It is a finding that could explain why many an alcohol-fuelled approach in a bar ends in failure.

Research shows that alcohol makes us think we are more attractive than we really are.

Even the mere expectation of being tipsy is enough to boost ego.

However, the effects are purely in the mind of the drinker. Sadly for them, others do not find them any more appealing.

The finding comes from researchers who asked 19 men and women drinking in a French bar to rate their own attractiveness and blow into a breathalyser.

The more they had drunk, the more attractive they thought they were, the Journal of Individual Differences reports.

A second experiment revealed that the mere thought of alcohol is enough to boost someone’s opinion of themselves.

Here, 86 young men were told they were taking part in a taste test for a new minty lemon drink.

Some were given an alcoholic version, others the same drink minus the booze. In each case, some were told the drink was alcoholic, others were told it was alcohol-free.