SASKIA WILSON AT ARTBOXBLACK. STYLED BY MICHELLE JACKSON AND KATE LANCASTER. PRICES APPROXIMATE
eek,darkcylinderslinedupinmybathroomcabi-
et: if thisis transgression,it feels like the busi-
ess-classendofit.Asyoumayhavenoticed—or
ot,dependingonthelevelof skillinitsapplication
men’s makeupis goingmainstream,following
hegenderlessrevolutionthathassweptfashion,fra-
rcare.Thepotentialmarketis huge—halfthepop-
ulation — and boldface brands are jumping at it, from early
adopterYvesSaintLaurent,whichreformulateditsToucheÉclat
concealerpenformenin 2008,to TomFord,Chanel,MarcJacobs
BeautyandGivenchy.Andtoday,as a manwhosetoiletriesbagis
alwaysemptierthana bachelor’sfridge,I’vebeenaskedtotrialit.
Arrayedin frontof meareproductsfromtheBoydeChanelline,
thesimple-clevernamea nodtoCocoChanel’sloverArthur‘Boy’
Capel, and Givenchy’s newly revampedMister range, which is
pitchedas unisex(thoughit stoppedshortof spellingitself‘Misster’).
I havea MatifyingStick,a CorrectivePen,a mattliquidfoundation,
a lipbalmanda browpencilthatdoublesas a facialhairfiller.We’re
atthedefine-and-concealendofthespectrum,withshimmering,
colourful self-expression being the other; somewhere beyond
grooming,butnotquitemakeupmakeup,either.
WiththemilddoubtI usuallyfeelwhentack-
linga full-oncookingrecipe,I washanddrymy
face,fetchmycoffee,propaniPadbythesink
and cue up the how-tovideo onchanel.com.
Shot in French New Wave-esque black and
white,a RonanFarrowlookalikeappliesfoun-
dation in decisive smearsusinghis fingertips.
Hetakesthepencilanddeftlycrayonsalonghis
brows,thenusesthebrushendtoflickupand
out. Obediently, if less competently, I follow
along,hittingpausenowandthenfora glugof
coffeeandtonotewithsilentwondertheweird-
nessofpores.Thefoundation,a Medium(the
thirdlightestof eightshades),is toodarkforme
andgoesonlikeclay,butthatcouldbedownto
overapplication. The eyebrow pencil (Light
Brown,thelightestoffourshades),however,is
subtle.I can’ttasteorseethelipbalm,butI knowit’stherebya
slightstickyfeelinginthecoolair,remindingmewhyI ranfrom
Chapstickas a kid.Inall,theresultsaremuchlessdisturbingthan
mySnapchat‘baby’filter.Themirrordoesn’treflectthesad-clown
faceI wassomehowexpecting.Justme,withslightlyheaviereye-
browsandmoreevenskin.I thinkmyeyesmaybepopping.
Givenchy’stutorialis alsoinblackandwhite,a split-screenof
maleandfemalemodels.Again,thevibeis zerofussandnatural.
I rolltheMatifyingStickovermyT-zoneanddottheCorrective
Pen(LightBeige,thefirstoffourshadesthatgouptoCaramel)
aroundmynowpermanentundereyeshadows,throughthepink-
ish creases aroundmy nostrils andover a coupleof blemishes
abovemybeardlineI hadn’tnoticeduntilthen.I finger-rubit in.
Theresultisn’ta transformation,butsomething is different,and
definitelyimproved.Likea roomthat’sjustbeenvacuumed.
I probablywouldhavelovedallthisas a teenager,whenI wasmore
...investedin myregimen.I hada medical-gradecream,stolenfrom
mysister,toblitzspotsas theyappeared(leavingtinycrustsI would
beremindedofyearslatervisitinghotspringsinNewZealand);a
fussysensitive-skinsoap(tosoothethedamagecausedbythecream);
anobscurebrandof dandruffshampoo(a sortof specialsauceforthe
malesin myfamily);andanairportbin’sworthof gels,moussesand
sprays to tease and freezemy verydodgy quiff.Over theyears,
a combination of less time, less excited hormonesand better hairchoiceshasseenmeparedownmyritualto:cleanser,SPF,moistur-
iserand,if I’mfeelingdecadent,a spritzof LeLabo.Andthatserves
mefine,whetherfora workdayora wedding—OK,OK,I’llshave
forthewedding.If it wasn’tformyjobatBAZAAR, I’dstillthink
thewaterlinewassomethingyouscruboffthebath.
Puttingonmybestfaceshouldstirsomekindofgeneticmem-
ory,as thehistoryof menbeautifyingthemselvesis long,predating
CaptainJackSparrow’sguylinerbyat leastsixmillennia(andI
don’t mean the collective noun for millennials). As early as
4000 BC,Egyptianmenwererockingtheoriginalfelineflick—
mimickingthecatstheyrevered—courtesyofkohlandground
malachite.A thousand yearslater,Japanese andChinese dudes
werepaintingtheirnailstodenotestatus(muchas myformerflat-
mateusedpolishto expresshisloveof thebandPlacebo).Powdered
whitemalefaces(usinglead),rougedcheeksandfauxbeautyspots
werealltherageintheroyalcourtsof18th-centuryEurope.
If themonarchywerethemale-makeupinfluencersoftheirday
backthen,nowwehavethe‘beautyboys’of InstagramandYouTube:
namessuchas PatrickStarrr, Flawless Kevin,Jake-Jamie, Plastic
Boy,MannyMUAandJamesCharles.Thelastclaimstobejusta
“19-year-oldkidwitha few blendingbrushes”
butis,infact,thefirstmaleCoverGirlfaceanda
titan of the makeup tutorial, with 15 million
YouTubesubscribers.Theirbestvideoscelebrate
makeupas expression—permission,even,tobe
yourself, or a different version of yourself.
Makeupartist Joel Phillips,who is repped by
Vivien’sCreativeandwhoseworkhasappeared
in thesepages,applaudstheseinfluencersforena-
bling“menof allskintonesandfromallwalksof
lifetoenvisionthemselvesinmakeup”.But,he
adds,acceptancehasa waytogo.“I’dlovetosee
thediversityandself-expressionleavethesocial
media platformand be shown in department
stores,marketingcampaignsandbillboards.”
Oneareawheremakeuphasalwayscoloured
outsidegenderlinesis thearts,from17th-cen-
turyJapanesekabukitheatre,wheremaleactors
channelledtheessenceof femininity,totherootsof dragin vaude-
ville.Withoutstagemakeup,createdtofightthefeature-erasing
glareofspotlights,wewouldn’thavecontouring,themegatrend
belovedbyvloggersof usingdarker foundationorconcealerto
boostdefinition.Inmusic,whetherit’sZiggy’slightningboltor
Jagger’siridescent lids, Prince, Boy George or AdamLambert,
makeuphas longtelegraphedindividualityand dramathe way
Marshallstacksamplifytheriffs.Andonscreen,men’smakeupis a
shortcuttosubversivenessorsexualpotency,fromRockyHorror’s
Frank-N-FurtertoGameof Thrones’ KhalDrogo(themanis prac-
ticallynamedafterkohl).PhillipspointstoRuPaul’sDragRaceand
dancedramaPoseas TVseriesdoingmuchtodemocratisebeauty.
If,asmarketerssay,genderis ‘dead’forGenZ,wecanexpect
men’s/unisexmakeup tobroaden over timeto includelipsticks,
blusherandeye-shadowpalettestoflattereveryskintone.(Chanel,
forone,hintsat plansforanexpandedBoyline.)Maybe,as mywife
suggests,it’sinevitablethatmenwillwantto trytheconfidence-giv-
ing“mask”at workthatmakeupcanbeforwomen.Whichbegsa
question:if mengetmakeup,dowomengetequalpay?I hopethat’s
wherewe’reheading.Fornow,let’sjustagree:vanityis universal.
I clickthecapsbackontomyminiarsenalofproducts,turnoff
theiPadandwanderthroughthehouse,madeup,andfeelinga bit
ofa fraud.Mywife’sinourbedroom.Sheappraisesme with her
painter’s eye. “Looks natural,” she says with a shrug.“Themirror
doesn’treflectthe
sad-clownface
I wassomehow
expecting.
Justme,with
slightlyheavier
eyebrowsand
more even skin.”
175 HARPERSBAZAAR.COM.AU September 2019
BEAUTY