Men’s makeup goes mainstream on TikTok, Ulta, Sephora capitalize

It usually starts small.

Some concealer. A tinted moisturizer. Maybe an eyebrow gel that goes from borrowed to purchased. For many men, like Daniel Rankin, makeup has gone from something taboo to a means of making themselves look less tired and more put together.

“‘Am I really doing this?'” Rankin, a 24-year-old New York ad agent who loves shopping at Sephora, told CNBC. “I remember thinking.” “But once I tried it, it became normal.”

In front of bathroom mirrors and in gym locker rooms, more men are now adding cosmetics to their routines, industry experts told CNBC. The men’s makeup market is now one of the most lucrative and largely untapped growth opportunities remaining in the beauty space, and specialty retailers Ulta Beauty and with major companies like Sephora Aim And Walmart They all see the opportunity.

“Men’s beauty is one of the last categories where brands will probably see double-digit growth potential just by emerging,” said Delphine Horvath, professor of cosmetics and fragrance marketing at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Sales of men’s grooming products in the U.S. will reach $7.1 billion in 2025, up 6.9% annually, according to the market research firm. NielsenIQ. The global market was valued at $61.6 billion in 2024 and is expected to exceed $85 billion in 2032; The biggest growth comes from the skin care sector. Fortune Business Insights.

Much of the momentum comes from Generation Z.

According to data from the market intelligence firm, 68% of Gen Z men aged 18-27 in the US were using facial skin care products in 2024; This was a sharp jump from 42% just two years earlier. Mintel.

“This is no longer a niche topic,” said Linda Dang, CEO of Canada-based Asian beauty retailer Sukoshi. “Men are creating routines that often start with skin care and then expand further; they’re no longer buying random products. That’s what makes this market so valuable.”

Unlike one-off grooming purchases, makeup encourages repeat use and experimentation. A man who starts with concealer often adds primer, setting powder or tinted SPF over time, said Farah Jemai, the beauty brand’s global marketing partner. Release.

“Once men discover makeup that works, they use it once and never use it again,” Jemai told CNBC. “They are restocking.”

Market researchers estimate that by 2022, about 15% of U.S. heterosexual men ages 18 to 65 currently use cosmetics and makeup, while another 17% say they would consider it. ipsos. Industry experts say these figures will likely be higher in 2026.

Openness to cosmetics has increased as the share of U.S. men who say they never wear makeup has fallen from 90% in 2019 to about 75% in 2024. statistics survey data shown.

Beauty conglomerates and startups are responding to the growth in male beauty.

Ulta Beauty and Sephora began integrating men’s skin products into gender-neutral, skin-care-first displays rather than “Men’s” aisles. These gender-specific displays can be frightening or stigmatizing for some men, Horvath said.

For example, in 2025, Target partnered with the online streaming community AMPIn Every Way Possible start TONE. The men’s personal care brand launched in Target stores nationwide in July, leveraging AMP’s massive Gen Z male following on YouTube and Twitch.

Online, where most of the growth and discovery happens, many beauty brands are pouring money into influencer partnerships to increase engagement and sales on TikTok Shop. Amazon.

“Many brands are now spending more of their marketing budgets on influencer marketing to meet people where they are already online and make it easier to click ‘buy,’” said Janet Kim, vice president of brand K-beauty. neogene.

Others are turning to digital education to teach men what different items do.

brand War Paint It sells makeup products such as concealer pencils, tinted moisturizers and anti-shine powders with QR codes on the packaging. Scanning them launches video tutorials that explain what each product does, without forcing customers to ask questions in the store.

“The biggest obstacle is not price, but uncertainty,” Dang said. “Men want to know what a product does and how to use it without feeling weird.”

But the path to mass adoption is not guaranteed.

Industry analysts warn that social stigma remains high and inflation threatens to constrain spending on experimental, non-essential goods. Retailers also face a steep learning curve: It’s hard to scale the market when the core customer doesn’t know how to use the product.

CoverGirl made history in 2016 by hiring a then-17-year-old YouTuber. James Charles as the first “CoverBoy” to place a male face on a mass-market cosmetics brand for the first time.

Still, beauty companies have mostly focused on women until recently, Sukoshi’s Dang said. FIT’s Horvath said a broader cultural reset is now taking place around masculinity, and companies are racing to cash in on it.

Dang said social media is the biggest accelerator.

On TikTok and Instagram, male creators to post step by step makeup routinesproduct breakdowns and before-and-after results that often highlight subtle changes rather than dramatic looks. Hashtags related to men’s grooming and makeup have amassed billions of views. #mencare It has surpassed 26 billion views on TikTok alone.

“TikTok has democratized the ‘how-to’,” Dang said. “No more asking your sister or guessing. Just scroll, see a guy who looks like you fixing his acne in 30 seconds, and click ‘buy.’ He’s eliminated the gatekeepers.”

Gen Z men are more comfortable rejecting rigid gender categories and are more skeptical of marketing that frames products as inherently masculine or feminine, Horvath said.

It’s also increasingly being incorporated into a broader culture of wellness and optimization, sometimes referred to as “looksmaxxing,” that includes make-up, fitness tracking, supplements, hair loss prevention and longevity routines.

“Many men have begun to frame grooming, and for some, makeup, as grooming rather than vanity,” Horvath said. “This reframing removes stigma and unlocks spending.”

Celebrity influence has further accelerated the adoption of stars like Harry Styles. Brad Pitt and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson are launching their own skincare and makeup brands, reflecting the trend of celebrity saturation seen largely in alcoholic beverages.

Johnson’s brand Papatui, On what date was it started? Aim Covering skin, hair, body and tattoo care in 2024, this treatment was created in response to ongoing questions about the care regimen. It now competes directly with legacy names like Clinique, L’Oréal and Kiehl’s.

Brands like War Paint and stryx They argue that men need products designed for their thicker, oilier skin and packaged in masculine, tool-like containers that feel right at home in a gym bag.

However, Generation Z consumers are increasingly turning to gender-neutral brands. LVMH She is the co-owner of Fenty Beauty, The Ordinary and Haus Labs. To them, labels that say “For Men” can seem outdated and even condescending, Horvath said.

“I don’t think we’ll be talking about ‘men’s makeup’ anymore in ten years,” Horvath said. “We’re just going to talk about makeup. The gender binary in beauty is dissolving and sales data is finally catching up with culture.”