Skeletal structure and makeup effects in facial attractiveness judgments

Abstract

This study examined whether attractiveness derived from skeletal indices (skeletal attractiveness) influences facial-attractiveness judgments after makeup application. Three-dimensional facial models were constructed from female faces in the Chicago Face Database (CFD). Based on the anteroposterior positions of the midface and mandible, faces were classified into nine skeletal types and then grouped into high- and low-skeletal-attractiveness categories. A single digital makeup condition, selected through a pretest, was uniformly applied to all faces. Attractiveness ratings were collected online and analyzed using ordinal logistic mixed-effects models with random intercepts for raters and facial identities. Makeup significantly increased attractiveness ratings overall, and faces in the high-skeletal-attractiveness group were rated as more attractive than those in the low group. By contrast, the Makeup  $\times$  Skeletal Attractiveness Group interaction was not statistically significant, indicating that the makeup-related increase did not clearly differ between the two skeletal groups. Supplementary analyses incorporating target-face perceived age from the CFD norming data showed that faces perceived as older received lower ratings and that makeup-related gains were smaller for older-perceived faces; however, the main conclusions regarding skeletal attractiveness and makeup remained unchanged. These findings suggest that facial-attractiveness judgments are shaped by both surface-based cosmetic cues and three-dimensional structural cues, with skeletal structure functioning primarily as a baseline determinant rather than as a strong moderator of makeup effects.