It was at Smith & Caughey's in Newmarket that I encountered my first fully made-up man. Fittingly, he was working in the cosmetics section. At first I was a little distracted by his blue eye-shadow and pink lipstick (which nonetheless suited his fair complexion) but he quickly became my go-to guy when I needed makeup or wrinkle potions.
Then just the other day in the same department store I was served by a second man with rather dramatic eye makeup on. I told him I needed eyeliner. "Liquid eyeliner? That's what I've got on," he said, indicating the heavy black swirls above his eyes. I received helpful and friendly service from both these men who clearly had an enthusiasm for their particular line of work. The second one even managed to sell me some Dior skincare which I'd never tried before.
After that initial moment of awkwardness, I no longer batted an eyelid at these young men who just happened to be wearing more makeup than me. And, anyway, I figured that if someone is going to sell cosmetics then it makes sense that they use the products, so in a way it could be perceived as even stranger if they were bare-faced.
Yet even in the age of the "metrosexual" (defined by Dictionary.com as "a heterosexual, usually urban male who pays much attention to his personal appearance and cultivates an upscale lifestyle") and "manscaping" (defined by Urban Dictionary as "to groom a man. Shaving, waxing, cleaning up the superfluous fur) it seems that some of us are still raising an eyebrow at the prospect of men wearing makeup.
The people at Speight's beer certainly question the practice: "With a proliferation of questionable products aimed at men, including manscara, guyliner and strange waxing procedures, one could be forgiven for assuming that Kiwi men have lost sight of what really matters to them."
