For many years, the idea of men’s make up has been contentious particularly in North America. According to the author Lisa Wade, author of Gender: Ideas, Interactions, Institutions, make up have become mainstream for women in the 1920s because of the desire to look appealing and be courted by men with money. This concept has made its way to popular culture and for decades, it reminded everyone that makeup should only be used by women. Today, however, it seems that men’s make up is slowly becoming more mainstream thanks to the rise of androgynous fashion and famous social media figures.
With more LGBT bloggers and influencers emerging on social media, the acknowledgement of men’s make up has progressed drastically over the past years. Famous figures such as Manny Mua, Patrick Starr, James Charles, and Jeffree Star have made tremendous impact in today’s society by blurring the line between gender standards via showing the best of make up on YouTube. In addition, big luxury labels such as Chanel have also advocated for this movement as they released first line of make up for men this year called Boy de Chanel. Meanwhile, Covergirl and Maybelline have also featured men in their ads. The bottom line is beauty standards have become more flexible thanks to the numerous bodies that have been making noise in popular culture.
For many years, there has always been a line between make up and fashion for men, thinking that looking good is merely based on wearing good clothing. Advocates of this emerging movement are simply stressing the idea that being metrosexual is okay, and that fashion and make up go hand and hand to help in self-expression and self-esteem. Finally, more men are becoming conscious of their facial appearance and overall look. Personally, I would never have a problem with putting on basic make up if it’s going help me cover blemishes or other facial imperfections. As an individual who is deeply obsessed with fashion, putting on make up is a decent accompaniment to clothes, which would ultimately enhance my overall look and boost my self-confidence.
As universal confidence on men’s make up becomes more prevalent, I have decided to step out of my comfort zone and try a concealer for the first time. Before I share my experience though, I want to give a little background on my skin routine. I was already skin conscious before I became even more skin conscious. Every night, I use moisturizer and pore cleanser to refresh my face and then use moisturizer again in the morning. In times when I feel “extra” dirty, I would use a peel of mask or pore strips to clean my face. Although I cared about skin hygiene, I never cared too much about acne, dark circles, or anything that would still affect my facial appearance.
With limited knowledge of make up products, I went for something basic and conventional. My sister, who is a make up addict, suggested Maybelline New Fork Fit Me Concealer. It matches all skin tones and helps cover redness, flaws, and blemishes. On the day I went out to go clubbing for a friend’s birthday, I decided to use the product. After my basic skin routine, I applied the product on my face. It’s creamy in consistency and dries down to a semi-matte finish. It looked natural after waiting for a few minutes. The real test however is how long it would last through the night.
After the club, the product remained intact, even after sweating for a few hours. I also checked my photos and it seemed that the concealer blended nicely with and skin and did not appear cakey. It did feel slightly greasy afterwards but it did perform its job properly especially at the night club. I think that the concealer is a good beginner product for men who are still somewhat hesitant to use make up as it has a good applicator and appears natural on the skin.
I would definitely purchase the product again. Considering that it’s a “basic” concealer, it fulfilled what I needed which was to cover small skin imperfections and just allowing me to feel my best at the night club. For men who are becoming more skin conscious, concealers and foundations are good start up products because they harmonize well with your skin and generally have good lasting properties. At the end of the day, this way of experimenting with men’s make up is not just to convert one self to be more skin conscious, but to further the movement of blurring gender standards in today’s society.
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