英国女性恋上化妆品British womens love affair with cosmeticsBritish women spend the most money on cosmetics¹, according to a research by Mintel.

When it comes on spending money on make-up, it seems that there is just no beating a British woman.

Analysts² Mintel, in a new survey, have found that the annual amount of money spent by women in the UK on cosmetics such as lipstick⁴, mascara andnail polishhas risen by 40 per cent in the past five years to more than 1 billion pounds.

As a part of the research, analysts surveyed 25,000 men and women in the UK and 10,000 in France, Germany and Spain in a bid to reveal attitudes to looks.

They found that while French women most wanted to stand out in a crowd thanks to their own "very good sense of style", British women, though spending more on cosmetics, didn't mind looking less distinctive⁵, as long as they looked good.

"Even though British women are less interested in style and fashion, they retain a desire to look attractive and well-groomed," The Independent quoted Michelle Strutton, senior market analyst³ at Mintel, as saying.

The analysts also found that when it comes to their appearance, it's the Spaniards, more than women of any other country in Europe, who are concerned with their image.

The results of the research now has analysts predicting that British men and women will be opening up their wallets and spending 940 million pounds just onscentthis year.

如果要问谁最舍得在化妆品上花银子，英国女人应该当之无愧。

英国明泰尔市场调查公司所做的一项最新调查发现，过去五年中，英国女性每年在口红、睫毛膏、指甲油等化妆品上的消费增加了40％，达到10亿多英镑。

为了了解不同国家的人对于外表的态度，明泰尔调查公司的分析师们对英国的25000名男性和女性、以及法国、德国和西班牙的10000名男性和女性进行了调查。

调查发现，拥有很强“时尚感”的法国女性最渴望引人注目；而英国女性尽管在化妆品上投资不少，但她们觉得只要漂亮就行，不一定非得与众不同。

独立报》援引明泰尔公司高级市场分析师米歇尔·斯特拉特恩的话说：“虽然英国女性对于时尚和时装的兴趣没那么浓厚，但她们还是很想把自己打扮得美丽迷人。”

此外，调查发现，欧洲的西班牙女性最在意自己的外表。

根据调查结果，分析师们预测，今年英国人仅一项香水支出就将达到9.4亿英镑。

Vocabulary:

nail polish: 指甲油

scent : 香水