You know how when you’re one Sav Blanc deep on a Saturday night, you become a master on the pool table — and then your new-found skills suddenly vanish by glass #3?
Well, apparently the same principle applies to the attractiveness of your face when you’re getting drunk.
We know this because a group of researchers have actually gone to the effort of conducting a study to determine how alcohol impacts on your physical appeal. The wonders of science, eh?
This very important study, published in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism, involved 40 students who were photographed with neutral facial expressions three times: first when sober, then after roughly one glass of wine, and then after two glasses of wine. A separate group of students, who were presumably sober, then ranked the headshots based on babeliness.
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Their verdict? You're most attractive after one glass of wine (take that, Sober Face). So, the first takeaway from these findings is this: if you have big dreams of featuring in your newspaper's social pages, chase down the photographer after your first vino. Then you can resume ordering mojitos and gyrating to Rihanna.
According to the study authors, there are a few possible reasons why a small amount of alcohol might enhance your attractiveness. These include greater pupil dilation, slight muscle relaxation in your face, and the reddening of your cheeks.
"Rosiness is attractive because it characterises good physical health characteristics," senior researcher Marcus Munafò tells Live Science. Remember how enamoured Mr Darcy was by Lizzie Bennett's flushed cheeks after she walked all the way to Netherfield Park in Pride and Prejudice? There you go.
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"That obviously doesn't mean that alcohol is healthy; what it means is that alcohol is sort of hijacking that mechanism, or promoting the aspects of facial features that we regard as attractive for other reasons," Munafò adds.
This all sounds very legitimate but frankly, we're a little dismayed that Hot Mess Face (how you look four or more drinks in) was excluded from the study.
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What could possibly be sexier than your visage at 3am, after approximately seven bronzer re-applications, two hours of sweaty dance floor action (and subsequent smudging of all makeup), and the juice of your post-club kebab still lingering around your mouth?
Nothing, that's what.
