Korean men discover makeup
A woman watches her boyfriend getting a makeover
It is a growing trend in Korea for regular men (i.e., not just actors and performers) to wear makeup in the form of concealer, foundation, powder, and eyeliner. As seen in The Korea Herald:
Though it might yet come as a surprise to some people, more and more men are using makeup. They enjoy not only basic skin care like skin lotion and lip balm but full makeup from creamy foundation bases to smoky eyeliners.
Following the trend, makeup salons for men are gaining popularity.
In fact, the makeup salon featured in this article originally opened with the purpose of serving men and only added makeovers for women later. Naturally (this is Korea), they now offer couples’ makeovers.
Women make up about 60 to 70 percent of Loft:D’s customers but there are some who bring—or drag—their boyfriends with them. They receive a unique service named the “Couple Makeup Event.”
The service includes makeup service for the couple, drinks, snacks and two hours in a private photo studio. A professional photographer takes pictures of the couple once the makeover is finished and the couple can take home a small album
[…]
“He used to look like this back in high school. It would be weird if he says he wants to wear makeup like this everyday, but looking at him now, I’m thinking some more skin treatment on him would be nice,” said one satisfied girlfriend, 24-year-old Kim Jwa-young.
Other bits from the article:
“I spent many years in Japan where it is natural for guys to shape their eyebrows, so putting on some makeup is not weird for me at all. I think men putting on makeup will soon be settled as a culture in Korea, just like how men getting perms did.”
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For men who are not yet familiar with makeup, the shop prepared a menu which customers can select from, as if choosing a drink at a cafe. The menu, which will continuously be updated, currently has three types of makeup for men - “Basic,” “Soft Smoky” and “Real Smoky.”
“Basic” simply covers up the blemishes, while “Soft Smoky” adds some accent to the eyes with brown underlines. To get an idea of “Real Smoky,” well, think of Big Bang member T.O.P.’s eyes.
While I am all about T.O.P. and his cohorts wearing makeup, I am not okay with the rest of this. I know that I probably should be, but I’m not, perhaps because I cannot get behind a girlfriend goading or cajoling her boyfriend into doing this, or perhaps because on more than one occasion I’ve seen one of my male co-workers sweat his makeup off in pale watery rivulets that ran into his shirt collar. Or maybe I simply like my man clean-faced. Does that make me a crazy hypocrite?
I will completely judge any dude who wears make up. Pop-stars included. The Undertaker is the only person who is allowed to wear eye liner.
