Influence of eye make-up on the perception of gaze direction

Abstract

Make-up has a beautifying effect on facial attractiveness. However, little is known about the role of make-up in other than social perception. Does eye make-up applied to a gazing face influence the perception of this gaze by others? Eye make-up might make an individual's gaze more recognizable by emphasizing the contrast of the eyes. Or make-up might make gaze less recognizable by transforming eyes to unnatural shapes. There were two stimulus conditions: eye make-up (no-eyeliner, thin-eyeliner and thick-eyeliner) and gaze direction (same gaze direction and different gaze directions). Participants had to make a recognition response indicating whether the gaze directions were the same or different. Results indicated that in the same gaze-direction condition, thin and thick-eyeliner made recognition of a persisting gaze direction easier, whereas in the different gaze-direction condition thick-eyeliner made it more difficult to recognize the changes in gaze direction. These findings suggested a significant role of make-up in facial processing.