I found this article off my linkedin account and I found it very interesting. It originated from
http://www.insidecosmeceuticals.com/. It all about bringing awareness to the fact that more and more men are starting to use skincare and cosmetics on themselves.......
What's Gender Got to Do With it?
" Generally, makeup is marketed exclusively to women. Women wear foundation, concealer, eyeliner, eye shadows; they straighten and blow dry their hair; and they are usually the one with the five different shampoos and conditioners in the shower. But what if women aren’t the only ones using these products? What if the boys are sneaking around the bathroom covering their morning circles with their girlfriend’s concealer, or freshening with up a creamy foundation?
An article in Daily Mail reported men’s secret “female” habits. One out of 10 British men admitted borrowing a couple drops of their girl’s foundation or concealer, and one in ten men surveyed confessed to using hair removal cream or wax. What’s more, seven percent used a hair straighter and one-third of the men surveyed said they’d used their partners’ nail and hair products. That doesn’t even cover fake tans, eyeliner or mascara use.
This may be men’s silent way of asking for beauty products of their own. Why are women the only one to use makeup (besides news anchors and actors)? Men get dark circles, blemishes and bad hair days, too. Are men’s beauty products an uptapped market? The demand and usage may not be as high as women’s, but it appears there is not only potential but a need for men’s beauty products.
In fact, Business Week reported an increase in Japanese cosmetic sales, as more Asian men are buying male beauty products.
According to trade ministry data, men’s skin care products experienced a 17-percent increase (to 17.6 billion yen) in 2008, while an industry wide decrease of 0.2 percent (to 1.51 trillion yen) was experienced. Euromonitor predicts global sales of men’s grooming products will see a 12-percent increase (to $29.3 billion) between 2008 and 2013. "
I agree that is an untapped market....Since cosmetics are marketed only to women, it discourages men to even think about trying cosmetics. The only men who do are either gay or they are very comfortable with their sexuality. They do not want to be judged for wearing make-up. Currently, in the US market, the only cosmetics that are made for men that is color based is Jean Paul Gaultier's Monsieur. I know with the success of men skin care products you can gently guide men into wearing cosmetics....but it all comes down to marketing and putting the idea into the public’s lime light....and I’m not talking about big, think manliner, but concealer and anti-again creams might do really well if we can get men to wear them. I'm 22 and I wear Smashbox photo finish primer, and MAC tinted moisturizer and studio fix powder. I wear it lightly and 90% of the time, if i do it right, nobody knows i have anything on my face. I wear it to be more presentable and basically to CORRECT my face flaws. And just for a side note, my 50 year old father will occasionally come over and cover up some blemishes that he might have and has ever said that if Makeup were marketed to men, he might be persuaded to buy some. Some really great skincare for men is Lab Series which is carried in Macy and Bloomingdales. Check them out!
KEY ITEM: Start men off with a Tinted Skin MOISTURIZER!!!!!!!!
What do you think about Men using cosmetics?
Here are some other sources that this article was based on...
Me and FIDM Beauty, HeyDoYou beauty blogger, and my friend, Yvonne at the Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics booth.
Great brush company Crown Brush.
Classes and Workshops that were being offered!
FIDM Beauty Students "Team Cool" 