Slap-happy Britons show beauty is skin deep

Around half of all British women will not leave the house without wearing make-up, according to new figures.

More women in this country wear make-up than in Germany or Italy. And three in four females older than 16 in the UK are more likely to say they wear it for health reasons rather than beauty.

More than half say they apply make-up to moisturise or nourish their skin, while less than one in 11 will admit they do it to make themselves "more beautiful".

According to the report, by analysts Taylor Nelson Sofres, 73 per cent of British women wear make-up regularly and half will not go out without their "slap" on.

While not as many Italian women are into make-up, those who do use it tend to be heavy users, applying it up to three times a day.

Less than six in 10 German women use it, because they prefer "the natural look".

Around 19.2 million British women bought cosmetics last year, with those aged 19 to 24 spending the most.

Taylor Nelson Sofres' Amelie Gouws said it was surprising that few women used make-up to feel more attractive and confident.