Since the 1960s the face of the Covergirl brand has been exactly that -- girls. However, a recent development in the makeup industry has left makeup fanatics shook in the best way possible. James Charles has become the first male face of the Covergirl makeup line and people are pretty damn excited about that. He is pushing the gender boundaries that our society has known for far too long.
To give you a little background on James, he is a seventeen-year-old high school senior with over one hundred thousand subscribers to his makeup tutorial YouTube channel. I personally enjoy watching makeup tutorials on YouTube because I don't wear a lot of makeup, and it's fun to watch people who are really talented transform themselves. I've watch a few of James' videos and the things this guy does with a brush is amazing. He has a few videos on his channel including a couple colabs he's done -- one with the sassy Willam Belli which is my personal favorite.
I actually got the chance to talk to a good friend of James. Her name is Kimberly Granito and she is currently attending Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. I asked her to tell me a little about James so I could better convey who he is as a person from the point of view of someone who knows him on a personal level. She told me that she's "known James since middle school --we met on the school bus. My favorite memory [of us] together would have to be the first or second time we went to Cape Cod together. It was just so fun. We would stay up late and be so tired that we literally laughed at anything and everything. James is very unique. He is a go getter and wont stop until he has what he wants -- in a good way of course -- [and] he has such an amazing personality unlike anyone I've known. He is super nice and very sarcastic, but so am I so we have always gotten along well."
Kimberly shared with me that even though distance is a factor in their friendship with her being away at college and James being so busy with his work "he will always be my best friend".
She also shared with me that "Basically I just want the world to see how incredible james is. The moment my family and I met James we all knew he was going to do big things and go far". To me it sounds like James has plenty of great people in his corner supporting him along with the rest of his fan-base.
In an interview with NY Times, James was asked: what could you bring to Covergirl as a boy? He responded by saying: "I love to do glam. But I also love a lot of creative, outside-of-the-box stuff. The fact that I am the first boy is so cool. It shows that this industry is actually becoming genderless, and we’re really making the push toward equal opportunities for everybody, regardless of race, sexuality, gender. I think it’s a huge steppingstone for such a big and iconic company.
Hopefully other people will see this, and when they think, “Oh, this random 17-year-old kid just started doing makeup recently and is now the face of CoverGirl,” I hope that inspires them to really be themselves and feel comfortable and wear makeup and express themselves in a manner they haven’t been comfortable doing before."
He was also asked an array of other question ranging from what compelled him to start doing makeup, to his views on where our society is currently with gay rights. After reading through this interview it is clear that he is an intelligent, and passionate young man who is going to do incredible things in this industry.
It is clear with recent events that gender norms are becoming a thing of the past. This is because we are now living in a society where people feel comfortable being their true selves and doing what makes them happy. Not to say there aren't people out there who try to shove people back into the cookie-cutter gender stereotypes they feel everyone should remain in but confidence is the key to blocking those people out and continuing to evolve our society as a whole. And personally, if a guy wants to do his makeup let him. There are plenty of men out there who can do makeup better than I will ever be able to so why discourage them? Highlight those cheekbones and blind critics with your radiance whether you're a man or a woman.
James addressed the subject of internet hate in another interview with the Boston Globe. He claimed that "Our industry has been tailored towards woman for so long, so I think the only way that men will start to become more comfortable will be if the stereotypes are removed. Every guy who is comfortable doing so, however, is setting an amazing example and hopefully inspiring those around him.’’ He also mentioned that he has thick skin and people who have nothing better to do than hate on him from a computer aren't worth his time.
This article turned into a bit of a ramble but I'm just so excited for this new development because I know plenty of guys who are passionate about makeup but think it's not a passion they could pursue and James Charles is that beacon of hope male makeup fanatics have been waiting for. Not saying their aren't men in the makeup industry, but for a large brand such as Covergirl to select a male as the new face of their product is a huge accomplishment and should be treated as such.
Congratulations James Charles!!
P.S here is his YouTube and his Instagram, go check him out. He has over 100,000 subscribers to his YouTube Channel and over 750,000 followers on Instagram.
