What One Study Says About Aging and Rosy Lipstick (and Eyeliner, and Brow Pencils)

Allure Magazine

by Elizabeth Siegel

Roger Cabello
Roger Cabello

I love a nude lip--and I always will--but there's new evidence that lipstick with a hint of red makes you look younger. As in, actual evidence: New studies from Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania suggest that in addition to obvious cues like wrinkles and gray roots, we subconsciously take facial contrast into account when guessing someone's age.

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Researchers took pictures of men and women ages 20 to 70, manipulated them to increase and decrease contrast between the eyes, lips, and skin, and then asked 100 participants to guess how old the people pictured were. Care to guess what happened? Yup, the higher the facial contrast, the younger the faces appeared. It means that wearing eyeliner, brow pencil, and rosy lip colors (since your lips loose their natural red tint with age), makes you look younger. And fine, you don't need a study to tell you all of that. But it's still nice to have some backup.

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