CosBeauty Magazine #85
CosBeauty is the #BeautyAddict's guide to lifestyle, health and beauty in Australia. In this issue: - The Breast Report - your guide to augmentation - Put an end to bad hair days - 24 hour makeup, products that last - Sex appeal - do you have it?
CosBeauty is the #BeautyAddict's guide to lifestyle, health and beauty in Australia.
In this issue:
- The Breast Report - your guide to augmentation
- Put an end to bad hair days
- 24 hour makeup, products that last
- Sex appeal - do you have it?
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of potential sexual partners, using<br />
visual and other cues, and that our<br />
standards of physical attractiveness<br />
arise from these adaptations,’<br />
McBride continues.<br />
Regardless of culture or country<br />
of origin, men find similar female<br />
traits attractive. Their preferences<br />
are biologically and evolutionarily<br />
programmed to find signs of youth<br />
and health attractive, so as to seek<br />
females that are best suited to carry<br />
on their genes.<br />
Studies have found that female<br />
figures with slender bodies, a low<br />
waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and<br />
large breasts are rated as the most<br />
attractive, healthy, feminine-looking<br />
and desirable for both casual and<br />
long-term romantic relationships.<br />
‘Large breasts consistently enhance<br />
the attractiveness rating of both<br />
slender and heavy figures, so long as<br />
they have a low WHR,’ says McBride.<br />
‘Polish research has shown that<br />
women with large breasts and a small<br />
waist had larger amounts of female<br />
hormones than women with a broad<br />
waist and large hips; narrow waist<br />
and small breasts; or broad waist and<br />
small breasts.’<br />
The significance of the WHR is<br />
directly linked to fertility, as a low<br />
WHR is believed to correspond to<br />
the optimal fat distribution for high<br />
fertility. If a woman is seen to be<br />
more fertile, she is also seen to be<br />
more attractive.<br />
‘Women with a low WHR may also<br />
be healthier, given that a high WHR<br />
resulting from a bloated abdomen<br />
can be a sign of parasite infection.<br />
A high WHR in a female can also<br />
predict menstrual irregularity,<br />
hirsutism (excess hairiness), elevated<br />
plasma triglycerides, diabetes,<br />
hypertension, cardiovascular disease,<br />
gall bladder disease and cancer of the<br />
endometrium, ovaries and breast,’<br />
McBride explains.<br />
But large breasts and a small waist<br />
aren’t the only physical assets men are<br />
drawn to. Other characteristics said<br />
to be prized by our male ancestors in<br />
Scents appeal<br />
Scientists have also discovered<br />
that scent plays an important role<br />
in the sexual attraction of males<br />
to females. At certain points<br />
during the menstrual cycle, women<br />
produce more or less oestrogen and,<br />
accordingly, their scent becomes more<br />
or less appealing to men. Research<br />
indicates that oestrogen triggers blood<br />
flow to the hypothalamus in the male,<br />
but not the female, brain.<br />
In fact, research into our sense of<br />
smell has determined that a simple<br />
kiss has evolved in the Western world<br />
from the universal human greeting of<br />
smelling one another’s hands or faces.<br />
Although such smells are not blatant,<br />
and may not register in the conscious<br />
mind, such smells influence mood and<br />
sexual mating preferences.<br />
Unlike pheromones, which are<br />
long-distance chemical messengers<br />
in the Animal Kingdom, these are<br />
subtle protein secretions detected<br />
at close quarters. ‘They enable<br />
humans to determine whether they<br />
are genetically similar or different,’<br />
says Prof Rob Brooks. ‘Opposites do<br />
attract,’ he says. ‘It’s like an internal<br />
communications system.’<br />
their potential mates were full<br />
red lips, clear and smooth skin, clear<br />
eyes, lustrous hair and good muscle<br />
tone; all indications of a healthy,<br />
youthful woman.<br />
‘These in-built preferences seem<br />
to be aimed at ensuring males find<br />
suitably fertile females who are<br />
healthy enough to reproduce and,<br />
in turn, produce healthy children,’<br />
says McBride. ‘These mechanisms<br />
are instinctual and generally<br />
subconscious. Men don’t think to<br />
themselves: “I must find a woman<br />
with a WHR of 0.7 and smooth skin”.<br />
We just find these characteristics<br />
appealing and they are almost<br />
universally sought after,’ he adds.<br />
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