British women spend £18,734 on make-up in their lifetime

British women spend more than £18,000 on make-up during their lifetime, according to new research by FalseEyelashes, which looked at the attitudes of women towards their physical appearance.

Women spend on average £493 on make-up each year with their make-up bags worth £197 at any one time, the research found, totalling a lifetime spend of £18,734.

Of the 2,289 women aged 18 to 30 years old who took part in the survey, eyeshadow palettes came out on top as the number one item they spend most money on, averaging £39.50, followed closely by foundation (£32.50), lipstick (£28), mascara (£24) and highlighter (£22).

When asked how many variations and brands of each item they had, the most common ones to have multiples of were eyeshadow palettes (at least 11), lipsticks (nine) and foundations (five), the survey found.

The average age when respondents begun wearing a full face of make-up – taking into account when they started using foundation, concealer, mascara and other day-to-day items – was 14.

Nicholas Whitmore, managing director of FalseEyelashes, said: “While make-up has always been popular among women, make-up artists and an increase of YouTube and Instagram tutorials are inspiring many women every day, encouraging them to go out and create their own looks."