Health care specialists Allergan commissioned a survey of over 10,000 people in Europe and America, which found that 83 per cent of female respondents considered looking natural to be important.
"We are also seeing women and men who want to look healthy - it's not a coincidence. People are finally realising that natural is sustainable and perfection is not," said beauty consultant Wendy Lewis.
The natural look is particularly popular in Europe where the cosmetics industry may need to abandon high maintenance products that produce a sculpted finish.
CosmeticsDesign.com spoke to anthropologist Isabella Lepri, from the London School of Economics, who commented on the results and picked several illuminating findings.
Lepri said the pursuit of the natural look is less important in America where many women still see a wrinkle-free face as the ideal, whereas their European cousins are more likely only to want to remove some wrinkles.
Consequently, Americans are more interested in comprehensive plastic surgery options whereas partial anti-wrinkle solutions such as non-invasive injections are increasingly popular in Europe.
The survey showed that UK women are particularly open to the idea, with 35 per cent saying that they would consider having anti-wrinkle injections.
Europeans are not united in their attitudes towards beauty as the survey revealed women in the south to be more concerned about their appearance, although the UK showed up as an exception.
Women in northern Europe were less anxious about their looks and spent less on beauty products than their counterparts in Italy and Spain. The UK was a notable exception with 59 per cent feeling under increasing pressure to look more attractive.
Anthropologist Lapri said the rise of celebrity culture in the UK has made a significant contribution to female anxiety.
In terms of celebrities Allergan concluded its research by announcing the end of the Pamela Anderson era. According to the survey, Gwyneth Paltrow and Nicole Kidman are now the top beauty role models.
The infamous gulf between appearance and reality reared its head in France where relatively few women said they would consider having anti-wrinkle injections. Curiously French women are the biggest consumers of such treatments in Europe.
