Makeup for Men - Yes or No?

The growing trend amongst men to wear make-up has been on a steady rise in recent years, thanks in no doubt to popular celebrities such as Russell Brand, Johnny Depp and Zac Efron. Men have been wearing make up for centuries, especially musicians and singers who have popularised certain trends to make it more accessible to others. Notable men who have worn make up in the past have included Boy George, David Bowie and Prince to name but a few. But with the modern trend in perfectly kept men being known as metrosexual, is this modern take on make-up the one that lasts?

It can be hard to exactly pinpoint when the tide turned for it to become more acceptable for men to wear make-up, but when the UK high street store Superdrug started selling make-up that was designed solely for men, the shift into acceptability possibly broke new horizons. For many years it had been popular for men to wear what was now termed ‘guyliner’ and ‘manscara’ to help accentuate ones’ eyes, and with more and more celebrity males seemingly quite happy to endorse and promote their own metrosexuality, it was only a matter of time before the looks hit the streets.

Img: apetogentleman

Men have become increasingly more obsessed about the way they look, and with the big brands that are most commonly associated with women’s cosmetics seeing a gap in the market, the marketing steamroller of the cosmetics industry was just about to roll into town. Whilst male grooming isn’t a new addition to the modern man; barbershops, tailors and specialist gentleman’s’ clubs have always been art of a thriving and diverse culture in just about every large city in the western world. This apparent new foray into the world of male grooming has been met with the argument that the feminisation of the modern man has already started.

Jokingly aside, most open-minded individuals would agree that there is nothing wrong with taking care of yourself and looking the best you can be, but with more male beauty products on the market today that were previously only associated with female grooming, many men are wondering if this is just a new phase, or maybe this time around, the make-up is here to stay.

Being part of a multi-billion dollar industry, the male grooming sector of the cosmetics industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in all beauty products, with facial scrubs and anti-ageing serums making up the majority of purchases. Eyeliner and manscara only make a tiny dent in those figures, but with the growing trend of new products being released onto the market daily, this figure is set to soar.

Img:taximan, uk

So while many men will still sniff at the idea of wearing make-up, the generation that is growing up around this modern fascination with male grooming may well be the strongest influence yet that make-up is not just a exclusively female-only attraction and that men of all walks of life are enjoying the pleasure of improving their image with the help of a little make-up. With names like ‘Taxi Man’ being the leading products in the Guyliner range, you can see that make-up for men isn’t shy of a hint of comedy.

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