Take that, beauty!

People who were rated good-looking in a new study made more money, were better educated, and were more confident than those who were average or bad-looking. But don't panic, brainiacs: Brains were important than beauty when it came to income.

That's the word from a new longitudinal study from the University of Florida. Almost 200 men and women between the ages of 25 and 75 were interviewed three times six months apart starting in 1995. The participants answered questions about their household income, education, and financial stresses, and evaluated how happy or disappointed they were with their achievements so far. They also took cognitive tests and had their pictures taken. The new researchers-a mix of genders and ages-rated these participants on their attractiveness.

They discovered that beauty boosted everything, but brains were a bigger boost to money. “It turns out that the brainy are not necessarily at a disadvantage to the beautiful, and if one possesses intelligence and good looks, then all the better,” says lead author Timothy Judge of the University of Florida. Based on the findings, Judge says it's better for people who want better salaries to develop job skills and education than to run out for face lifts and beauty treatments.