- Title: Male makeup market booming in UK
- Date: 31st July 2019
- Summary: WATFORD, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (RECENT) (REUTERS) WAR PAINT FOUNDATION ON SHELF IN WAR PAINT OFFICE WAR PAINT TINTED MOISTURIZER WAR PAINT FOUNDATION (SOUNDBITE) (English) DANIEL GRAY, FOUNDER AND CEO, WAR PAINT, SAYING: (SOUNDBITE IS OVERLAID WITH PICTURES OF GRAY SHOWING CONCEALER) "Yeah so individually our bestselling product is here, which is the concealer so. Just a real nice basic jar, just literally like a concealer which you can use to cover up blemishes, under eye wrinkles, darkness. So that's been a really nice seller for us, just cause I think it's real good introduction into like, yourself into makeup because it's quite a basic product to use.'' VARIOUS OF WAR PAINT BRONZER (SOUNDBITE) (English) DANIEL GRAY, FOUNDER AND CEO, WAR PAINT, SAYING: "Well what I wanted to try and do by creating a men-focus brand, is everything around the language, you know how to apply it. Men necessarily wouldn't want to go to a traditionally female-led product and try and find out the difficult thing on how to apply it because they're not necessarily wouldn't be a man doing it or showing different techniques. So I think by creating a male specific brand then you have, you have makeup for everyone and the overall goal is that you make makeup gender neutral rather than the brand because I don't think a lot of men aren't still going be comfortable going out, especially walking in a department store, to a female section, a female counter to buy a female product as well." WAR PAINT FOUNDATION VARIOUS OF WAR PAINT BRUSHES (SOUNDBITE) (English) DANIEL GRAY, FOUNDER AND CEO, WAR PAINT, SAYING: "I just think that now is a time where people are starting to understand and I don't want to say accept because I hate that word. It's just people are more open-minded to men being able to wear makeup and feeling confident enough, confident enough to do so. And then it all relates back to that confidence thing, there's a lot of men out there who would never try make up without a brand like ours around cause they would never have felt comfortable enough to do that and we've heard some amazing stories about how it’s really impacted lives and helped them overcome their own sort of insecurities as well. So it's been an absolutely amazing journey for us and we've being going seven months and you know, we've run out of product after two months, when you know I forecasted for a years’ worth of product. So I think that just shows you that the demand that there is for this, for this market now." LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (RECENT) (REUTERS) MAN STOOD IN MAKEUP SHOP 'TILT' IN CAMDEN, LONDON MAN/PRODUCTS ON SHELF VARIOUS OF WORKER ARRANGING GENTLEMAN'S POLISH FOUNDATION ON SHELF BEARD PRODUCTS/ FOUNDATION LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF DATA JOURNALIST FROM YOUGOV, VICTORIA WALDERSEE, WORKING ON COMPUTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) DATA JOURNALIST, YOUGOV, VICTORIA WALDERSEE, SAYING: "So anything from foundation, concealer to lipstick, mascara, eyeliner, I'm assuming it relates to what kind of an occasion they're wearing it for. We've explored what the reasons are why men wear makeup and when they wear it. Some say that 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."
- Embargoed: 14th August 2019 11:10
- Keywords: makeup men male makeup cosmetics warpaint Reuben de Maid
- Location: LONDON AND WATFORD, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM / VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS, ITALY
- City: LONDON AND WATFORD, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM / VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS, ITALY
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Living / Lifestyle,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA001AQ3ZTQX
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: 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."
(Production: Sarah Mills, Ben Makori) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None