Selfie obsession boosting make-up and fake tan sales

Our obsession with taking selfies could give a boost to sales of make-up and fake tan, as the results of a new survey show that many women apply both before snapping themselves.

The report from feelunique.com showed that 33% of women redo their make-up and 4% apply fake tan as part of their “selfie routine”.

Of the 2,000 women surveyed, those aged 16-25 were the most prolific selfie takers, spending an average of 16 minutes per selfie session, three times a day – making a total of five and a half hours per week spent taking selfies.

However, the research also showed a trend among the younger generation to suffer from “selfie-esteem”, linking their own body confidence with the number of “likes” they received for a selfie on social media, with 22% citing getting likes to boost their ego as the main reason for taking them.

Four in ten said they take so many selfies they've become more analytical of their faces, finding flaws they hadn't previously seen.

However, more than half of the women agreed that taking an attractive selfie boosts their mood when they feel down over their looks.