Beauty & The Bloke

"I am a Boy and I like wearing make up" says a budding young fashionista.

For the first time in centuries, men wearing makeup is not a complete taboo. Thanks to social media, makeup IS gearing up becoming more gender-inclusive.

It’s like forever now that makeup has been seen as a "girls-only" item, and we forget that it wasn't always so. From BCE through the 18th century, men traditionally used makeup in different ways.

In India if we look at our scriptures and epics, we have most men with painted eyes, rosy cheeks and rep lips. Also, they are beautifully adored with jewellery too.

In ancient Egyptian culture, makeup actually played a role in making masculinity prominent. Men used black pigment to create elaborate cate-eye designs. Dramatic eyeliner was customarily worn to communicate wealth and status.

Roman men were known to apply red pigment to their cheeks, lighten their skin with powder, and paint their nails using a mixture of pig fat and blood. 

During Queen Elizabeth I's rule, makeup was wildly popular among men, who valued ghost-white powdered skin.

In France, King Louis XVI partook indulged in makeup and hair products. Louis went bald at the age of 23 and subsequently forced the aristocracy of France into an obsession with wigs.

Only in the mid-1800s makeup got pushed to one end of the gender spectrum. During the Victorian era, make-up was considered an "abomination"  by both the crown and the church. Strong associations between makeup – vanity – femininity - "the Devil's work”, emerged. Soon the religious values permeated into cultures around the world and the mainstream definitions of masculinity narrowed.

Today, the word ‘makeup’ has such feminine connotations that NO MAN wants to wear or admit to wearing makeup, as that would necessarily imply that he’s becoming more feminine.

But social media has helped turn men’s makeup and grooming from a “why” to a “why not”. In certain instances, like on Instagram, men in makeup are fully normalized. There are quite a few micro influencers in the space. When a young man in Delhi started his beauty videos, love, shock and a fair bit of hate followed. The self-possessed 26-year-old shrugs his shoulders at the negativity and assumptions on his sexuality and says “My sexuality has nothing to do with why I choose to make beauty videos. Beauty routines don’t have sexualities”. Another young man who regularly posts make up videos for men says “I am just a man wearing eyeliner without caring about what others think. It's not my eyeliner that scares you, it's my freedom to wear it that scares you”.

In 2017, we learnt that French president Emmanuel Macron spent ￡22,000 on makeup in his first three months in office. Also, it’s no secret that Donald Trump uses Bronx Color concealer.

In light of the changing landscape, men can now call themselves “beauty-curious”, if not enthusiasts quite just yet.

I do think that men should be free to use products to correct or improve their appearance, without calling into question their masculinity. Also, it would definitely be women who contribute the most to its normalization.

For the curious men, if you are interested in products, here some useful information ??

While you CAN use as much makeup as they want, the prevailing trend is all about a few essential products.

1.    Concealer to hide flaws and dark circles;

2.    foundation to ensure an even skin tone;

3.    powder to give a matte effect especially since men often have oily skin;

4.    contouring product for the jawline; and

5.    cheekbones and eyebrow pencils.