Male makeup market booming in UK
Last updated on: 02 August,2019 07:30 pm
Around 1 in 20 UK men now wears makeup regularly, with around 1% wearing it every day.
LONDON (Reuters) - Around 1 in 20 men in the UK now wear makeup frequently, according to research company YouGov and business seems to be booming with one new retailer selling out within two months of launching.
Daniel Gray founded online men’s makeup company War Paint after being bullied at school and using his sister’s makeup to help boost his confidence.
Offering products ranging from concealers and foundation to bronzer and brushes the company launched in November 2018 and has been doing well since.
"It’s been an absolutely amazing journey for us and we’ve been going 7 months and you know, we ran out of products after 2 months, when I forecasted for a year’s worth of product," Gray told Reuters recently. "So, I think that just shows you the demand that there is for this market now."
War Paint says it has seen a 36% month on month growth in sales. Meanwhile shops such as makeup store Tilt are giving more shelf space to brands targeted specifically at men.
According to research company YouGov around 1 in 20 UK men now wear makeup regularly, with around 1% wearing it every day.
"We’ve explored what the reasons are why men wear makeup and when they wear it. Some say they’re just wearing it in private at home. Some are wearing it going out in the evening with friends or on a date. Or sometimes, to look more professional at work," Data journalist Victoria Waldersee from YouGov told Reuters.
According to market research group Euromonitor, the men’s grooming market in the UK was worth almost $2.2 billion in 2018, up slightly on the previous 12 months.
One factor that has propelled men’s beauty into the mainstream is social media.
Beauty Vloggers like Reuben de Maid share images and videos with their hundreds of thousands of followers.
Male workers from Thomson Reuters in London took a look at some of War Paint’s products and discussed its uses.
Once considered a taboo the evidence suggests that social norms around men wearing makeup are easing in the UK and worldwide.
Certainly, that is what worker Juris Abramenko has experienced in the capital:
"Definitely the perceptions are changing because walking around London I do see that some men are visibly wearing makeup and it’s not, that they’re making a statement with it."