Most Beauty-Obsessed Cities: Which Locale Is #1?

Blush, mascara, lipstick, anti-aging moisturizer, self-tanning lotion, exfoliating gel, texturizing paste, firming serum, renewing peels. From the everyday to the obscure, the variety of beauty products out there is staggering. In many cities, it’s hard to go very far without passing by an entire store dedicated to these items, such as Ulta or Sephora. And according to new data commissioned by InStyle, where you live might be linked to how “beauty-obsessed” you are -- or at least how much time you spend at cosmetics counters.

To learn more about the role cosmetics play in American women's lives, InStyle magazine asked FourSquare, a service that allows users to check-in to their online social networks wherever they go, to calculate the number of people checking into beauty-related retail outlets across the country. The magazine then compiled a list of the 10 cities that had the highest volume of check-ins.

With over 300,000 related check-ins, one city earned the distinction of the #1 most beauty-obsessed city in the U.S. (scroll down to see which town came in first).

The data seem in line with the results of a February survey that concluded that nearly half of American women feel unattractive when they aren't wearing any makeup. Women appear to feel similarly across the pond. In a British survey conducted in March, 91 percent of women polled said they would rather cancel a first date than attend without makeup on, and 31 percent said they wouldn’t even go to the gym bare-faced.

Check out the full list of the most "beauty-obsessed" American cities below. Did your hometown make it into the top 10?

LOOK: The 10 Most Beauty-Obsessed Cities

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Comments

[scraparcs]

12:58 PM on 05/06/2012

I would have thought my own Foursquare check-ins to Ulta and Sephora would have propelled Phoenix to the top of the list.

[iconico62]

04:15 AM on 04/18/2012

How did this pollster do the polling? From the back of a pick up truck? That pretty much sums up what I think of this stupid list.

[John Tang]

01:51 PM on 04/14/2012

"InStyle magazine asked FourSquare, a service that allows users to check-in to their online social networks wherever they go, to calculate the number of people checking into beauty-related retail outlets across the country. The magazine then compiled a list of the 10 cities that had the highest volume of check-ins."

What about calculating the number of people in each city who had plastic surgery and other beauty procedures? I'm surprised this study left out other critical factors. I don't trust the results of this study. Jennifer Aniston reportedly spent over $100K on beauty procedures per year. There's no way that Hollywood, CA is not on the list.

[ValStJohn]

03:45 PM on 04/13/2012

Yeah, not buying the results of this study...I'm presuming that beautiful people just have not been checking-in to their social, however, between appointments and procedures, who has time? Beautiful people are busy.

[saami]

02:22 PM on 04/13/2012

San Francisco is the most beautiful city in the United States and one of the most beautiful in the world.

[Richcrafter]

07:10 PM on 04/13/2012

Have you seen UCSF? Haaaaaaa! Haaaaaa!

[Black Rhino]

05:17 PM on 09/01/2012

But the women aren't very good looking.

[roald]

01:41 PM on 04/13/2012

I am glad that the author published the method used to create the list. I hope that no one mistakes this for a real list. The data is not normalized by the population of the city. It appears to assume that the distribution of checks-per-person is roughly equivalent per city. It appears to assume that internet access is equally available.

[madcityy]

12:18 PM on 04/13/2012

huh??????????????

[deridaa]

10:58 AM on 04/13/2012

And Beverly Hills?

[Holly Oh]

04:57 AM on 04/13/2012

not convincing at all. you really think all those cities above beat NYC with beauty obsession?
why don't you run the data again...with out of 300,000 related check-ins, how many actually ended up purchasing the beauty items? beauty ain't gonna happen by merely looking at it.

[sacmom3]

02:49 AM on 04/13/2012

Fresno? The Raisin Capital of the World Fresno? BWAAAAAHAAAAAHAAAAAA.

[Big13]

08:55 PM on 04/12/2012

Miami!!! Been to Miami lately? The waterfront is nice but the rest is relatively awful based on views from the major roadways.

[Brian Holder]

08:27 PM on 04/12/2012

Where's San Diego?

[tubu]

07:50 PM on 04/12/2012

Lubbock, TX No, 2 - LOL!! Gotta be a joke???

[ahsregusted]

07:36 PM on 04/13/2012

And Fresno #1 is believable???

[florencebrady]

07:38 PM on 04/12/2012

Gee, I didn't see any pictures of the "not so well maintained" neighhborhoods in any of those cities.

This article would be much more accurately described as an "infomercial" not a news story.

[gx6]

07:51 PM on 04/12/2012

They're talking about the people, not the city.

[florencebrady]

08:05 PM on 04/12/2012

They're actually talking about one line of cosmetics.

But I didn't see any people in the pictures, did you?

I'm just making fun of the whole study-----don't take me seriously.

[VcDil]

06:37 PM on 04/12/2012

It's amazing to me.....how most people do not comprehend what they read! This article is about women buying cosmetics, BUT it was based on a poll of women that uses the service called "FourSquare". Users of "FourSquare" check-in to their online social networks about cosmetics, etc. That is how Style Magazine got it's top 10 cities where women buy cosmetics. If you're not a "FourSquare" user, you weren't even included in the poll.