I was playing around with some foundation together with my SO, preparing for a costume party, and she was taking photos of he entire process… And I realized that, dang, foundation is like magic!
Now, I still wouldn’t wear makeup on normal days, but it got me thinking. Even the bible mentions women with painted faces, but why not men? Will it ever be acceptable in mainstream society for men to wear makeup?
At least one person is promoting it and making this his business:
Didn’t Ronald Reagan wear a lot of it?
In college I often wore foundation, particularly to cover up the occasional blemish. Very few people even took notice of it. If they did, it was just an, “Oh, you wear foundation” comment. I was certainly never ostracized for it socially or professionally. My complexion is a lot better now, so I don’t really see a need to spend money on foundation anymore.
Perhaps the people I worked and socialized with were just of the open-minded sort, but I never really found it to be socially unacceptable. Unusual, perhaps, but not unacceptable.
And, of course, mainstream society requires a bit of definition. What’s unacceptable in one society/culture may not be so in another. Within a single nation, even, mores, folkways, and taboos differ significantly from region to region.
ETA:
Nah, you’re thinking of J. Edgar Hoover. 
I don’t think it unacceptable for men to wear makeup. To each his own. If it makes you feel better about yourself, then why not? David Bowie, Eddie Izzard, ect. It’s just pigments-in-a-pot, not estrogen!
I’m female, and I only wear make-up when I want to look extra-special. Being retired, I don’t go out much any more; but when I do, then I use blusher, eyeshadow, eyeliner and mascara. And I feel fabulous when I do. Men shouldn’t be denied the extra “wow” factor that women gain from cosmetics.
I’ve never understood why makeup is a “chicks-only” thing in our culture. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
Well, there are a lot of guys like me, for whom any personal grooming beyond keeping clean and combing our hair (with our fingers, sometimes - I don’t even own a comb) feels like a waste of time.
Because no amount of grooming will ever make you look good?
Or, is it that you look so good that with all the grooming in the world you could never possibly look any sexier?
The second one, of course.
One of my best friends regularly wears “guyliner” and nail polish. It suits him and doesn’t detract from his masculinity at all.
When I was a freshman in college, I was teasing a girl that if she didn’t get to bed soon she would have unsightly dark circles under her eyes. She told me that if she did, it was nothing a little concealer couldn’t hide. This was the first time it ever occurred to me that women could use make up to hide such a thing. Since then I have been EXTREMELY jealous. I always have dark circles under my eyes and even in the best circumstances it is still really dark.
So I bought concealer specifically designed for men. I only wear it under really rare circumstances though. If I’m speaking in front of a large audience or going to be on TV or going to have my picture taken. This happens maybe more often than your average person but still only a few times a year.
At any rate, I predict that it will eventually be acceptable. There’s already so much fru fru skin and hair product just for men… it’ll happen eventually.
Very subtle eyeliner really makes my eyes standout in wonderful ways, but I absolutely hate applying the stuff and always have (for the same reason I hate contacts), so I don’t use it outside of costume applications.
Here’s a perfect example of a situation where it is not only 100% acceptable for a man to wear makeup, but it is even expected of him. Actors/politicians/other male (as well as female) celebrities have worn makeup when in front of the camera. You want to look your best in these situations and it is hard to do so naturally. I’m sure Reagan and plenty other presidents have worn makeup when making television appearances, even if just a little powder to reduce glare from lighting.
ETA: Oops, sorry for the double post :smack:
Yes that’s a very good point. To add to it though, in my examples nobody really cares enough to expect me to wear makeup. I’m just honestly not that important. Best case scenario someone pulls at my shirt or jacket to make sure it’s laying right. BUT it’s my appearance and I personally care enough about it to put some concealer on because I want to look my best. So I predict that men wearing makeup will graaaadually become more and more acceptable. Maybe in 10 years, young men will figure, hey why not wear it for a job interview. In another 10, maybe they’ll start wearing it on dates. I don’t think we’ll reach a point where “most” men wear makeup, considering how many don’t comb their hair now or use facial cleanser or whatever else people don’t do. It’s just a question of being reasonably acceptable.
I only wish more guys would wear eyeliner. < swoon >
Seriously?? That’s not a sentiment that I’ve heard expressed much, if at all.
Well waddaya know! Guyliner and Manscara.
Still, a quote which sums up my thoughts on this:
There seem to be two things the fashion industry really wants to happen: men wearing makeup and men wearing skirts. I’ve been seeing this since the late 70’s. About every four or five years I read an article from the fashion industry talking about how makeup & man-skirts is poised to be the next big thing. Never happens. It’s like hydrogen cars. You can practically set your watch every four or five years about how it’s poised to happen.
I have known guys who will use concealer over a blemish or scar, but that’s about it. What I could maybe see happening someday is for it to become a fashion to paint a really obvious tribal warrior-type mark on your face or something. Guys are into that.
I don’t see guys ever using makeup the way women do, though.
Yeah, but it’s mostly due to the fellow that I’m head-over-heels in love with. And yes, I’m apparently a freak as well.
I know that’s an old picture, but I didn’t want to spend a jazillion hours going through my collection to be able to differentiat between stage makeup and just looking too hot to live. So sue me. 
By the way, back in the day, he attempted to market his own mascara. It wasn’t all that big of a hit, but man it would be awesome to own some today!
I know that there are quite a few guys working for Ringling Brothers (and similar firms) that wear a LOT of makeup.
Become an actor / television personality. Not only will it be acceptable for you to wear make-up, but expected.
Young Japanese men quite often use makeup of some sort.
Japan has an entirely different history of sex roles though.
