Philips has released the findings of the fifth annual Philips Global Beauty Index, which surveys more than 12,000 women from 12 different countries. The comprehensive international study examines the attitudes and perceptions of women around the world, to discover how they define beauty, and the role it plays in their lives.
The 2019 index shows that 60% of women worldwide consider themselves beautiful. Although this is lower than in 2018 (65%), this year's figure is still 13 points higher than the first Index in 2015 (47%), showing a positive trend over time. This can be attributed to the more holistic approach women now take to beauty, with a large majority of women surveyed believing that a positive mindset (88%) and an emotionally balanced feeling (84%) are the most important aspects of feeling beautiful .
In addition, more than six in ten women worldwide already take a holistic approach to beauty, while 44% of women worldwide say they expect a more holistic approach that improves health and beauty in the next five years.
Women seek beauty knowledge from different sources
With the evolution of technology, there are now more places than ever to find beauty inspiration and knowledge. While many women visit online communities for advice, the research reveals that it's actually people closer to home on whom women depend most for information. Surprisingly, 49% of women still turn to their friends, family or colleagues for beauty advice and this figure is growing to 63% in Korea and 60% in Turkey. This is notably higher than the number of women turning to social media, which is 37% globally by comparison.
That said, one in four women worldwide (25%) now turn to bloggers or vloggers to discover new beauty brands or products. A much higher figure than those turning to traditional celebrities (15% globally), showing just how much influence these social media individuals have amassed over a relatively short period of time.
The survey also shows that when it comes to future beauty technology, women are most excited about personalized advice on how to keep their hair and skin healthy (65%). Women in China and India are especially excited about future developments in both areas (85% and 81%), respectively. Mobile apps are likely to play a particularly important role in women's beauty routines, with more than half of women surveyed (58%) welcoming an app that scans the skin to identify moisture, pores, lines and wrinkles over time. Similarly, 57% of respondents would welcome a service or platform that takes into account hair type, hair texture, hair goals and other preferences and applies the information to create an ideal ingredient combination.
