If you've been feeling a little down about your looks lately, having a drink (or just believing you've had a drink!) can make you feel more attractive, according to a new study.

French scientists have conducted two experiments indicating that the more alcohol you think you've had in a day will increase your self-confidence in your appearance, even if you haven't had any.

The Agence France-Presse reports the scientists conducted one experiment in a local bar where 19 people were asked to assess their attractiveness on a scale of one to seven. Their alcohol levels were then measured, and the results were pretty interesting: the higher the amount of booze that was drunk, the higher the self-confidence of the testee.

But what's even more interesting is what happened in phase two.

The scientists asked 94 men to taste-test a new fruit cocktail and deliver a filmed message. The testers told the volunteers that half would be given an alcoholic version and the others would be given a placebo.

Those who believed they had drunk alcohol gave themselves high self-assessments, regardless of whether they had actually ingested any booze, while those who had believed they hadn't had a sip of alcohol gave themselves a low assessment, even when there had been a hefty amount of liquor in their drinks. So, basically, believing is feeling! Said lead psychologist Laurent Begue:

"Our study shows that the mere fact of believing that you have drunk alcohol makes you feel more attractive. The alcohol dose has no effect in itself."

So, why is it that we feel sexier with a glass of wine in our hands? According to the article, it's "alcohol-related expectancy," meaning the more we drink, the hotter we think we are, because we're more at ease with others:

"The concept of alcohol is linked to social lubrication, to making you feel at ease with others."