Beauty is more than skin deep according to new global poll

A new global study by Ipsos shows that Brits believe kindness and happiness are the most important attributes in making a woman beautiful. Two-thirds say kindness is a beautifying characteristic, followed by 64% who see happiness as a beautifying trait. 

The study, conducted in 27 countries among over 13,000 people shows that we no longer need to worry about having perfect hair, skin and staying young with fewer than three in ten highlighting each of these traits (20%, 24% and 18% respectively). Being confident (58%), dignified (58%) and intelligent (49%) are all more likely to make you attractive to British people.

Despite its purpose, only 12% of Brits view make-up as an important contributor to a woman’s beauty, making it the most unnecessary attribute of the nineteen given. 

British men put much more pressure on sexiness than British women. Almost two in five (38%) British men think women need to be sexy to be beautiful while only 15% of women feel the same way. Similarly, three in ten men believe sexiness is an important factor of other men’s beauty compared to just 18% of women. 

Britons are almost the least materialistic of the 27 countries surveyed, with only Sweden viewing both financial and professional success as less important than those of Great Britain. One in five (20%) find professional success beautiful while 17% see financial success in the same way, compared to 42% and 39% respectively. 

Kelly Beaver, Managing Director of Ipsos Public Affairs, says:

It’s reassuring to see that behavioural attributes, rather than physical ones, are the most important to people when identifying a woman’s beauty. Britons, like the global community, view kindness and happiness as the most important elements of defining beauty, but humour is also very important to us. So, for those striving to be thought of as beautiful, remember that it’s what makes you and those around you happy, that really matters.  That and the ability to have a good laugh!

Notes to editor:

• These are the findings of a 27-country Ipsos survey conducted via Ipsos’s Global Advisor online survey platform between April 19th -May 3rd, 2019.
• The sample consists of 1000+ individuals in each of Australia, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland), France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, and the United States, and 500+ in each of Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Hungary, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden and Turkey.
• Online surveys can be taken as representative of the general adult population under the age of 75 in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the United States. Online samples in Brazil, Chile, China (mainland), Colombia, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Africa and Turkey are more urban, more educated and/or more affluent than the general population and the results should be viewed as reflecting the views of a more “connected” population.