War Paint Men's Makeup Accused Of Toxic Masculinity

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Men wearing makeup is a growing beauty trend. A report by The Future Laboratory found that 15 percent of British men under 45 purchased makeup in 2016. Male beauty influencer James Charles is such a big deal that he caused severe traffic congestion in central Birmingham when he visited the Bull Ring this year. And in January, British Vogue posed the question: "Is 2019 the year men's make-up goes mainstream?"

But one men's makeup brand is being widely criticised online for sharing messaging that seemingly taps into fragile and toxic masculinity. War Paint, a UK-based brand which bills itself as "Makeup For Men, Designed By Men, For Men", shared a video advert earlier this week showing a muscular, heavily tattooed man taking a shower before putting on makeup... and a skull ring.

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The advert – which has since disappeared– seemed to be trying to say that wearing makeup doesn't make a person any less "manly" (eugh). People on Twitter immediately called it out for failing even to show the male model properly applying the makeup.

Aside from the skull ring, my favorite part about this ad is the fact that we don’t even see this guy’s face half the time, which is a bold move for a makeup company to not show what their product even does—wait, did I say makeup? I meant war paint, I swear! https://t.co/U806ZoGDBH
— Kev (@kevyandrews) May 10, 2019

Like, they can’t even show the man actually really putting any of this on because godforbid he doesn’t look masc and super duper cool with his skull ring and TAtToOs pic.twitter.com/6na85QRKTZ
— Bri Kane (@BRIawesome) May 9, 2019

? WAR PAINT ? in ?masculine? black packaging so nobody thinks you’re a ??‍♀️ girl. Specifically formulated for your ? LEATHER TOUGH MAN SKIN ? also, a SKULL RING ? ? https://t.co/XofXFRj0R5
— Samantha Ravndahl (@SsssamanthaaMUA) May 9, 2019

The brand is also being criticised for another video advert promoting its concealer – which doesn't use the word "concealer" anywhere in its messaging.

Companies have become so misogynistic that they’ve stopped down to calling concealer, used on a man, war paint. Not only is this extremely misogynistic but it also embraces toxic masculinity and promotes (unnecessary) gender normatives. And all bcs it’s too girly to say concealer https://t.co/rEesyojsZh
— Maddy; nsfr! ー nsd? (@948hyuns) May 10, 2019

hey bro are you wearing makeup? nah bro makeup is for girls......im wearing WAR PAINT
— leah #NUEST3RDWIN (@nuestaarons) May 9, 2019

Imagine being a man. You’ll only wear makeup if it’s called “war paint” drink rosé if it’s called brosé and wear a romper if it’s called a “romphim” y’all are exhausting. Go to a store any makeup store and get some concealer and be done. https://t.co/F2dc8nSIoc
— nicole byer (@nicolebyer) May 10, 2019

Meanwhile, others have suggested that the brand name "War Paint" is itself an embodiment of toxic masculinity. One person drew comparison to Liquid Death, the somewhat bizarre US bottled water brand which has also been accused of perpetuating toxic masculinity.

It's not water, it's LIQUID DEATH
It's not makeup, it's WAR PAINT
It's not an earplug, it's a SKULL SCREW
It's not a donut, it's a BRONUT

but it's definitely fragile masculinity https://t.co/MQfw2cSEOi
— andi zeisler (@andizeisler) May 9, 2019

And some have taken issue with the very idea of "men's makeup", arguing that there's no reason why men can't use the same cosmetics products as everyone else. "Grow up and go to Sephora," one man tweeted pointedly.

As a man who has purchased makeup for photo and video work for YEARS now, I can say definitively — the same makeup that works for women can also work for men. This is stupid. Toxic masculinity is stupid. Grow up and go to Sephora. https://t.co/WfBLRt4RKR
— Sam Sanders (@samsanders) May 8, 2019

After another tweeted that "there's no biological difference between men's skin and women's skin," War Paint responded by saying "male skin is actually very different to female skin".

The brand also shared text from its website which claims that "men need to be more cautious about what they use on their skin, as 'regular' skincare and cosmetics could worsen their skin over time".

Hi Amy, male skin is actually very different to female skin. If you would like to read more you can do on our site: https://t.co/2ewuX8jmh2 pic.twitter.com/LLOzeslcFV
— War Paint (@warpaintmufm) May 8, 2019

However, the accuracy of the science behind War Paint's "makeup for men" has been called into question on Twitter, too.

Whatever the brand does next, it's hard not to feel that its very existence makes a future of genderless makeup look just a little bit further away.