We couldn't find a makeup brand formulated specifically for men's skin; so we created one: https://t.co/X0xaeIOBsV pic.twitter.com/XDRySRWTkq - War Paint (@warpaintmufm) May 8, 2019
We couldn't find a makeup brand formulated specifically for men's skin; so we created one," Warpaint wrote above the 13-second-long clip, featuring a fully-tatted muscular male (with nipple piercings, naturally) going through his full grooming routine with a background track that could be described as modern porno grooves. Were going to say hes applying makeup, but to be honest, with quick editing you can barely catch a glimpse at the products-I guess the products dont matter? But dont worry, theres a nice shot of the subjects gaudy, large skull ring, because all men love skulls, duh.
Its 2019, not 1959, the consumers have been around the block. You cant just stick a product that is inherently gender neutral in a matte black can, and insist youve optimized it for men! That is a dangerous thing to build your brand identity on when your evidence is weak. - Frankie Huang (@ourobororoboruo) May 8, 2019
When one twitter user noted that this campaign might appeal to more of the Axe body spray circa 2000s type instead of a modern man thats secure enough with his masculinity to use makeup, the brand responded Our aim is to allow makeup to be gender neutral and to do that we must have male specific brands also." This only fueled the fire of outraged Twitter users.
There aren't products just for 'females' lol, there's just piss-poor sexist marketing only assuming women want to use it Bad take - (@cosmikgoats) May 9, 2019
1. making a male specific brand is the polar opposite of gender neutral 2. Make up is already gender neutral. clearly what you're aiming for is to make make-up ~manly~ 3. ..."females" pic.twitter.com/RlXupWH4Iq - William Arthur (@Wart_M) May 9, 2019
The brand claims the products are specifically tailored to the needs of mens skin. Cool, cool, but is there even a difference? While a mans skin is thicker and tends to produce more sebum (sometimes in excess creating oily skin), you can most certainly use the same makeup as a woman does. Stellar ingredients in your skincare routine like glycolic acid help to fight oily skin and break outs, but when it comes to makeup, your skin wont be damaged by using a concealer thats used by the female gender to cover imperfections-however, we cant say you wont get cooties.
If mens skin is so special, then why does this foundation have all the same ingredients as @NyxCosmetics Total Control Drop foundation? My dudes, dont pay a markup and international shipping when you could get the same thing at the pharmacy. - SewMThing Clever (@sewmthingclever) May 8, 2019
Dudes that wear makeup and dudes that only buy things that are "FOR MEN" are not the same demographic at all. - jackson (@jaccsoon) May 9, 2019
Guys, do we really need a tough Hells Angels biker, burly lumberjack, or a gun-toting cowboy to tell us its okay to use a skincare or beauty product if we want to? Havent we evolved past this? War Paint clearly thinks not.
On the War Paint website, in a video titled Our Story, founder Daniel Gray can be seen running around London, jumping on the London metro, and chatting about his brand that he claims is successfully growing. Absolutely zero products are shown, because again, why would the products be important? More skulls, please.
I genuinely believe theres a lot of guys out there, like me, looking for a brand just like War Paint, says Gray in the video. Based off of the Twitterverse reaction, were going to have to call bullsh*t.