Male cosmetics, a real subject? More and more men feel concerned.
Men, increasingly demanding and informed customers
Rue Debeylleme in the heart of the Marais, on a Saturday in October when the beautiful season goes into extra time: in the shop Oh my Creamtwo men familiar with the latest cosmetics ask specific questions to the sales consultant, who is knowledgeable about the treatments and active ingredients best suited to each type of skin.
Forgotten, the time when the males hardly ventured into beauty shops except to dig up a gift or a perfume to offer to their mother or their partner; in a clean break with the cliché of the gruff macho neglected at the edges, keen on beauty and solutions to maintain and sublimate their skin, men are venturing out of the shaving department alone and are now a target in their own right for the actors of the cosmetics industry.
When cosmetics open their eyes to men’s needs. The eye contour gel from the new Oh My Cream men’s range. © Oh My Cream
It is an undeniable fact: despite a strong trend towards gender fluidity and the questioning of stereotypes specific to each gender, men are showing a growing interest in the beauty market, as documented in early 2022 by the treatment booking platform Treatwell. And although the grooming (beauty of the beard, editor’s note) is still at the top of the favorite sectors of the panel of men questioned, nearly a third of French people now say they are ready to experiment with facial care, a long-time preserve of women.
If the giants of the genre such as Clarins, Dior, Clinique or Shiseido have – timidly – launched men’s lines in recent years -Chanel created the event in 2018 with its line Boy including make-up products for men – independent brands seem to unite a new, demanding and more informed male clientele.
The Horace brand is entirely dedicated to the beauty of man. © Horace
At Oh My Cream, a new specific cosmetic range for men
A true success story, Oh My Cream embodies this new generation of companies that are reinventing the consumption of cosmetics and competing with the behemoths of Sephora and Marionnaud by honoring confidential brands with controlled sourcing, as well as organic formulations.
The brand, which has a total of thirteen Parisian points of sale, nine boutiques in the provinces and a London boutique, is definitely investing in the field of male beauty by launching a specific range for men at the end of this year within its eponymous house brand Oh my Cream. “This men’s line was born from exchanges with our friends, our companions, freres, or perest… all lost when they wonder how to take care of their skin, answers the founder of the brand Juliette Levy Cohen. They often don’t know wherewhere start, what actions to adopt and act in reaction rather than in prevention”
This fall, Oh My Cream is launching a 100% masculine range. © Oh My Cream
What about the fundamental differences between men and women, taken into account in the formulations? “A skin about 20% thicker than that of women, and with an oily tendency. Men have more sebaceous glands and therefore more pores, continues Juliette Lévy-Cohen. Their sebum production is twice as high as ours, their skin is also prone to impurities and acne. The signs of aging appear later in men. But once engaged, they move faster. They are more affected by loss of muscle mass and sagging skinassociatedés to swollen eyes and dark circles that make them look tired. But also skin that is more “stressed” by regular shaving, more reactive. »
The Cosmydor brand calls out for its irreproachable eco-responsibility. © Cosmydor
Another determining factor, eco-responsibility, for products that respect the planet both in terms of their packaging and their compositions, as evidenced by the success of confidential brands such as Cosmydor (see box) and Huygens, not to mention the recent emergence of young houses such as Le Bain Du Roi, organic cosmetics, vegan and cruelty-free created under the supervision of a dermopharmacist.
Cosmydor, virtuous cosmetics for business plans
UFO of a cosmetics industry willingly quick to greenwashingCosmydor claims 15% of male customers and opts for uncompromising cosmetics: manual manufacturing guarantees zero petrochemical molecules and a concentration of active ingredients 10 to 25 times higher than those of industrial brands. “What we call virtuous cosmetics is organized around two pillars, explains its founder Xavier Quattrocchi. The efficiency of the‘craftsmanship on the one hand, with gently extracted plants that retain their benefits for the skin as much as possible; and the beauty of eco-responsibility, which requires respect for‘a “organic » tres strict, the complete refusal of plastic containers (including recyclable plastic, which is only recycled that‘up to 20%), a zero manufacturing carbon footprint and biodegradablegradeabilityé of all our products at 100%”.
Male cosmetics: yet another marketing fad or real need?
Yet another marketing whim or response to a real need? If we are to believe the enthusiasm around Horace, the rise of male beauty is legitimate and has a bright future ahead of it. Created by Marc Briant-Terlet and Kim Mazzili, the brand of natural skincare at affordable prices and polished visual communication favors dialogue and interaction with its customers, precious feedback thanks to which the duo concocts and perfects its products.
” We are a brand that has been redefining masculinity since our beginnings. We wanted to represent all men, beyond the agelaugh iteleber inaccessible that we saw on television. For our perfume &Horacewe highlight men who each have characteristics ranging from‘against the traditionalist definition: Mark Bryan, a man wearing skirts and heels, Nay wearing polish and pearls, and many more.
Leave a Comment