2019, they say, may well be the year that men’s makeup finally makes it – in other words it becomes properly mainstream. It’s taken long enough.
Men haven’t truly embraced cosmetics since they sported alabaster complexions in the 18th century – the definition of masculinity was such that use of it declined to zero (with a few notable exceptions – David Bowie, Boy George, Marc Almond ..).
The growth in this market is thought to be down to the way gender is being positively redefined, and partly because of the way core beauty companies like Tom Ford, Chanel and Marc Jacobs have broken boundaries with their recently launched male makeup lines, which offer products that deliver a well-groomed look as opposed to Bowie-esque drama.
And on the niche-but-scaling-up-impressively side is MMUK Man – a male makeup line created by Alex Dalley which is set to turnover up to £5m this year while it rolls out into 15 new territories.
