Could Make-up For Men Be The Next Frontier?

The steady growth of the men’s grooming industry has meant that male skincare products are now considered an essential part of the modern man’s arsenal. Could make-up for men be the next frontier?

- Renyi Lim

Why did men stop using make-up? In 10,000 BC, Egyptian men made liberal use of kohl powder to line their eyes and eyebrows, while Alexander the Great became a notable enthusiast of grooming, make-up and aromatics following his military campaign into Asia. The Iceni tribe of the British Isles were said to have dyed their bodies blue with woad before battle, while their Roman adversaries occasionally sported rouged cheeks and complexions whitened with chalk.

And yet, somewhere along the line, make-up for men fell out of fashion. During the Victorian era, it was labelled an abomination and considered the work of the devil. But make-up for men is back with a vengeance.

With the boom of the metrosexual movement in the 1990s and 2000s, major pharmacies in the UK began stocking ‘guyliner’ and ‘manscara’ to satisfy the curiosities of would-be Russell Brands and David Beckhams. The concept may have been novel at best, but they were onto something: where the high street cosmetics brands ventured, the luxury beauty industry soon followed.