They don’t call Sal Cikikcioglu ‘the eyebrow king’ for nothing. The celebrity brow expert and social media sensation is a pro when it comes to brow shaping, styling and trends, so GLAMOUR UK are delighted that he’s joined us as our resident brow columnist.
Each month, Sal will be sharing his insider tips, tricks and trends with our readers.
This month, Sal shares his thoughts on about male grooming, gender-neutral makeup, and why 2019 should be the year of total beauty inclusivity.
Throughout my teenage years I was always interested in beauty products and makeup, seeing everyone look amazing on TV and in music videos made me wonder how I could look that good.
Why gender neutral beauty brands aren’t a trend, they’re here to stay
When I was younger there were no men wearing makeup or at least, it wasn’t talked about – there were no role models for me to aspire to be like. The thought of going up to a makeup counter at my local department store filled me with absolute dread, and makeup and beauty campaigns were full of women with very few exceptions – think Kate Moss Marky Mark for Calvin Klein. In those days, ‘men were men and women were women’.
Thankfully, times have changed, kind of.
Nowadays, it’s becoming more and more acceptable for men to wear makeup. Men are starting to talk more about how they look after their skin and the products they use, but generally speaking, the images that we see of men in makeup tend to be really elaborate. For everyday wear, it’s unlikely that we’re going to see men walking down the street wearing neon lipstick any time soon (although that would be fun).
I get a lot of messages from men asking me questions about makeup and grooming because they feel like there’s not a lot of information available to them or that they can’t ask their friends/partners – 30% of my followers are men, so there’s clearly a big appetite for advice and inspiration. We know men can sell makeup to women; James Charles’ palette for Morphe reportedly sold out globally in half an hour. I’d love to see something like this aimed directly at men.
When Huda Beauty, one of my biggest icons, launched a foundation range, she included men in her swatch chart wearing makeup, looking completely natural with wearable looks. It wasn’t the first time this has been done, but it was executed so well. I hope this is a sign of things to come. Similarly, ASOS recently rebranded their beauty offering as ASOS Face + Body, making it completely gender-neutral to encourage men to feel more comfortable, and delivering a beauty shopping experience that isn’t pink and fluffy.
Imagine if 2019 was the year of change …
I would love to see the beauty industry become more inclusive towards men. After all, we spent £2. 4 billion last year in the UK on grooming and beauty alone. It would be great to see more campaigns featuring men, showing products that men can wear and would want to buy. I’d also love to see more of an open conversation about male beauty, not only on the internet but in mainstream media, too.
Some of my top product picks for men (and women) include:
– MAC Studio Face and Body Foundation (light – more natural – healthy glow)
– Benefit Hula Bronzer
– Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat Radiant Touch Highlighting Pen
