Men’s makeup goes mainstream on TikTok, Ulta and Sephora capitalize

It often starts small.

A dab of concealer. A tinted moisturizer. Maybe an eyebrow gel that goes from borrowed to bought. For many men, like Daniel Rankin, makeup has gone from a taboo to a tool to help them look less tired and more polished.

“I remember thinking, ‘Am I really doing this?'” Rankin, a 24-year-old publicist from New York who likes to shop at Sephora, told CNBC. “But once I tried it, it became normal.”

In front of bathroom mirrors and in gym locker rooms, more men are now adding cosmetics to their routine, industry experts told CNBC. The men’s makeup market now represents one of the most lucrative – and largely untapped – growth opportunities in the beauty industry, and specialty retailers like Ulta Beauty and Sephora as well as large-scale companies like Target And Walmart everyone sees an opportunity.

“Men’s beauty is one of the last categories where brands can probably still see double-digit growth potential just by showing up,” said Delphine Horvath, professor of cosmetics and fragrance marketing at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Sales of men’s grooming products in the United States exceeded $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 is expected to exceed $85 billion by 2032, with the strongest growth driven by the skin care sector, according to Fortune Business Insights.

Much of this momentum comes from Generation Z.

In the United States, 68% of Gen Z men aged 18 to 27 used facial care products in 2024, a sharp increase from 42% just two years earlier, according to data from market information company Mintel.

“It’s not a niche anymore,” said Linda Dang, CEO of Canada-based Asian beauty retailer Sukoshi. “Men are establishing routines, which usually start with skincare and then expand, they’re no longer just buying products randomly. That’s what makes this market so valuable.”

Unlike one-time skincare purchases, makeup encourages repeated use and experimentation. A man who starts with concealer often adds a primer, setting powder or tinted SPF over time, said Farah Jemai, global marketing manager for beauty brand Unleashia.

“When men discover makeup that works, they don’t just use it once and never again,” Jemai told CNBC. “They’re restocking.”

Market research estimates that by 2022, about 15% of heterosexual U.S. men ages 18 to 65 were already using cosmetics and makeup, while an additional 17% said they would consider it, according to Ipsos. Industry experts estimate that these figures will likely be higher in 2026.

Openness to cosmetics has increased, as the share of American men saying they never wear makeup has increased from more than 90% in 2019 to around 75% in 2024, according to Statista survey data.

Beauty conglomerates and startups are responding to the growth of male beauty.

Ulta Beauty and Sephora began integrating men’s complexion products into gender-neutral, skincare-focused displays rather than having “men’s” aisles. These sexist displays can seem intimidating or stigmatizing to some men, Horvath said.

Big box retailers like Walmart And Target have also expanded their range of cosmetics and care for men.

For example, in 2025, Target partnered with online streaming collective AMP, Any Means Possible, to launch TONE. The fashion-forward personal care brand for men debuted in Target stores nationwide in July, leveraging AMP’s massive Gen Z male audience on YouTube and Twitch.

Online – where much of the growth and discovery occurs – many beauty brands are investing money in influencer partnerships to increase engagement and sales on TikTok Shop and Amazon.

“Many brands are now spending the majority of their marketing budget on influencer marketing to meet people where they are already online and make it easier to click ‘buy,’” said Janet Kim, vice president of brand for K-beauty Neogen.

Others are turning to digital education to teach people what different objects are used for.

The War Paint brand sells makeup products like concealer pens, tinted moisturizers, and anti-shine powders that feature QR codes on the packaging. Their digitization launches video tutorials explaining the role of each product, without requiring customers to ask questions in a store.

“The biggest obstacle is not the price, it’s the uncertainty,” Dang said. “Men want to know what a product is for and how to use it without feeling embarrassed.”

But the path to mass adoption is not guaranteed.

Industry analysts warn that social stigma remains high and inflation threatens to dampen spending on non-essential experimental goods. Retailers also face a steep learning curve: It’s difficult to develop a market when the primary customer doesn’t know how to use the product.

While men have been wearing makeup for centuries, from ancient Egypt to Elizabethan England, the modern commercial men’s makeup movement has its roots in the mid-2010s.

In 2016, CoverGirl made history by naming then-17-year-old YouTuber James Charles as its first-ever “CoverBoy,” placing a male face on a mainstream cosmetics brand for the first time.

Yet until recently, beauty conglomerates focused largely on women, Sukoshi’s Dang said. Today, a broader cultural overhaul around masculinity is underway, and companies are rushing to monetize it, FIT’s Horvath said.

Social media has been the main accelerator, Dang said.

On TikTok and Instagram, male designers post step-by-step makeup routines, product details and before-and-after results that often emphasize subtle changes rather than dramatic looks. Hashtags related to men’s grooming and makeup have racked up billions of views, with #mensgrooming alone surpassing 26 billion views on TikTok.

“TikTok has democratized the ‘how to’,” Dang said. “You no longer have to ask your sister or guess. Just scroll down, see a guy who looks like you cure his acne in 30 seconds and click ‘buy’. It’s removed the gatekeepers.”

Gen Z men are also more comfortable with rejecting rigid gender categories and more skeptical of marketing that presents products as inherently masculine or feminine, Horvath said.

At the same time, makeup is increasingly becoming part of a broader culture of wellness and optimization – sometimes called “lookmaxxing” – which includes fitness tracking, supplements, hair loss prevention and longevity routines.

“Many men have begun to view grooming and, for some, makeup as maintenance and not vanity,” Horvath said. “This reframing eliminates stigma and unblocks spending.”

Celebrity influence has further accelerated their adoption, with stars like Harry Styles, Brad Pitt and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson launching their own skincare and makeup brands, reflecting the celebrity saturation trend widely seen in spirits.

Johnson’s Papatui brand, launching at Target in 2024 and covering skin, hair, body and tattoo care, was created in response to lingering questions about his skincare regimen. It now competes directly with historic names like Clinique, L’Oréal and Kiehl’s.

As the market matures, a debate is emerging: do men want “makeup for men” or do they just want makeup?

Horvath said there is a “bifurcation” in how companies market their products.

Brands like War Paint and Stryx say men need products designed for their thicker, oilier skin, and packaged in masculine, tool-like containers that feel at home in a gym bag.

But Gen Z consumers are increasingly turning to gender-neutral brands like LVMH co-owned Fenty Beauty, The Ordinary and Haus Labs. To them, labels that say “For Men” may seem outdated, even condescending, Horvath said.

“Ten years from now, I think we won’t be talking about ‘men’s makeup,'” Horvath said. “We’ll just talk about makeup. The gender binary in beauty is dissolving and sales data is finally catching up with culture.”