Feeling guilty about spending a small fortune on face cream? Consider this: Good-looking people get more attention from their bosses, a recent study shows—and are paid more.

Women do invest in appearance. We spend $7 billion a year on cosmetics and beauty products, according to a report by the YWCA, a nonprofit with 25 million members. Cosmetic surgical and nonsurgical procedures (including Botox and liposuction) have shot up 446 percent in the past ten years. And we spend, on average, $12,000 a year on beauty products and grooming.

The payoff of this investment, beyond the feel-good boost, may also be higher earnings. Attractive women earn 4 percent more than less attractive colleagues, according to a recent report. And more than half the respondents in a hiring managers survey advised job seekers to spend as much time and money “making sure they look attractive” as they do on revising resumes.

“A polished appearance is important,” says Colette Lyons, a Los Angeles corporate hiring manager. “But the best way to get your foot—and face—in the door is to have someone you know make the recommendation.”

Sources: Newsweek; bureau of labor statistics; bankrate.com; she-conomy.com/report