TOKYO, Oct 14: When a woman puts on makeup and looks in the mirror, it is as if she is seeing a different person, according to Japanese scientists.

Researchers who teamed up with Japan’s Kanebo Cosmetics Inc said they found a link between makeup and human brain mechanisms.

“It’s only human beings who look into a mirror every morning,” brain scientist Kenichiro Mogi told a news conference on Tuesday. “In addition, they even put a makeup on.”

In their study of 17 women in their 20s and early 30s, they discovered that the human brain reacts almost as if the person is looking at a stranger’s face when seeing their own with a makeup on, Mogi said.

They believe the act of wearing makeup helps a person look at oneself more objectively -- and therefore could serve to boost ways of communication.

—AFP