AIBU to think men prefer fake looking women?

[Bumpitybumper]

I can't help but feel suspicious everytime I read the results from a survey where it is suggested that men prefer the "natural" look. This just doesn't seem to reflect my experience in real life and also what I see on social media or on TV.

We have Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian who have both obviously had a LOT of work being viewed as the pinnacle of female attractiveness whilst Meghan from Love Island who has apparently been completely remodeled by surgeon seems to have attracted the most men in Love Island.

AIBU to suggest despite their protestations that men actually don't favour the natural look at all?

Choli exactly I don't know anyone who is attracted to that particular look. Yet the teenage girls I teach are always going on about it and aspire to it as the benchmark of beauty.

Yep, mrploppy says he prefers natural looks and all evidence points that way.
However it’s a bit of a bummer if you are getting older or not ‘naturally’ gorgeous. As it means it’s quite hard to be appealing. Slapping on some organge foundation and giant lashes is a lot easier than trying to look fresh and pretty with no product! Or you have to be VERY skilled to achieve it with lots of pricey products.

Do you think part of the issue might be that it's not really acceptable for those who do prefer the fake look to admit this? I have never ever heard a man in real life or in the media express this opinion but it's obviously a fairly common thing. I can't imagine many girlfriends or wives reacting well to this kind of admission though.

I think most men like confidence - so if a woman is comfortable looking natural and is confident men flock to it, if women are 'fake' and confident again men flock to it.

I have had a boob job, hair is dyed, eyebrows microbladed, eyelash extensions and monthly facials - but when my confidence was rock bottom I didn't attract anyone. Now I have oodles of confidence and on the rare occasions i'm out without my husband men approach me.

All of my work is to make me feel good, and I think that is what shines through

Princesspear I think it depends on how much make up though. I prefer me with make up to without but I only wear eyeliner and a bit of mascara day to day. Make up should enhance rather than be a full on mask a la Love Island etc, so anyone would look better in an enhanced version. My DH wouldn't care if I never wore make up though and would still say I was attractive.

I think it’s how it’s applied rather than the amount. I wear “a lot” of makeup but it’s not that orange excessive contour crap.

My partner doesn’t care either way but he always comments on me looking nice when I’m wearing it. He says I look nice anyway though.

I think the surverys are right. Most men prefer natural looking women.

The point of the aesthetic being pushed by the Kardashians or Love Island people is about marketing and money. If they looked 'natural', they'd have nothing to sell. The more 'artificial' and 'high maintenance' their look, the more cosmetics, clothes, perfumes, accessories and surgeries they can sell.

It's all about consumerism and capitalism. Nothing to do with RL.

Losingmyminsiam makes a good point about this being driven by women. Mr Elbows and I were discussing a similar mn thread a week or so ago and he was completely perplexed by the op's "men are..." stance and said "it is not men who are driving this (something about looks or all men shag any woman they share air space with or something like that) it is other women.". Mr Elbows would suggest that men don't give anything like the head space to issues such as women's looms as women are convinced they do.

Most men don't want a woman who has the awful fake look that some celebs have. Most men like women to look natural, like most women like men to look natural.

I am repulsed by freakishly prominent abs, and OTT muscles, and a rock hard body on a man.

EG, I would rather have a man with the body in Pic 2 (Leo,) than a man with the body in Pic 1. The first guy looks awful IMO.

At the end of the day, men may stare at these women, and their fake arses, fake boobs, fake lips, fake teeth, fake hair, fake ass, but the vast majority won't ever marry a woman that looks like that.

Pmsl, or even their looks!

I can't believe there are men who watch Love Island. Come to that I can't believe there are women who do. I think if you just exclude that entire sample from your study you'll find the outcomes improve ;)

I wonder how old you are OP and how much time you spend on social media. I ask because it is younger women round here who go for the 'high maintenance', Kardashian look round here.

My DH liked me because when we met (many years ago) I wasn't wearing make-up. I still don't wear any and he doesn't find the people you mention attractive at all. None of the men I know like them either.

If we are using Love Island as the example I would say a lot of a the men on there aren't "natural", compared to the men I know, so it makes sense they like women who take just as much time and effort into appearance.

In my experience men are a strange species, they tend to like to think the woman they settle down with will be natural . But yet they are like dirty dogs when a woman with big fake boobs and makeup and short skirt walks past. I wouldn't believe any man that says he doesn't fancy women that are what you'd class as overly glamourous. Dh was chatting the other day about Demi Rose one and he said jesus her arse is waaay too big, and he is a bum man, I see then on his phone he had been looking her up a couple of days later . Ugh. Strange one.

@handslikecowstits
Early 30s so not in the demographic you're probably imagining.

Who is Leo?

I like his tummy

I agree with everything butterflysugarbaby said too. I can appreciate a set of rock hard abs but it's not what I would ever go for in real life. I'm sure many men can appreciate fake boobs/tan etc but wouldn't go for them.

So do you resemble these women? Have you been dumped because you don't? I'm trying to understand why you don't believe the surveys. They're far more indicative of preference than TV programmes.

While I have never given a shit what men want, I once showed these images from a magazine to DH to see which he preferred. He chose the after picture.

Porn culture.

I have been out many times in mixed company and heard men say that they don't like make up and prefer the natural look, 9 times out of 10 those same men spend the evening relentlessly pursuing the Katie price wannabes.

I mean, this is just as much makeup as Love Island (horrible show) but is much classier, which is what I think is preferred.

@FairyFace
Yes I think your post encapsulates the phenomenon I'm referring to. I think that's why I'm cynical about all the "my DH would never like women like that" responses. Of course the men in our lives would never openly admit they prefer or even quite like that look as it is a bit of a social taboo beyond a certain age.

The make up thing makes me curious. I don't like to not look like me tbh. I've often wondered do women get up early in the morning and stay up later at night in order to apply make up when dating someone? At what point do you go make-up less?

Men is an absurdly broad term......which men? from where?, what age? what sexuality?
Men from Polynesia ? Now they like a whole lot of woman? Men from many of the African nations are the same, however men from more western nations they like all sorts......Age comes into it to don't forget.....After-all I bet the women on here that had teenage crushes on boy bands are not married to boyband lookalikes are they?

I find comments like this absurd in the extreme.....what I do know is that if you took my OH as an example and listed his long term partners you will find men like women care about personality a lot more than looks...I'm the last in this list and it makes me smile to know he cares more about personality

Blond Blue eyed tall athletic bodied German

Slim short Italian dark hair dark eyes
Thai dark hair dark eyes medium height
Plump ( blonde....bottle) mid height blue eyed English
Not all men pick women to a standard type the same as women don't pick men of a standard type......the MEDIA however sells youth and beauty as the ultimate goal of all women....that's where you need to look

@Melamim

It's Leo DiCaprio!