Covergirl has a new model and it’s a boy! His name is James Charles and he is a 17-year-old fashion guru. He has amazing cheekbones, a killer smile, and plenty of make up talent making him an excellent choice for the company. However, I can already hear the tentative remarks about how make-up is for girls or that James must be gay and honestly, all that is just nonsense.

Make up is an art form. It takes patience and skill and should and can be enjoyed by everyone. Covergirl’s motives in using James Charles may be to attract more of the generation Z market but I think having a male model shows us all something: that make up isn’t about women.

Women don’t have to make themselves up for a man. They don’t have to “lie” by making their lips bigger with lipstick or by creating a highlight on their skin. Make up isn’t just some old-fashioned dating ritual. Makeup is an experience, it makes people feel good, its fun. Covergirl’s choice to bring in a male model really highlights this because the marketing campaign can’t be centered around women’s bodies, or women’s motives because James isn’t a woman. I’m not saying his motives could be drastically different than a woman’s, perhaps he is legit putting on makeup to attract a mate, but the thing is, it isn’t simply female thing now.

Not that makeup has ever been purely a “female” thing. All through history men and women have worn make up from lipstick to eyeliner, they have always been used by men and women. Remember the 2000’s emo band phase? I do, I remember Pete Wentz’s eyeliner and Ryan Ross’s complete make up faces and I remember loving them. Dudes look hot in eyeliner, everyone looks hot in eyeliner. Everyone looks good in lipstick and concealer is really just a life savior.

So men, here is what you should do upon Covergirls big news. You should run to the store and go wild on makeup. Buy some bright red lipstick, the darkest eyeliner, a full highlight kit. Just go wild and have fun! Maybe you hate it and never do it again or maybe you find you really like eye shadow, either way it’s time to stop letting hyper masculinity keep you from enjoying make up. It’s time to stop demonizing makeup, it’s time to stop claiming it’s a purely a female thing, it’s time to embrace the amazingness that makeup is.

Here are some makeup videos to get your started on your journey!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3jXye0QlakA Natural Look for Men

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDLGZ2GJ97cAn Amazing Fall

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQF24u46ee0A Creepy/Scary Halloween Look