Thanks, but no thanks
The Guardian runs not one, but two articles today on make-up for men. Apparently, some manufacturers and stores think it is on the way.
It started with Russell Brand and Johnny Depp, but Superdrug is hoping makeup on men could go mainstream this summer. The high-street chemist is stocking its shelves with a range of cosmetics aimed directly at its male customers.
Guyliner, a £6.50 kohl pencil, will be in stores this week, closely followed by Manscara, a clear gel for lashes and brows. If they sell well, a lip balm and cover-up will follow.
Some guys, however, are not persuaded.
But are Britain’s men ready to start the day by enhancing their eyes or concealing their bags? Not according to 17-year-old Damon Aston, a jeweller from Watford, who agreed to try Guyliner, but couldn’t wait to get it off. “I would never wear it. It’s not manly, it’s just gimpy. I’m not that kind of boy. I don’t think girls would like it. It depends on the girl, but not the ones who like proper boys,” he insisted.
I admit it; it ever so slightly creeps me out. If my daughter brought home a boy with make-up, it would certainly beat body piercing.
In a related piece, with an exceedingly funny 37 second video of a guy getting make-up applied, Paul MacInnes is in flat out rebellion against it.
A man wearing makeup is like a toddler with a mortgage. It’s unnatural and likely to end in disaster. This has always been my line and it remains so today, despite growing evidence that British blokes are fast becoming slap-curious.
. . .
The great thing about men, in fact probably the only good thing given their inbuilt greed, anger, perpetual feelings of inadequacy and lack of physical flexibility, was that they couldn’t care less about grooming. In fact, until five years ago, the verb “to groom” was applied uniquely to horses.
MacInnes is a funny guy. Not only that, but the Guardian reports that he was the “public face” of the Guardian’s Operation Clark County, which did so much to help Bush win Ohio in 2004. You got to like him.