In a Quest for the Perfect Selfie
21-05-2014
The research reveals that women will spend time taking, deleting, re-taking, applying filters and retouching their images before uploading on the World-Wide-Web.
The study was conducted by The Body Shop as a part of their new launch All-In-One™ Instablur™ (RRP: £14), to enable women to feel ready for their ‘close up’. The research found the top five tricks women use to make themselves look their best, in Selfies, or in social media profile pictures:
1) Choosing soft or moody lighting (51%)
2) Shooting from a downward angle (47%)
3) Adopting a ‘slimming’ body pose (46%)
4) Applying smartphone filters (37%)
5) ‘Smizing’ or smiling with our eyes, as advocated by supermodel Tyra Banks (29%)
A quarter of women confessed that they would never upload a photo of themselves online without resorting to at least one of these quick fix tricks first.
The Selfie capital of the UK was revealed as Belfast, where over 84% of respondents take at least one per week. This was closely followed by Birmingham (81%) and Newcastle (76%). In contrast, women from Cornwall are least likely to post Selfies, with only 54% doing so each week.
With the rise of online dating apps, such as Tinder and LinkedUp, it seems that the pressure for women to aspire to perfection on social media platforms has never been higher. Almost two thirds (61%) of the 1,400 women, aged 18-30, questioned said that they felt the increasing popularity of dating sites and apps has also intensified the pressure to look good online.
In fact, single men, take heed: 71% of women admit they would be seriously put off if a prospective beau looked nothing like their dating profile picture on a first date.
Sam Thomson, UK Values & Marketing Director, The Body Shop, commented:
“It’s clear that the rise in popularity of selfies has really ramped up the pressure for us to make that all-important first impression online. However, The Body Shop has always been committed to activating self-esteem and we are passionate about giving women the tools to feel more confident in their skin.”
New All-in-One™ Instablur™ blurs skin imperfections to help achieve flawless, photo-perfect looking skin in a flash. This five action perfector includes 12-hour shine control, pore smoothing and blemish hiding, to give you the confidence to share the ‘real you’ without the use of filters or re-touching.
As part of The Body Shop Re-Touch Free campaign, six store consultants, aged between 18-64 years, put this new product to the test and took part in a re-touch free photo shoot in February 2014. All six dynamic looks were created by The Body Shop make-up experts using the new All-in-One™ Instablur™.
