Gen Z and social media are helping men's makeup go mainstream. The beauty industry is trying to capitalize

"It often starts small. A dab of concealer. A tinted moisturizer. Maybe a brow gel that goes from borrowed to bought. For many men, like Daniel Rankin, makeup has transformed from something taboo into a tool to make them look less tired and more put together. "I remember thinking, 'Am I really doing this?'" Rankin, a 24-year-old advertising agent from New York who likes to shop at Sephora, told CNBC. "But once I tried it, it just became normal.""

"The men's makeup market is now one of the most lucrative and largely untapped growth opportunities left in beauty, and specialty retailers like Ulta Beauty and Sephora along with big-box companies like Target and Walmart all see opportunity. "Men's beauty is one of the last categories left where brands can likely still see easy double-digit growth potential simply by showing up," said Delphine Horvath, professor of cosmetics and fragrance marketing at the Fashion Institute of Technology."

"Men's grooming sales in the United States topped $7.1 billion in 2025, up 6.9% year over year, according to market research firm NielsenIQ. The global market was valued at $61.6 billion in 2024 and projected to surpass $85 billion by 2032, with the biggest growth driven by the skin-care sector, according to Fortune Business Insights."

"In the U.S., 68% of Gen Z men ages 18 to 27 used facial skin-care products in 2024, a sharp jump from 42% just two years earlier, according to data from market intelligence firm Mintel."

Men's use of cosmetics has shifted from taboo to routine, often beginning with small items like concealer or tinted moisturizer. Retailers from specialty shops to big-box stores are expanding men's makeup offerings as the category becomes a major untapped growth area. U.S. men's grooming sales reached $7.1 billion in 2025, up 6.9% year over year; the global market was $61.6 billion in 2024 and is projected to exceed $85 billion by 2032, with skin care leading growth. Gen Z adoption is rising sharply, fueling routine formation and category expansion.

Read at www.cnbc.com