Indian male beauty influencers we aren't paying enough attention to

These men are breaking all makeup norms, every blush stroke at a time.

Male beauty influencers are not just glamming themselves up, but also changing the perspective about gender and makeup. And it is true: why should women be the only ones allowed to draw their eyes, plumb their lips and put bronzer on their cheeks? Makeup is an expression – it is closer to art than it is to anything else. The norms have dictated the beauty rules for a long time, but times are changing now.

What started as a guy-beauty video by Siddhartha Batra in 2017 has stirred quite a vogue among other men as well. Be fairly warned: they are as Bretmanrock would say “nasty”; the good kinda nasty. The idea of makeup and beauty being identified with women is undergoing a rapid change as more people, universally, are flaunting their beauty tips, self-tutorial videos on online platforms. India too is catching up to the progressiveness.

Here are the male beauty influencers who we aren’t paying enough attention to.

  1. Ankush Bahuguna – Bahuguna’s videos are funny, hitting the right chords. “Is your masculinity so fragile that it gets hidden by translucent powder?”, Bahuguna asks in one of his videos while applying a setting powder at the end of his makeup video. Bahuguna hails from Delhi and is one of the prominent faces in male beauty bloggers. He openly talks about gender and makeup and how it is hard to find support for a man in the beauty industry.
  2. Jason Arkland – For Mumbai based model/fashion icon, “Taking care of your skin and wearing makeup to look good are another form of self-love and self-care”. We stand with you, Arkland. He refuses to call himself an influencer and more like someone trying to feel good about himself. His videos spread messages of positivity and hope.
  3. Abhinav Mathur – Mathur started his beauty videos in 2017, and the responses to them have changed over these last years. From getting mocked and called “girlie” as an offensive statement to being asked for makeup tips in his DM’s, Mathur has watched the world change. His mantra: “The more content is out there, the more questions will be answered”. And it’s true.
It is true that social media has played a huge role in normalising men wearing makeups and being interested in skincare and makeup.