A while ago a guy friend of mine (who will remain anonymous) came to me and told me that he wanted to talk about makeup. I didn’t know what he meant exactly because he was a little vague about it.
When we were with just the two of us, he asked “Is it weird for guys to wear makeup?” First I was baffled by the question (I hadn’t seen it coming from him) but then he proceeded to tell me that he had some insecurities about his under-eye area and some blemishes on his face that he struggled with for years.
Now I understood the question better. This guy was insecure about his looks and that maybe makeup could fix it. He knows that there’s a stigma around guys wearing makeup so he wanted my honest opinion. So, we talked about it and I told him that there was nothing to worry about if he wanted to start wearing makeup. I explained to him that he could do so without anyone noticing and he lit up!
After what was an hour of taking or so, I helped him look up which makeup items he would need, we ordered them and he started applying them! Now I am happy to say that he has a lot more confidence and it’s just our little secret!
That made me think about the fact that there are probably a lot more men than think that it would be weird for guys to start wearing makeup, so I decided to make this article about it and share my honest opinion!
Is it weird for guys to wear makeup?
No, it isn’t weird for guys to wear makeup. Now, of course, you don’t need any female opinion about it and you just can do what you want but I understand that there’s some kind of stigma around the idea.
The ideas around it range from the fact that it isn’t cool to wear makeup, you are gay if you wear makeup at all, and all that kind of nonsense. Of course, you aren’t gay when you wear makeup or any of that. You just want to make yourself look better or work with some insecurities you have. Nothing wrong with that. Most of the time other men will say something like the above to cover their own insecurities.
But from a females’ perspective, it isn’t weird for a guy to wear makeup. The fun thing is that we now see (slowly but surely) that the beauty industry wakes up and is catering more and more products to men.
Now we still have a long way to go, and even though the industry wakes up, doesn’t mean that all guys around the world have suddenly woken up, but the process is in motion and I think we’ll see that it will become more mainstream eventually.
Why is it OK for men to wear makeup?
It is always okay for men to wear makeup and there shouldn’t be a reason “why” it is ok for men to wear makeup. But let me explain why I think that men want to wear makeup and how I think that they can benefit from it.
Put your best face forward
It is ok for men to wear makeup because this way they can put their best face forward. Say you have an important event, a job interview, or a first date. You want to look your best. Because when you look your best, you feel your best. And when that’s the case, you’ll have a better overall performance. That’s also why they say: dress sharp to think sharp.
The way you are dressed and the way you look are both important factors for how you are perceived and how you come across to other people.
The desire is there
I personally think that the desire is there for men to pick om some makeup and put their best face forward. But, I think that there are also some misconceptions about makeup usage (like you can see it from a mile away for example) and the overall stigma that keeps men from trying it.
I know that men don’t want to walk down the street with redness on their faces, dark circles, or any other thing that we as ladies can already hide when we want to. The fact that the desire is there is also seen in the fact that big cosmetics brands now cater more and more of their products toward men.
Confidence booster
This is something I have experienced myself. I’m not a guy but the confidence that I get when I wear makeup is amazing. I know that people see the best version of me and when I use makeup I can hide the things that I’m uncertain about.
This is the same between men and women I think. Men can boost their confidence by wearing makeup because they can put their best face forward and I just know that they will feel like a million bucks when they do it!
What percentage of males wear makeup?
It’s great to see that more and more men start to wear makeup. Sometimes just for fun, sometimes as a confidence booster. Below I’ll give you some numbers out of a YouGov survey that asked British men.
- One in thirty men wears makeup either once a month or less.
- One in fifty men wear makeup on a weekly basis and one in a hundred men wear makeup every day
Now, after the survey, they also ran a follow-up to ask them more about their makeup habits. They asked them why and when they wear makeup to get a good overview of the motives for wearing makeup for men.
- one in a hundred men have worn makeup to look more professional in the workplace.
- One in twenty-five men has worn makeup when going out with friends. The same goes for men that are going on a date.
- One in six men has worn makeup in the context of fancy dress.
I hope this lets you see that a lot more people wear makeup. A lot more than you thought probably!
Below you’ll find a graph that better illustrates the above numbers.
What do you think when guys wear makeup?
What do I think about men who wear makeup? After reading this post you probably know where I stand on the matter. I think it is awesome that a guy wears makeup. The fact that he embraces his insecurities and finds a solution to them in the form of makeup is something I find great.
There’s nothing wrong with a guy that wants to wear makeup (doesn’t matter also why he wants to do this). He is not gay, he is not less cool… He’s just maybe trying to give himself a confidence boost by diminishing his insecurities to a level where he just functions better. Nothing wrong with that. I applaud men who take the road less traveled and start experimenting with it!
Again, there is nothing wrong with you if you want to start wearing makeup. Women in a beauty store a trained for this and have seen more men walking in and asking questions about makeup than you can probably imagine! Don’t be shy to ask them for advice. If you don’t want to do that I advise you to ask online for help. Starting out it can be information overload about what kinds of makeup you need, but with time and more knowledge, everything gets real simple!
Conclusion
No, it isn’t weird for a guy to wear makeup. They can do so for various reasons and that doesn’t make them any less of a man. If you’re the guy still reading and secretly want to start wearing makeup then go for it! Make well-informed decisions about which makeup you need and start your journey! If you apply it correctly you can even make it almost invisible to other people.
the great thing about not many men wearing makeup is the fact that no one expects men to wear makeup. Why is this great? This makes it even less likely that some people would see you wear it. There are just not focused on it!
Reading material
Did you find this article fun to read about? Nice! When you found this one helpful and fun to read, I think I have some other articles that you might like! Simply click below on one of the article links that you find interesting and start reading!
How to ask a girl to wear makeup?
What to do when guys ask me why I wear makeup?
How much makeup should I wear?
