women. For many, makeup is a way to
invoke ones self (LaBelle, 1988). Using different products and colors, women
can use makeup to explore and portray their own individuality. According to
Beausoleil (1992), many women report having different makeup routines
depending on what they expect to do during the day. Women often engage in
specific appearance practices to distinguish between day and night looks,
basic looks and looks for special occasions, etc. (Beausoleil, 1992).
Retrieved from http://psych.hanover.edu/research/Thesis07/ScottPaper.pdf.
October 1, 2014
Cosmetics, general term applied to all preparations used externally to
condition and beautify the body, by cleaning, coloring, softening, or
protecting the skin, hair, nails, lips, or eyes. (Funk & Wagnalls New World
Encyclopedia)

Maslows Hierarchy of Needs in Advertising

To help with training of Maslow's theory look for Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs motivators in
advertising. This is a great basis for Maslow and motivation training exercises:
1. Biological and Physiological needs - wife/child-abuse help-lines, social security benefits,
Samaritans, roadside recovery.
2. Safety needs - home security products (alarms, etc), house an contents insurance, life
assurance, schools.
3. Belongingness and Love needs - dating and match-making services, chat-lines, clubs and
membership societies, Mcdonalds, 'family' themes like the old style Oxo stock cube ads.
4. Esteem needs - cosmetics, fast cars, home improvements, furniture, fashion clothes,
drinks, lifestyle products and services.
5. Self-Actualization needs - Open University, and that's about it; little else in mainstream
media because only 2% of population are self-actualizers, so they don't constitute a very
big part of the mainstream market.

Working Bibliography
Gully, S., Phillips, J. (2011). Organizational Behavior: Tools for Success.
Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.
Grimes, C. (2003). Teaching the Art of Cosmetics. USA: Xulon Press.

Tyner, K.E. (2008). Cosmetic Technologies of the Body: An Exploration of Self

and Identity Through the Consumption of Nonsurgical Cosmetic Procedures.
USA: ProQuest.

Running Head: INFLUENCE OF COSMETICS ON CONFIDENCE. Retrieved from

http://psych.hanover.edu/research/Thesis07/ScottPaper.pdf. October 1, 2014

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Source: Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia
Accession Number: CO224600