The male beauty boom pt. 2

I thought it was time to talk about the male beauty boom again, prompted by Forbes recently pointing to it as one of the ‘3 Big Trends Impacting the Beauty Industry Right Now’. (The other two were modern marketing, and tech innovations – to put it into perspective).

Men’s use of personal care products has almost doubled since 2004, the article reports – with men now using 11 personal care products daily, on average. As we all know, way beyond traditional shaving and shower products, men are embracing skincare, haircare, cosmetics, and self-care like never before. Yet in our rapidly evolving beauty landscape it’s a market segment that’s often underestimated.

I say this as someone conscious of speaking to the 20% of Harper’s Bazaar’s audience who identify as male. My approach is not necessarily to feature offerings tailored to them (though sometimes that’s the case – as with our men’s fragrance guide, for example), but to craft messaging that’s inclusive, and emphasises that beauty and self-care is for all.

When it comes to discovering new men’s and unisex products, I’m looking for those that are smart, sustainable, simple to choose and use, as well as convenient to buy online. Above all, they must be efficacious, delivering tangible results. Pitch them for round-up style guides (e.g., ‘The Best Facial SPFs’), trend features (e.g., ‘A/W Beauty Trends to Try Now’) or specific franchises (e.g., ‘The History of The Hero’).

Last year when I wrote about men’s grooming in this newsletter, I focussed on male celebs breaking into the beauty biz (think Idris Elba, Harry Styles, Pharrell Williams). I’ve seen since that readers are hungry for insights into their product and self-care routines, and I’m on a mission to shoot some video footage with male A-listers, where they showcase the contents of their grooming kits. Have a client that’s game? I’m all ears.