Could the lockdown period give rise to men experimenting with make-up?

Lockdown has provided men with an opportunity to either continue experimenting with make-up designed for their specific needs or to finally give it a go and try something new. Credit: Josep Suria / Shutterstock.

With many months spent in restricted company due to quarantining, a perfect opportunity has arisen for men to either continue experimenting with make-up designed for their specific needs or to finally give it a go and try something new.

With launches over the past couple of years such as BOY de Chanel from the well-established fashion brand Chanel, and a male-targeted cosmetics line by Tom Ford, as well as offerings from brands such as Clinique, there has never been a more convenient time for men to put some of these products to the test and see what they can do to enhance their facial aesthetic.

Prior to the Covid-19 outbreak, 71% of men globally said that feeling physically attractive is either very important or important in creating a feeling of wellbeing or wellness*. Amid the pandemic, in general, make-up may be less of a priority to some with 37% of consumers (11 countries surveyed) saying that they either have stopped buying or are buying less make-up products; this figure is greater than consumers who are buying more of these products (10%). However, interestingly, 5% of men aged 18-24 admit that they have never bought make-up products before, but they have now begun to do so**.

With the ever-present bombardment of Instagram-filtered perfection, and social media influencers offering tips on how men can enhance and change-up their appearance, confinement has caused some to pick up an eyebrow comb, and concealer stick. Not only can cosmetics companies capitalise on this growing curiosity toward male cosmetics, but they could also hope to convert men into loyal fans of the brand by focusing their attention on those needs specific to males, in particularly eyebrow grooming and products that can camouflage skin imperfections and those that are designed to tackle lip issues such as dryness and other imperfections.

With the male grooming business growing and popular media figures such as David Beckham championing their own brands, gone are the days where men were afraid of the potential embarrassment of being caught using their other half’s tinted moisturizer and other grooming essentials. With toxic masculinity looking to be in decline and more leeway being given as to what qualifies as masculine behaviour and gender blurring becoming more accepted, increasingly cosmetics geared toward men are finally seeing the light of day with more male-oriented ranges coming in, to capitalize on this demand.

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