Over 8 million (29 per cent) of British women would rather spend less on food in order to maintain their beauty regime.
Over 70 per cent of women claimed that beauty products were an every day essential rather than a luxury item and spend a whopping £17 billion on cosmetics every year.
Women invest their time as well as their hard-earned cash, with the average British woman spending more than two years (840 days) of her life in front of the mirror in pursuit of good looks and youthful skin.
The survey by feelunique.com found that the average British woman spends over £30,000 in a lifetime solely on cosmetics in pursuit of a flawless face and they are not prepared to cut back. A massive 88 per cent of British women say the credit crunch had little or no impact on their beauty spend whatsoever.
Beauty expert Bethan Cole says: "We've cut back on a lot of things during the credit crunch - using bikes instead of cars - shopping at Lidl and Aldi rather than Waitrose - the £300 pairs of shoes. And yet we can't relinquish our £15 on lipstick or £50 on face cream because these are essentials that gild the lily of everyday life. A good beauty product is worth every penny and it's a small luxury that can make up for hardship in other areas of life."