Whatever will be next in the name of fashion? A dangerous poser in this era of fame, flair and flamboyance. Having contemplated the topic of mens makeup being "marketing folly or about time", I immediately thought of men in theater raving about the smell of grease paint, an early stage makeup used by men and women. Considering years of being entertained by makeup clad characters of both sexes on stage and screen, and musicians now wearing it as a fashion accessory, deciding whether or not makeup for men is indeed folly or about time is very interesting as it seems to have existed to some degree for years.

Because of the huge amount of makeup being put on men in the television and film industry alone, it's readily available and therefore no folly at all. If it was folly it would've been found out by cosmetic manufacturers not to be cost effective to produce. As a non makeup wearing male (yeah, thats what I say on here!) another valid point is that fashion trends created by musicians and pop stars always create a retail gold rush with fans clambering to be like their idols.

Manufacturers obviously put a lot of thought into the production and properties of their products but I find when snuggling with my girlfriend the smell of make-up is chemical and overpowering. It obviously doesn't affect women because they wear it. Makeup is normally scent free, to avoid the irritation of womens delicate skin, but the scent that exists gets associated with a feminine type aroma for the obvious reason - that's where the smell lies, on women. To avoid mens makeup being folly it should contain a slight scent of cologne, to separate it from the associations of the regular aroma. This would open the possibility of a whole new range of mens makeup in the scent of their favorite cologne or aftershave. The fact of it existing in their favorite scents 'range' will also encourage them to try it.

So, is it "folly or about time"?, neither. Certainly not folly and as far as I'm aware it's been available and selling successfully for years and with the increase of pop stars makeup indulgence it's sure to expand exponentially. If it was folly and not doing so well these very clever cosmetic corporations would address it and turn it to a roaring success because, after all, they have my girlfriend and most women manipulated, spending small fortunes on products they wear, fine enough so you can't see them (a case of the Emperors new clothes), along with items they don't use but they buy because of trendy adverts and celebrity association.

Learn more about this author, Lee Gee.
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