Men & Cosmetics – an encroaching phenomenon!
When people think of cosmetics, they don’t usually think of a man. Now it’s official, men are now wearing makeup. Don’t believe me? Next time you’re at the mall, take a look at the cosmetics section, where entire shelves are now dedicated to men. Guys have gone from secretly filching some of their girlfriends’ moisturizers, to owning enough beauty products to make most drag queens blush. How and why this happened remains more mysterious than Keanu Reeves’ Hollywood success.
It seems like only yesterday, we were reading about revolutionary new shaving products that were better suited for men’s skin. Clinically tested and approved, they provided better protection and kinder treatment to the face than the white foam men have used for generations before. Men’s skin differs from that of woman’s skin. It is between 16-20 percent thicker, more oily, hardens more quickly and secretes more impurities. A man’s skin has enlarged pores, is more shiny and suffers from frequent irritations due to shaving. With regard to gender, every skin needs care. Therefore Enter new lines of fancy moisturizers, after-shaves and soaps that promised to keep men’s skin healthy and young looking. Most men were able to forgive if not totally overlook the way such rhetoric, limited to women’s beauty magazines, crept into the phraseology of men’s issues. After all, if we were making strides in being healthy on the inside, external health was its logical extension.
Exactly how much are men spending on grooming products? The number of men who take care of their appearance increases every year. In 2012, the size of the male cosmetics market exceeded one trillion won ($897 million) and is expected to continue to increase, according to research conducted by AmorePacific. A new survey from ESensual.com says men are pilfering about $350 worth of their wife or girlfriend’s beauty products a year .The most common item to borrow was moisturizer.
