Tokyo women want to be cute; Chinese prefer refined

The first East Asian survey of lifestyles and attitudes by a cosmetics company has revealed some sharp differences between the women of Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing, Taipei and Seoul.

Unveiled in Tokyo on Tuesday, the six-month study by Kanebo Cosmetics examined women's expectations of work, their aims for five years' time, their personal aspirations, attitudes about beauty and make-up preferences.

"The biggest difference we saw was the emphasis that Japanese women place on human relationships - in particular they care about being liked by others - while the women in the other cities are more concerned with personal growth through their work or studies," said Sakae Nomura, director of Kanebo's Beauty Research Institute.

According to the survey, which covered around 450 women between the ages of 18 and 59 in the five cities, women in Tokyo place more emphasis on personal relationships and achieving a work-life balance, while the women of the four other cities want a high income and "personal development."

When asked what sort of person they wished to be, Tokyo women most frequently replied "someone who is considerate to others." Their counterparts, however, tended to reply they wanted to be "cheerful" and "feminine."

While women in the Japanese capital like to be praised for their appearance - and particularly like to be described as "stylish" and having good taste - the respondents in Beijing, Taipei and Seoul most like being praised for their work abilities.

Tokyo women use makeup more frequently and extensively than their counterparts, the report identifying that 79.5 percent of women apply makeup five days a week. That figure fell to 38.7 percent in Shanghai, 44.5 percent in Beijing, 45.1 percent in Taipei and 58.7 percent in Seoul.

Japanese women are also more spendthrift than other women, saving a mere 11.1 percent of their income, as opposed to 22.3 percent in Seoul, although they shared the same ambition of being free of financial pressures within the next five years.

The one area in which all the women interviewed were in agreement was on the importance of cosmetics for the eyes and beautiful skin, although women in Seoul also pay close attention to makeup products for their lips.