Rosy Cheeks make you look healthier
If you ever needed a reason to pile on the blusher, then this new study is undoubtedly it.
According to a new study completed by a team at the University of St Andrews, people seem to associate rosy cheeks with a being healthy.
They asked a variety of volunteers to digitally enhance photographs of both men and women, to make them look more healthy, reports Marie Claire.
The results, published in journal PLoS One, showed that people had added more red to the skin of their subjects, with females receiving more 'blush' than the males in the study.
The colouring given in the study was given preference over slightly bluer deoxygenated blood, which is travelling back to the heart. Those who are well tend to have more oxygenated blood.
Researchers were surprised that participants were able to register the subtle difference between the colours of two sorts of blood, and there was no difference between male and female participants, in the colour given to the faces.
"But that does not mean there isn't a sexual basis to this," lead researcher Ian Stephen of the University of St Andrews commented to Marie Claire.
"Women are perfectly capable of judging the attractiveness of other women, and from an evolutionary perspective need to do so if they are to effectively assess the competition."
Apparently the best way to get a natural rosy glow is to exercise more or give up smoking, according to the researchers. If you can't quite manage that, then why not opt for a new blusher instead?