The sale of cosmetics for men is growing, men are beginning to actively use foundation and shadows. Guys bloggers teach how to contour and draw arrows. And brands MAC Covergirl, Maybelline shoot representatives of the stronger sex in advertising of mascaras and lipsticks. What is the reason for this?
In 2018, sales of beauty products for men grew by 7%, and the figures continue to move up. The most active buyers live in Western Europe. Face creams are used by 30% of the British, 40% of the French and 50% of Italians. The fastest catching up to Europeans are residents of the Asia-Pacific region. Due to the large population, manufacturers literally do not have time to meet their needs, there is not enough male cosmetics.
And if earlier “something new from leaving” was asked by women watching over themselves, now this phrase is more and more often heard from men. The sheet mask, retinol serum, eye patches and wrinkle filler are becoming common beauty products in the arsenal of European men.
This tendency can also be traced in Russia. Men began to go for manicure, beauty treatments and use of facial cosmetics more often.
“Two categories of men come to us: one category is sent by wives and mothers, giving them gift certificates for care. The second category comes by itself. These are men who are attentive to their beauty and health, have some kind of skin problems and want to solve them. We now have about 15-20% of male clients. They come for facial and hair treatments. Men love relaxing treatments: manual and microcurrent massage. When it comes to home care, they are usually limited to two remedies. As a rule, this is a means for daily skin cleansing and a face cream “, – Victoria Klishko, cosmetologist, founder of the Instutute.Msk beauty project.
Today, men and women follow the same diets or do not follow them at all. In gyms, we no longer go to different gyms – women for yoga, and men for boxing and fitness equipment. Therefore, it is not surprising that our requests for plastic surgeons and cosmetologists are the same.
Yes, men do not want to grow old, even if it is beautiful. At the same time, the ecology has become worse, there is more stress and burnout, despite all this, life expectancy has increased, and eternal youth has not been invented. On the contrary, premature aging has become more widespread. Men, looking at their companions, began to try everything that they use. Men, like women, consider wrinkles, pigmentation and acne to be the main disadvantages of their appearance. And they are actively fighting with them, buying more and more care products. Most often, men use a foundation and a concealer. Disguise products have become a daily routine. Tinted lip balms are already in 2nd place. In third place are pencils and eyebrow shadows, which some craftsmen began to actively use also to draw gaps in the bristles.
And yet the world has not gone mad at all. If we go back in time, we will see that once men used the same amount of cosmetics and care as women. Or almost the same. For example, the ancient Egyptians and Romans emphasized the eyes with charcoal kayal, and the skin was moisturized and nourished with a mixture of raw eggs, honey, and milk. Roman gladiators actively used rose water and smelled of what we would now call “spring floral scent.” And in the time of Elizabeth I, baking (or the active use of loose powder) was equally popular among men and women. And because of the abundance of lead in the powder, both of them died equally often.
Therefore, is it any wonder that the modern generation Z (from 16 to 24 years old) are equally actively using cosmetics? All this was already many years ago. And the modern trend is a ghost of the distant past.