According to a new survey, a staggering 90% of men believe that their partners are natural beauties with less than a third of women believing this to be the case.
One quarter of women surveyed confessed to having at least one beauty secret, while 23% confided that nobody (even their friends) really knows the extent of their beautifying.
Top of the confidential list is waxing or bleaching their moustache, with 27% admitting that this would be the worst beauty secret their partner could discover.
Other list toppers are the fear of partners discovering underarm hair (35%), stubbly legs (23%) and grey roots (12%).
As well as helping women to cover up these beauty faux-pas’ and look their personal best, the research reveals that beauty secrets could in fact be healthy for relationships.
Of the British men polled, 87% said that they don’t mind if their partner keeps some of her beauty rituals hidden, a view supported by women, with 70% who keep a beauty secret from their partner believing it to be key to a good relationship.
Psychologist and psychotherapist Rachel Shattock Dawson said: “In an age where very little remains taboo, many women still prefer to keep some things private, believing that there’s a place for a little mystery and mystique even within their closest relationships.
“Knowing your hair looks great and that you look your natural best clearly pays great dividends in confidence and self-esteem.
“However, some of our beauty rituals aren’t the most romantic sights to witness. Some women prefer to keep these activities behind closed doors to keep the romance alive and to appear more naturally sexy and attractive to their partners.”
A staggering 90 percent of men believe that their partners are natural beauties
The research, conducted by leading home hair color brand nice ‘n easy, uncovers further fascinating insights into women’s motivations for all this hard work, pointing to the fact that women want to look good to feel good for themselves.
For some, it’s simply a case of achieving the look they think suits them best; 37% of women for example state that their hair color is the color they were born to have, not born with (a view supported by 45% of blondes).
Yet, beautifying appears to be a huge self-esteem boost too, as three quarters believe that they are much more confident when they have completed their beauty regime and 61% say that that they feel like a new person.
THE BEAUTY RITUALS WOMEN PREFER TO KEEP SECRET
• Waxing or bleaching moustache (94%)
• Waxing bikini line (90%)
• Whitening teeth (90%)
• Applying fake tan (79%)
• Plucking eyebrows (41%)
• Coloring hair (36%)
Cassandra Bankson, a teenager from California, hoped that by sharing her problem with acne and how she has learnt make-up tricks to hide it would help at least one person going through the same ordeal, but she has actually reached out to millions thanks to bravely taking to the internet to show off her severe skin complaint.
Cassandra Bankson, 19, posted a video on YouTube showing her red and blemished skin before applying make-up – and how she managed to make her face look flawless in just ten minutes thanks to her beauty tricks.
The video has since had 7.6 million hits worldwide.
As a result of the success, Cassandra Bankson was asked to appeared on Good Morning America to share her story.
The teen explained how she was bullied at school for her acne but she learnt how to conceal it by practicing different make-up techniques. Her blemish-concealing make-up application became so expert that the teenager was able to become a model with her skin appearing flawless in her portfolio shots.
She eventually plucked up the courage to share her beauty tips via a YouTube video but she never expected the overwhelming response it received.
Cassandra Bankson explains: “I got my first pimple in the third grade and it progressively got worse, I had to work out how to deal with it.
“I filmed the video last November but it took me a month to post it, I thought I was going to get the same hate I got at school over my skin. But I thought if it could help one person, one girl or guy with the same condition, it would be worth it.”
Cassandra Bankson’s video went far beyond helping just one person as people clicked to view it in their millions. Viewers thanked her for sharing her story and urged her to share more of her tips on her You Tube channel “diamondsandheels14”.
Cassandra Bankson posted a video on YouTube showing her red and blemished skin before applying make-up and how she managed to make her face look flawless in just ten minutes thanks to her beauty tricks
Now Cassandra Bankson, who is studying to be a nurse, has uploaded other people beauty tips videos and writes her own blog. Her dream is to create her own skin care range.
She said the response to her first video was overwhelming.
“It was a real eye opener,” Cassandra Bankson told Good Morning America.
“It [acne] is such epidemic for adults as well as teens.”
At the start of her video, which was shot in her parent’s lounge, Cassandra Bankson is seen wearing full make-up and looking picture-perfect. It’s only as she starts stripping back the expert layers of primers, foundation, powders and setting sprays, that the true extent of her pimpled and blemished skin is revealed.
The teen, a horse-back riding and hiking fan, returns to the camera in a bathrobe at her ‘most insecure,’ with bare skin and looking a very different person.
“I feel really disgusting, this is probably the most nerve-wracking thing I could possibly do because it is my biggest insecurity… But this is my face.”
She goes to show the extent of the problem as the acne has spread to her neck, shoulders and back.
Cassandra Bankson admits: “The sad part is it’s a lot better than it used to be. I mean it’s still all over my chest, all over my back, it’s everywhere and you can see it goes down my neck, it’s all to the side, it even got on my ear. It’s gotten a lot better but it’s still really, really bad. It’s my biggest insecurity.”
It is a far cry from the modelling portfolio shots that can be seen on her YouTube channel, where the striking brunette lounges on car bonnets, takes to the catwalk and poses in cut-out swimsuits with flawless skin.
The teen, then takes viewers on a step-by-step lesson on how to achieve her look by applying foundation.
“I have extremely oily skin,” she says, giving tips about the primers and oil-reducing tricks.
Applying liberal amounts of cosmetics, Cassandra Bankson seems well ahead of her years, confident and knowledgeable about the complex potions upon which she relies.
She is frank, even wry, about her spots: “I always carry everything down my neck because, well, I have acne there.”
Cassandra Bankson has become something of a skin expert, with other videos explaining the physiology of skin and acne and the treatments that best target the skin condition.
By the end of the video, Cassandra Bankson is transformed – her flawless complexion giving no hint of the severe breakouts
“Voila! I have somewhat clear looking skin,” she tells the camera.
“I hope that you guys enjoy this. I hope you can have flawless skin too.”
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