Great Gods of Grooming and Glamor! Society is opening the certified and stamped gender-fluid envelope of makeup lines for men!
Did you know? Young men are slowly but surely tearing down a major wall of stigma attached to the use of makeup among men. Whether you’re straight, gay or simply gender-curious, makeup lines for men — the kind being launched by major brands — are actually being bought up, with demand growing, more than most would ever have bet on. This dark horse of a makeup trend is changing some very ingrained notions of masculinity! Are you ready to ask yourself: are you down with makeup-wearing men?
Spearheaded by a number of powerful social media influencers and beauty bloggers — like Manny Gutierrez, Lewys Ball, and James Charles — a minority of men are increasingly growing into the notion of wearing specialized made-for-men makeup.
Looking for better looks, refinement, polish, and/or a touch of youth-dipped coolness, these pioneering men — and the major brands backing them — are transforming a once-radical gender-breaking notion into something more normal and conventional, especially in cities.
A stronger comfort factor in public — as these gender-fluid men look to cover up problem areas like acne, scars, red skin zones, birthmarks, razor cuts, and more — as well as a heightened feeling of comely confidence are the solid reasons behind the phenomenon. As a result, society, in turn, could be knocked over with a feather!
Originally championed by some truly glamorous men of rock ’n’ roll — like David Bowie, Prince, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, and Tommy Lee of Motley Crue — makeup lines for men are being increasingly embraced by the young and younger.
Many insiders claim a heightened male consciousness around the ever-omnipresent eye of the smartphone camera for jumpstarting the trend. Indeed, Euromonitor reported that 56% of American men claimed the use of a concealer, foundation, or beauty balm at least once during the year 2018.
Men who represented the trend on the red carpet, and beyond, have been social media personality Manny Gutierrez — groundbreakingly featured in a Maybelline mascara advert in 2017 — and social media star James Charles, whose choices of dramatic makeup and garment at the 2019 Met Gala, hosted by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, triggered thousands of comments on social media.
Among the range of guy’s makeup to be found in stores today and elsewhere are male-liner eye pencils, “manscara,” bronzing creams, concealers, anti-shine powder, and even beard filler, hawked by deluxe brands by the likes of Tom Ford, Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, and others.
Beauty analysts say men are certainly dabbling with the stuff but not exactly stepping up to using the made-for-men makeup on a regular basis. However, the stigma is certainly being vocally addressed by male makeup fans in many a blog post.
Defenders of the trend argue that men wore makeup throughout the ages — namely eyeliner in ancient Egypt, rouge in ancient Rome, and white face powder at Versailles throughout the 1600s and 1700s in France — so, they argue: what’s the big hoopla about?
Sometime after Victorian times saw the longstanding virtuous (or viceful) trend die a longstanding death, members of the LGBTQ+ community revived the starved male tradition in the ‘60s and proudly stood by their makeup vials and brushes all the way through the decades till today.
Be tickled pink to know that blogger, journalist, and makeup maven Alex Dalley estimated that only a third of the buying market for his makeup-for-men line, in 2016, were gay men. According to his research, a sizable segment were straight, white-collar men over the age of 40 looking to boast a young, healthy face designed to help them land promotions. Another segment consisted of men looking for a darker skin tone and color during the “Brrrrr” cold seasons, he identified.
Other major male buyers use the specialized makeup to cover up skin problems, such as scars and acne, he wrote.
A more recent range of survey stats from a Morning Consult company report definitely backs that, yes, indeed, non-gay men are willing to dab on makeup specially made for men. Nascent but firmly growing, the trend is certainly making inroads into society!
If you’re a woman, do you openly bless the movement? If you’re a gay man, are you happily thrilled with the trend? If you’re a straight man, do you approve — minimally or in a big way? If you’re trans-curious or transgender, you can be happy a range of high-end products exists for you.
What we can all agree on is that, in this regard, society is changing by a deep blue mile.
Makeup-wearing men of the world: DON’T be shy! The world is embracing your foundation-dabbed skin and your color-hued lip balm. DO be bold enough to exclaim aloud how much makeup lines for men have boosted your confidence!
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