GQ USA - 11.2019

Idol the man didn’t become Billy Idol the image—all spiked hair

and surly sneer—by accident. When he arrived on the London

punk scene in the mid-’70s, Idol started doing his own stage

makeup: a little shading to emphasize his razor-sharp cheeks

and some liner to frame his piercing blue eyes. “I didn’t always

blend as well as I should have,” he admits. But his DIY routine

formed the basis of his soon-to-be-timeless look. “That was

the fun of it, really,” Idol recalls. “The fashion and makeup, it

made a statement, which was that you can control your own

image. You can create yourself.”

If the English glam rockers and punks showed the way

toward radical self-creation 40 years ago, we have now, finally,

reached Full Male Beauty. A dialed beauty routine, whether

on the level of Idol’s subtle glow-up or David Bowie’s more

theatrical transformations, can be as important a part of that

self-expression as clothing. “I see constant support for men

wearing makeup,” says model Casil McArthur, 20. If you don’t

believe him, consider this: Chanel rolled out a men’s makeup

line last year. Not to mention the legions of people who have

long embraced beauty products regardless of to whom they

are marketed. Daniel Kaluuya became one of the 56 percent of

American men who, according to one survey, wore a cosmetics

product in 2018 when he showed up to last year’s Oscars with

a face of Fenty Beauty foundation. By next year, it’s predicted,

the male grooming market will be worth over $55 billion.

So here we are: the first-ever beauty portfolio in GQ’s 62-year

history, starring Idol, McArthur, and five other fearless men.

Some, like R&B singer Ian Isiah, feel more like themselves in a

little makeup. Others, like the new Terminator, Gabriel Luna,

are simply stoked that the concept of masculinity is now

wide open for the occasional beauty flex, that we’re freeing

ourselves from outmoded ideas of how men can and can’t

express—or create—themselves. “If you want to wear makeup,”

says McArthur, “your gender identity shouldn’t prevent it.”

←←←

Casil McArthur, 20

Model

McArthur’s been one

of the most visible and

outspoken Gen-Z

trans models ever since

he booked his first

male makeup campaign

at the age of 17. “I’m

trying to show people,

especially young, queer,

trans fans: Nobody

should be policing you,”

he says.

BEAUTY TIP: “Mascara

and lip tint. If I want to

be extra, I’ll incorporate

intense sparkles.”

jacket $2,890

shirt $1,245

Alexander McQueen

←←

Luka Sabbat, 21

Model, Influencer Par

Excellence, Actor

The Grown-ish star has

a laissez-faire grooming

routine—“it’s all about

the perv ’stache”—but

he also books beauty

campaigns. “I love when

people put makeup on

me,” he says. His review

of this rainbow-smear

eye: “I look like a

bad bitch.”

BEAUTY TIP: “Drink mad

water.”

jacket $2,295

Lanvin

jeans $198

Levi’s Authorized

Vintage

necklace (top) $24,300

Cartier

necklace (bottom),

his own

116 GQ.COM NOVEMBER 2019