# "Makeup for Men Is on the Rise—and No Longer a Taboo" I call shenanigans on this perennial BS claim **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 15, 2013, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makeup-for-men-is-on-the-rise-and-no-longer-a-taboo-i-call-shenanigans-on-this-perennial-bs-claim/658381 "2013-05-15T06:32:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makeup-for-men-is-on-the-rise-and-no-longer-a-taboo-i-call-shenanigans-on-this-perennial-bs-claim/658381/1 "2013-05-15T06:32:41Z")
I’m 54 and I’ve seen this claim practically every year by fashion articles. This might be true in certain youth oriented genres like emo/goth dress up, the urban music and artsy fartsy fashion scene or for some gay men, but the vast majority of men have no interest in wearing concealer, makeup and eyeliner etc. Here it is yet again. [Makeup for Men Is on the Rise—and No Longer a Taboo](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/05/14/makeup-for-men-is-on-the-rise-and-no-longer-a-taboo.html) Has this claim ever been true? Why do they keep making it? > [@](#): > > Androgyny is once again in fashion, and just in time: the long arm of gender equality has extended its reach past the boardrooms and into our bathrooms (and medicine cabinets). American consumers spent over $5 billion on men’s grooming products last year, over half of which went into skin care and cosmetics, according to the market data firm Euromonitor International (in 1997, by way of comparison, they spent $2.4 billion). By becoming attuned to the beauty industry, men are now openly availing themselves of the same opportunities afforded to women. > And it makes sense: if the whole mating game and song and dance (and so, to a large degree, human existence) is about power and seduction, why wouldn’t men employ tools that would stealthily make them appear to be more attractive, healthier, and generally successful? (Just be careful of your word choice: when it comes to the “rougher” sex, it appears that the use of the word “grooming”—which brings to mind the virility and polish of racehorses—is preferred industrywide over “makeup.”) One might wonder what’s taken them so long to join ranks; after all, blemishes don’t care whether you have a Y chromosome. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makeup-for-men-is-on-the-rise-and-no-longer-a-taboo-i-call-shenanigans-on-this-perennial-bs-claim/658381/2 "2013-05-15T06:34:48Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Why do they keep making it? How much money do you think the fashion industry makes off men not wearing make-up? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makeup-for-men-is-on-the-rise-and-no-longer-a-taboo-i-call-shenanigans-on-this-perennial-bs-claim/658381/3 "2013-05-15T06:58:59Z")
The only make-up you will ever find on me is when I have to scratch my nose when my hands are covered in the grime from the underside of one of my cars I happen to be working on at the time. Lately, its been the old Ford. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makeup-for-men-is-on-the-rise-and-no-longer-a-taboo-i-call-shenanigans-on-this-perennial-bs-claim/658381/4 "2013-05-15T07:15:49Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Has this claim ever been true? Why do they keep making it? I suspect wishful thinking, aided by some reporter who’s thrilled to think he might be hipper than thou. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makeup-for-men-is-on-the-rise-and-no-longer-a-taboo-i-call-shenanigans-on-this-perennial-bs-claim/658381/5 "2013-05-15T07:26:43Z")
The fashion industry wants it to be true so they can sell more makeup. It’s not that they believe it - they run these articles to get other people to believe it. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makeup-for-men-is-on-the-rise-and-no-longer-a-taboo-i-call-shenanigans-on-this-perennial-bs-claim/658381/6 "2013-05-15T09:12:45Z")
Factoid time. In India it’s pretty common for Muslim men to wear eyeliner. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makeup-for-men-is-on-the-rise-and-no-longer-a-taboo-i-call-shenanigans-on-this-perennial-bs-claim/658381/7 "2013-05-15T09:21:17Z")
PROTIP: the entire purpose of fashion, lifestyle, and entertainment “news” is to get people to buy shit. sadly, it must work. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makeup-for-men-is-on-the-rise-and-no-longer-a-taboo-i-call-shenanigans-on-this-perennial-bs-claim/658381/8 "2013-05-15T09:46:17Z")
Isn’t it bad enough that some guys are making their eyebrows DAINTY . . . or changing their eyebrows’ shape in spite of the shape of their face? ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makeup-for-men-is-on-the-rise-and-no-longer-a-taboo-i-call-shenanigans-on-this-perennial-bs-claim/658381/9 "2013-05-15T10:08:41Z")
The article mentions “$5 billion on men’s grooming products”, so that probably means men’s deodorant, shaving cream, after shave face cream and some hair product aimed specifically at men. I think there are also far more shower gels and shampoos marketed towards men now. A pretty far cry from make up. ---
**Author:** ![Saraya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Saraya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saraya)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makeup-for-men-is-on-the-rise-and-no-longer-a-taboo-i-call-shenanigans-on-this-perennial-bs-claim/658381/10 "2013-05-15T11:32:34Z")
> [@astro](#): > > I’m 54 and I’ve seen this claim practically every year by fashion articles. This might be true in certain youth oriented genres like emo/goth dress up, the urban music and artsy fartsy fashion scene or for some gay men, but the vast majority of men have no interest in wearing concealer, makeup and eyeliner etc. > > Here it is yet again. > > [Makeup for Men Is on the Rise—and No Longer a Taboo](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/05/14/makeup-for-men-is-on-the-rise-and-no-longer-a-taboo.html) > > Has this claim ever been true? Why do they keep making it? This is a bi-product or symptom of the big social surge to make women into men and men into women. Just swing by any preschool or early grade classrooms at your local elementary school. You’ll find little boys being coached and molded into submissive drones to serve the woman. What woman or women I don’t know; sure as hell not me. I wish men would go back to being men and act less like faggots - regardless of their sexual orientation. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makeup-for-men-is-on-the-rise-and-no-longer-a-taboo-i-call-shenanigans-on-this-perennial-bs-claim/658381/11 "2013-05-15T11:45:14Z")
> [@Saraya](#): > > What woman or women I don’t know; sure as hell not me. I wish men would go back to being men and act less like faggots - regardless of their sexual orientation. And I wish people would not be homophobic, would stop using offensive language and would let children just be who they are. I guess we both aren’t getting what we want. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makeup-for-men-is-on-the-rise-and-no-longer-a-taboo-i-call-shenanigans-on-this-perennial-bs-claim/658381/12 "2013-05-15T11:48:11Z")
Astro, these are the same people who have been claiming hats will get back into fashion. Not going to happen either. I concur with 95% of magazine info on make-up being written as editiorials, paid for by cosmetics. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makeup-for-men-is-on-the-rise-and-no-longer-a-taboo-i-call-shenanigans-on-this-perennial-bs-claim/658381/13 "2013-05-15T12:13:55Z")
[QUOTE=Saraya] wish men would go back to being men and act less like faggots - regardless of their sexual orientation. [/QUOTE] This is out of line and borders on trolling/hate speech. You are being warned and know that the staff are now discussing your future posting privileges. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makeup-for-men-is-on-the-rise-and-no-longer-a-taboo-i-call-shenanigans-on-this-perennial-bs-claim/658381/14 "2013-05-15T12:15:25Z")
FWIW, plenty of men do wear “acne treatment” with concealer included. They just don’t think of it as make-up. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makeup-for-men-is-on-the-rise-and-no-longer-a-taboo-i-call-shenanigans-on-this-perennial-bs-claim/658381/15 "2013-05-15T12:40:31Z")
My secret is out. I’ve spent more on my face paint than I ever did on my ghillie suit. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makeup-for-men-is-on-the-rise-and-no-longer-a-taboo-i-call-shenanigans-on-this-perennial-bs-claim/658381/16 "2013-05-15T13:11:22Z")
If “androgyny is back in fashion”, that’ll play hell with attempts to market Huggies and strained peaches to breeders. We could have a full-scale retail war on our hands. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makeup-for-men-is-on-the-rise-and-no-longer-a-taboo-i-call-shenanigans-on-this-perennial-bs-claim/658381/17 "2013-05-15T13:12:21Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > If “androgyny is back in fashion”, that’ll play hell with attempts to market Huggies and strained peaches to breeders. > > We could have a full-scale retail war on our hands. ☹ Androgyny doesn’t mean asexual. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makeup-for-men-is-on-the-rise-and-no-longer-a-taboo-i-call-shenanigans-on-this-perennial-bs-claim/658381/18 "2013-05-15T13:50:53Z")
The thing is, I think guys are kind of stupidly stubborn about these things. My SO has incredibly long, thick eyelashes, that are forever falling into his eyes and hurting him. I mean it - his lashes (and his hair) are so thick I have found them EMBEDDED into his and my skin. I occasionally suggest helping him look for some mascara, something very light and mild, to help him keep his lashes away from his eyes, but he wouldn’t consider it even if they were making him blind. And I’m sure there’s mascara out there just to pull the lashes away from the eye - he certainly doesn’t need thickening or length. God, that last sentence sounds filthy. Anyway, I’m sure lots of guys could use some stuff - like foundation and concealer at the very least, to cover acne or acne scars. BUT there is this cultural NO! That goes on. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makeup-for-men-is-on-the-rise-and-no-longer-a-taboo-i-call-shenanigans-on-this-perennial-bs-claim/658381/19 "2013-05-15T14:02:48Z")
With the exception of a couple of very out gay guys I’m friends with, I don’t know of any straight men who wear anything approaching makeup, and even the gay guys just do a bit of eyeliner. However, the men’s grooming product market has exploded. When I was a kid/teenager, it was pretty much some combination of Edge, Foamy or Barbasol for shave cream, Aqua Velva or Skin Bracer for aftershave, and either cheap-ass hair spray or gel or something like Brylcreem or Vitalis if you wanted gender-specific hair products. Soap was soap, with the general options of Zest, Coast, Irish Spring, Safeguard, Dial or Lifebuoy. Now, there are probably easily a dozen separate shaving products- foams, gels, non-foaming creams, and then each one has a counterpart balm that goes with it, and some lines even have pre-shave, shave, and post-shave products, as well as general-purpose moisturizers and stuff. You have all the soaps above, plus another dozen or more types of body washes, hair and body washes, hair and body wash + shave cream, etc… And all the dandruff shampoos are mostly marketed toward men as well. Then there are body sprays and other stuff like that as well. I’ll admit that the products can work well- I do like different shaving creams and see some value in aftershave balm, but I don’t really need bodywash, body spray, or pre-shave conditioner, nor do I need all manner of hair products, etc… I guess if I was 13, it might make more sense. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makeup-for-men-is-on-the-rise-and-no-longer-a-taboo-i-call-shenanigans-on-this-perennial-bs-claim/658381/20 "2013-05-15T15:28:30Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > The thing is, I think guys are kind of stupidly stubborn about these things. My SO has incredibly long, thick eyelashes, that are forever falling into his eyes and hurting him. I mean it - his lashes (and his hair) are so thick I have found them EMBEDDED into his and my skin. I occasionally suggest helping him look for some mascara, something very light and mild, to help him keep his lashes away from his eyes, but he wouldn’t consider it even if they were making him blind. And I’m sure there’s mascara out there just to pull the lashes away from the eye - he certainly doesn’t need thickening or length. > > God, that last sentence sounds filthy. Anyway, I’m sure lots of guys could use some stuff - like foundation and concealer at the very least, to cover acne or acne scars. BUT there is this cultural NO! That goes on. There is clear mascara, so basically hair gel for eyelashes. Find a brand that doesn’t look like mascara and tell him it’s hair gel for eye lashes. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makeup-for-men-is-on-the-rise-and-no-longer-a-taboo-i-call-shenanigans-on-this-perennial-bs-claim/658381.md?page=2)