Brainstorming women into their perception of meaning of makeup and beauty

The concept of beauty in the contemporary society is closely linked to gender. In this research, the concept of makeup and beauty has been explored from the perspective of women by using qualitative method techniques. Therefore, 35 young women of Tehran city were interviewed through in-depth and semi-structured questionnaire, and the samples were selected based on theoretical sampling and theoretical saturation. After extracting primary, secondary, and intermediate concepts of the three main categories, i.e. 1- general areas of beauty and signs, 2- make-up; and 3- consumption of media, the need for beauty and make-up was determined. The results show that make-up and beauty are defined as an important activity for young women. Beauty and makeup are intertwined with people's lifestyle and are adjusted and coordinated by it i.e., the amount and manner of makeup of women changes with their understanding of the culture that governs different environments, the type and gender of the audience, the amount of communication and the type of activity. It can be stated that make-up and beauty provide women with the possibility of creating many social relationships. In the analysis and interpretation of the interviews, we found a range of reasons such as increasing social capital, coercion or group conformity, building a new identity and self-idealism, and increasing self-confidence in explaining why makeup is done.