Brushing away stereotypes

N array of brushes, powder puffs, setting sprays, eye-shadow palettes, concealer pots, contour sticks, blush, kohl, and lipsticks — all are laid out neatly.

- SONU M KOTHARI

Abhi Sayd, a makeup artist, prepares to teach a room full of students — a few men among many women — on how to use these makeup applicators and where to place each product.

Abhi, who completed a makeup course from Delhi, has been in the industry for six years. A celebrity and wedding makeup artist, he says, "In every movie, the hero applies makeup. But it is layered less because they do not want to look too pink on the screen."

Similarly, when it is Ibrahim’s day on the sets, the models often ask for a natural look.

So Ibrahim, who has been in the film industry for 20 years, has set the trend of "no makeup makeup look" way before it became the go-to look for many.

These instances point towards the fact that makeup includes, but is not limited to, men. Though the number of products used is fewer and the looks created are specific, they break stereotypes, one stroke at a time.

The cliché ‘men don’t wear make-up’ is still very much a part of our social dynamics. "In cities, it is still fine, but in villages and towns, people are still questioned, ‘Why is a man applying makeup?’," says Abhi.

Historically speaking The connection between men and makeup is centuries old. For many years in the 1900s and a few in the 2000s, makeup was restricted to femininity. Previously, men all over the world indulged in makeup for religious, social, and personal reasons. In Egyptian culture, men used kohl to elongate eye shapes and paint their nails to show societal status; men in England applied white powder and makeup made with lead. Closer home, while kajal was popular among men due to its soothing effects, they also wore bindi for religious purposes.