Male grooming is already a multi billion dollar market. Face detergents, moisturising creams and waxing products are already a common presence in a man’s bathroom. Shops and magazines turn over entire sections to male beauty products. But will the real turning point happen when all men decide that make up can be manly?
Some brands have tried to achieve this with product names such as manscara and guyliner. Others have tried by drawing attention to ‘manly’ benefits of makeup such as the way it highlights the jawline. But more influential than anything else perhaps, are the YouTube tutorials posted by men such as Patrick Starr, James Charles and Jeffree Star.
With over six million subscribers each, these vloggers can earn big bucks, especially if they use their platforms to promote their own makeup and clothing lines as well. Jeffree Star for example recently launched a makeup line that is now on sale at the new Morphe store in Westfield.
That’s good news for the vloggers, but what about for the men? We are all familiar with the idea of women being made to feel insecure about their looks by pictures in magazines, but does the growth of male grooming mean that men are becoming insecure as well? I decided to ask some men what they thought.
Jack Hutton, 24, did not think that much had changed. “I believe that makeup for men isn’t really trending right now,” he said. “I’m gay and I like wearing it … but I think that men in general think that it would kill their manhood.”
Mickey Jones, 25, disagreed. “I’m not gay, but sometimes I use make up,” he said. “I don’t use foundation, but I use concealer for the dark circles under my eyes. I use it because they’re really dark. I feel like someone punched me during the night. So I think that men actually use makeup. Maybe they wouldn’t wear all the products available on the market, but a few of them just to fix some imperfections.”
Oliver Smith, another gay man, reminded me that some people still find it hard to be open minded. “My parents got so angry when I first used makeup. I remember I was in the bathroom and I wanted to try my sister’s foundation and eye pencil. I really wanted to and when I did it, I felt so happy because that was me,” said Oliver. “Sometimes I feel that I don’t want to hurt them, so I avoid wearing makeup…”
So for male makeup to really take off perhaps it’s not that men need to accept that makeup can be manly. Maybe they and the rest if society need to be less concerned about masculinity full stop.
