Chanel has announced a makeup line designed specifically for men and beauty gurus have some varying thoughts.
‘Boy de Chanel’ is expected to be launched in Korea in November, before rolling out globally in boutiques from January 2019. PR and Communications Manager for Chanel (in Korea); Kristine Kim states “For Chanel, beauty is not a matter of gender; it is a matter of style. This new range allows men in their beauty routines to have the tools necessary to feel better about themselves. Moreover, men should be free to use makeup products to correct their appearance, without calling into question their masculinity.”
“By creating Boy de Chanel, its first make-up line for men, @CHANEL reaffirms the ever-changing codes of an unchanging vision: Beauty is not a matter of gender, it is a matter of style” https://t.co/5sXjNLBoQM
— British Vogue (@BritishVogue) August 21, 2018
The line will include a matte moisturizing lip balm, a tinted fluid and an eyebrow pencil which will be available in four different shades.
It is a rather thrilling concept, since beauty and makeup have been associated solely with the female gender through time. Going against norms in such a bold manner can be quite invigorating yet also controversial.
In recent times, men have become more welcoming to the concept of wearing makeup and enthusiasts like James Charles have even made a career out of it, by appearing on ad campaigns for Covergirl and uploading tutorials on YouTube.
However, as Jake-Jamie pointed out, men don’t feel particularly comfortable buying products since the targeted audience is generally women.
“Why does it have to be a boy’s eyebrow pencil? It’s just an eyebrow pencil! Having said that, I do understand that not all men are as open about wearing makeup as perhaps I am, and this could give them the confidence to purchase makeup without feeling ashamed of doing so.”
This line will surely provide a sort of makeup safe haven for men to be able to explore their cosmetic creativity at ease. Nevertheless, the question of why makeup has to be gender specific still remains…
