Men Will Only Buy Beauty Products If You Don't Call Them Beauty Products

06/25/2012

I know we don't cover men's grooming too much in this corner of the internets, but you should know that my not-so-professional background includes a 6-year relationship with a guy who spent more time at Barneys' cosmetics counter than with me, so I'm clearly qualified to discuss the intricacies of mens shopping habits - more specifically, shopping for beauty products. Right?

Anyway, shortly after the New York Times published an article detailing the shopping habits of the least fairest sex, Gulf News outlined why packaging cosmetics for men is such a daunting task, and as it turns out, I can relate to the problem - men don't want to be seen buying anything that headlines as a wrinkle-fighter or a skin firmer, and this I know because my ex's grabby hands always made their way into my makeup bag, digging for anything that looked remotely feminine (and effective).

“I want to keep myself up and maintain my looks, but I’d never use anything that looks like it’s made for my girlfriend,” a Los Angeles banker told Gulf News. “This stuff [Kiehl's Facial Fuel] looks like it’s for guys, not girlie at all, so I feel OK using it."

It's not so much that men are scared of makeup. Instead, they're terrified of the word makeup, which totally makes sense if you don't think about it too hard. So where do men turn when they're in need of a little beauty revamp and their girlfriends' makeup bags are staunchly off-limits? Well, they go where any man who's plagued with a dark, intimate truth, naturally.

“Men aren’t necessarily driven to the Internet because of its value proposition, but rather because it’s more suited to their shopping habits,” Ashma Kunde, a global apparel research analyst for the market research company Euromonitor International, told the Times. “For them, the shopping experience is less about exploration and more about being informed about what they should be buying. The Internet allows them to access this information and advice with relative ease and peace, without being hassled by shop assistants.”

This means that most bros often scour product review sites to learn what works and what doesn't without having to ask a presumptuous cosmetic counter lady, most of whom have cooties anyway. This is why successful beauty-based sites like Birchbox can so easily cross into men's grooming essentials, especially if they offer advice that comes by way of a boxy, blue-scaled design.

“Men don’t shop; they buy,” Yoox Group CEO Federico Marchetti said. “Men spend 30 percent less time browsing online than women, viewing fewer pages before purchasing, which shows why online shopping is the perfect solution for them.”

That's probably because they already spent hours looking through your beauty products. If you're a dude (or if you know a dude) that regularly buys beauty, er, grooming products, does packaging really matter?

---

Follow on Ology: Lauren Caruso | FashionOlogy

Follow on Twitter: @laurencaruso_ | @Fashion_Ology