#Makeupisgenderless?

When was the last time you looked at a guy and thought ‘gosh your skin looks so amazing’. I can guarantee you its not as often as you look at a woman and compliment her on her ‘glowy’ or ‘flawless’ skin. As I’m sure you’d agree skin itself has no gender and with the rising shift in society to be ‘Mr Metrosexual’, there’s no surprise that Male Makeup is set to be a big trend.

Youtuber Jake- Jamie Ward (aka The Beauty Boy) who’s recent campaign #Makeupisgendless went viral, said,"To me, makeup is genderless - just a very powerful tool that can generate confidence".

It is very difficult for me to disagree with this statement, as I believe that social perfectionism affects both men and women with an ever-increasing pressure to achieve a higher level of flawlessness.

I love the fact that I can use concealer to hide dark circles under my eyes and use colour correct products to even out my skin tone to draw less attention to scars left from teenage acne. Throw into the mix some of the skills that I have learnt in my years in the beauty industry, I love the fact that I can also I can use makeup in both a functional and a way.

My question is, if I can freely use products to enhance and cover areas that make me feel more confident in doing so, why should I be against a man doing so? This trend does not refer to men who use makeup for reasons such as, vitiligo, pigmentation, rosacea and as much as I love RuPaul, David Bowie, Prince and Johnny Depp (partial to a bit of guy liner), the trend around Male Make-Up to natural and functional uses rather than the fabulously expressive art of drag queens or entertainment industry expressions.

I asked a lot of my family, friends and colleagues the question. ‘Is Make-Up Genderless?’ Some were very quick to say it would so be a deal breaker with a potential partner, few said they would understand if it was for medical reasons and others also said that they would feel uncomfortable sharing make-up with their partner. Although there is a huge stigma attached to men self enhancing, I see using makeup in general as creating the opportunity to put the best possible version of yourself forward. No, I don’t think every man should wear makeup but those who feel the need to use it to perfect their complexion without looking overly made up just like I do as a woman, should not be judged. (Pic: Wayne Goss MUA).

However, The Beauty Boy referred to people who don’t understand men wanting to wear makeup as being ‘small minded’, which is so wrong. I look at it this way, we all read books at different speeds and some of us don’t read at all, so if people are on a different page to you, to refer to them as small minded is ill-judged. You assume other people know what it feels like to be you but the hard truth is that the only one who will ever feel that is YOU!

As much as others may not agree, my personal relationship with Make-Up and how it makes me feel, allows me to boldly say I believe MAKE-UP HAS NO GENDER. Just like body image issues also has no gender, if in today’s society a man chooses to use make up to feel more comfortable in his own skin and help areas that affect his confidence, questioning his masculinity is the wrong way to look at it. Just like having a beard does not make you anymore of a man.

Gender roles can be restricting for both men and women and societies perpetuated ideal for both is damaging in preventing the ability to be true to yourself and express yourself in a way that makes you FEEL good.

With the UK Market for Male Grooming expected to be worth £1billion by next year I wonder which one of our most loved beauty brands is cooking up a No make up Make up line for men.

What do you think ‘Is Make-Up Genderless’? How does wearing makeup make you feel? Leave your comments below and don’t forget to share this post.

Mamamayah

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