Men’s makeup has been niche for 60 years, but Gen Z might finally make it work. Mintel found 52% of U.S. men now use skincare products, up from 31% in 2022, and 18-27-year-old men are driving nearly all the growth. And while extending that interest to makeup isn’t mainstream yet, there are seeds of a potential takeoff. The best example is French TikTok star Bách Buquen, a 20-year-old straight influencer with 9M followers who’s earning $500K annually from sponsorships with MAC and Charlotte Tilbury by “normalizing makeup for men.” Unlike heavily glammed-up predecessors like James Charles, Buquen’s approach is subtle: light foundation, a bit of blush, nothing dramatic. He treats makeup like a real-life blurring filter, something to cover blemishes and boost confidence, and the strategy is resonating with Gen Z guys obsessed with optimizing their appearance for front-facing cameras. (Bloomberg)
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