Students outspend working women on make-up

Despite being strapped for cash, today's students are still willing to spend big on cosmetics, with 15% of full-time female students spending £30 or more a month on make-up for themselves, according to a survey of 2,081 UK adults carried out by YouGov for retailer Debenhams.

Meanwhile, just 4% of the UK's working women admitted to spending £30 or more a month on colour cosmetics.

Perhaps less surprisingly, students (who tend to be younger) are also more concerned about trends when purchasing make-up than working women are.

While just 5% of workers surveyed said they regard keeping up with current make-up trends as important when deciding which products to buy, among students, this figure rose to 14%.   

And it seems that students still love a bargain. Although they may be spending more in total, it seems many are buying multiple items within that spend, rather than investing in fewer, high-quality items as many of the working women do. In fact the majority of students (70%) said price was a particularly important factor when choosing make-up, ahead of quality (67%) and brand reputation (33%).

However, most students (81%) said they would still be willing to splash out on the occasional investment item, with foundation the most popular choice (54%).

Debenhams beauty director Sarah Stern said: "It's no surprise that foundation is such a popular item to spend that little bit extra on - and not just for students. Women appreciate that a good base can make all the difference to a makeup look, and are prepared to treat themselves to achieve it."