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Up until now in western countries, most makeup and skincare products have been marketed toward gals – deodorant and body wash brands like Old Spice and Axe marked the extent to which hyper-masculine branding had washed over the personal care world. In the last few years, however, many companies have been taking staple skincare and makeup products consistently marketed towards women and turning them towards the guys.
These crossover products marketed toward the mainstream guy tend to stick to the utilitarian, every day products women might use – think eye cream, not eye shadow. These dude products also carry macho promises of “energizing” and “fueling” healthy skin, and they come in sleek packaging with guy-friendly colors. Below the manly packaging, the products sound pretty familiar: this summer guys can fake a glow with male-targeted sunless tanners from Kiehl’s and Shiseido, and Clinique’s skincare line for men carries M Cover, a butched-up guy’s concealer that is intended to camouflage blemishes, dark circles, and uneven tone. Nothing new there!
Of course, the key thing to remember here is that there’s never been anything stopping guys from buying lotions, creams, tanners, and concealer. The active ingredients in products like tanners and concealers behave exactly the same on male and female skin, which means that Clinique M is functionally no different than the Clinique concealer for women that’s been around for decades – which serves as a good reminder that oftentimes we’re paying for packaging more than product.
Still, there’s no reason a guy shouldn’t be able to hide the huge zit he woke up with, if it makes him feel better. The hidden upshot, too, is that sociological studies show that men are willing to spend less money on personal care than women. So if companies want guys buying their products, they’ll have to price accordingly – and smart women can snap up unisex products and avoid the all-too-common female price markup all together.
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