Men blossom in China’s booming male beauty market
When Jiang Cheng first tried concealer in his first year of university in China, it gave him confidence and he was hooked.
Now, he is among hundreds of Chinese men sharing beauty tips and cashing in on the booming male cosmetics industry.
"I found that putting on make-up is actually quite easy," the 24-year-old said as he applied foundation.
"Women may not fully grasp the concept of male make-up. If a girl puts on my make-up, they may not be able to achieve the effect I really want."
Every weekend, Jiang spends a couple of hours in front of his iPhone in his cozy makeshift studio in Beijing, trying on the latest balms and blush for hundreds of live viewers, who can simultaneously buy the products he reviews.
Online beauty stars form an enormous industry in China, with Internet celebrities known as "wang hong", or online stars, blurring the line between entertainment and e-commerce.
Companies such as Alibaba have launched live-streaming platforms that allow viewers to purchase while watching videos. And cosmetics brands pay big money for online celebrities, almost always female, to review their new products.
But now the market and gender norms are changing.
Jiang said a company that manages bloggers pays him around 5,000 yuan (S$1,000) a month to feature cosmetics.
The male beauty market is expected to grow 15.2 per cent in the next five years in China compared to an 11 per cent global increase over the same period, said research firm Euromonitor.
Increasingly, companies such as La Mer are working with video bloggers such as Lan Haoyi, known as Lan Pu Lan online, to promote their products to his 1.4 million followers.
The 27-year-old spends up to 10,000 yuan a month on beauty products.
"We are seeing more men in the media wearing make-up. This will naturally become the norm," Lan said.
But he still receives hate messages and criticism for appearing in smokey red eyeshadow.
"'Why would a man look like that? Why does a man need to wear make-up?' These are some of the messages I get," Lan said, adding that he has been called a "sissy" and other slurs.
For Jiang, the fear of being ridiculed by his parents stops him from picking up the make-up brush in front of them.
"Our values and concepts of life are different," he said. - AFP
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