From sun protection to concealing flaws and creating movie-star glamour, makeup is a tried-and-true image enhancer. But does it look good on everyone? Research yields some interesting results.

Looking Younger Longer

Kyoung J. Baek (2020)[i] studied the perception of older adults wearing makeup, including the use of makeup by “new seniors,” defined as the baby boomer generation of people born between the years 1955 and 1963. Baek defines this group as having more economic power than previous generations of seniors, longer lifespans, and understandably, a high level of interest in managing appearances. He notes that within an era of societal emphasis on physical appearance, there is a healthy consumer demand for cosmetics among the elderly population.

Baek’s research studied perceptions and attitudes about makeup use by new seniors during the pre‐elderly stage. Through in‐depth interviews and participant video recording, he found that........

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