A survey commissioned by Glamour and L'Oréal Paris has found that half of women believe that their appearance is the most integral part over their identity; ranking higher than motherhood, race, religion or career.
44 per cent of the women surveyed claimed that looks, over any other lifestyle factor, was the top thing that kept them feeling comfortable in their own skin.
Titled “50 States of Women”, the survey also discovered that 73 per cent of women say being beautiful helps women get ahead at work and 84 per cent of women say being beautiful gives them an edge in life in general.
While the findings point towards taking pride in your appearance fuelling self worth, self-confidence was found to be increasing as 75 per cent of women believe they're making progress toward their life goals and 67 per cent of women believe they'll be better off in the next five years. This is a huge leap from the 42 per cent of women who had that outlook last year.
L'Oréal Paris USA senior VP for marketing, Anne Marie Nelson-Bogle, commented on the findings, saying: "The launch of '50 States of Women' exemplifies our belief that every woman is worth it and has a story to tell.
"This study gives us a deeper understanding of what makes women in America feel beautiful, confident, and optimistic about the future — and shows us what areas we need to focus on as we empower women everywhere to embrace their intrinsic worth and inner beauty."
