British men are branching out with their beauty routines more than ever, with Gen Z-marketed and celebrity beauty brands driving the surge.
Overall beauty spending among UK men has increased 77% year on year, according to new data from ‘buy now, pay later’ platform Clearpay.
Nail care products saw the biggest sales growth with an 103% increase from 2022, followed by fake tan (44%) and skin care (22%) products.
High profile brand launches from male celebrities, such as Harry Styles’ Pleasing and Idris Elba’s skin care brand S’able Labs, have been attributed to the growth in men's cosmetics.
Pharrell Williams, Jared Leto and Machine Gun Kelly are among the other male stars to launch their own skin care and beauty lines in recent years.
Also noteworthy is the rise in big beauty players signing male ambassadors, such as L’Oréal-owned make-up brand Rimmel London tapping Olympic diver Tom Daley as its first-ever male face.
Estée Lauder Companies, meanwhile, recently scored a deal with Manchester United football club as the team’s first skin care partner.
Read more
- L’Oréal names singer Cody Simpson as brand ambassador
- YSL Beauty and Lil Nas X unveil new campaign images
- TikTok's #GRMW trend is encouraging men to try make-up and skin care
- Boots and Superdrug are shaking up their men's aisles, and here's why
Gen Z men were found to be the driving force in the male beauty boom, with spending increasing 68% year on year – accounting for 27% of sales within the demographic.
Serums were named as the most popular product among men this year, with sales up 54%.
This comes amid a recent swell in beauty launches targeting Gen Z men.
Japanese beauty conglomerate Kao last year unveiled its Unlics brand, which aims to target the qualities most desired by Gen Z men with its products including a make-up base, lotion and serums.
The brand was developed in collaboration with three leading Japanese male beauty influencers: beauty YouTuber Sena Kurumatani, former model and writer Usuke, and influencer Shoki, also known as ‘Prince Pearl’.
Shiseido also jumped on the trend with premium skin care brand Sidekick, designed to combat the skin concerns of young Asian men such as dry and oily skin.