South Korea accounts for 20 per cent of the global market for men’s cosmetics, and K-pop has had a great influence on the growth of this percentage as fans and followers around the world not only want to buy the items their favourite idols endorse but also recreate their looks.
While it’s normal to see male idols wearing make-up to look flawless and youthful on stage, in the last few years some of them have decided to take it further and use it as a tool to express who they really are. Here are seven that stand out.
Shinee’s Key
Key’s sense of aesthetic just hits different. Since his debut back in 2008 he’s been a pioneer in the K-pop realm in terms of fashion, make-up and skincare trends, always experimenting and taking his looks a step further to express himself.
This quality has granted him a spot in the small group of young celebrities constantly pushing for society to embrace and respect genderless aesthetics in the industry, which has opened doors for him to represent and partner-up with make-up and fashion brands that other idols usually wouldn’t go for.
As an example, in May, Key became one of the first male idols to team up with a global make-up brand to promote an eyebrow collection, partnering with Make Up For Ever to market their bestselling “Aqua Resist” line. The partnership involved a shoot in Marie Claire Korea where Key showed how the Aqua Resist Brow Filler and the Aqua Resist Brow Definer helped him accomplish his always bold, full brows.
Shinee’s Taemin
Just as his fellow group member, Taemin has always been about breaking the mould and adding a touch of duality to his looks. His style mixes masculinity and femininity, and he is a fan of adding a smoky, dramatic touch to his eyes.
As he’s said in the past, black eyeliner, subtle pink lip tint and matte black eyeshadow are his make-up essentials, but his favourite item to play around with is eyeshadow palettes, as the colour variety allows him to experiment with different moods and vibes.
His influence has been so profound that netizens regularly reach out to brands such as Nars and MAC Cosmetics to present Taemin as a candidate for ambassador due to his duality, which can be of inspiration for both men and women.
Stray Kids’ Felix
Throughout his evolution as an artist, Felix has realised fashion and make-up transcend boundaries and rules. This is one of the reasons why creative make-up eventually stopped being a stage-exclusive tool for him and became a daily life habit.
While he’s always up for experimenting with new colours and shapes, his signature look involves light red/dark pink smoky eyes and some added glow with stickers, glitter or rhinestones, making his eyes the centre of attention.
In January, Stray Kids became the ambassadors of popular Korean cosmetic brand Club Clio. Ever since, the palettes Felix uses on his promotional photos are constantly selling out all around the world.
BTS’ Jimin
A good number of idols enjoy sporting a smoky eye here and there, but Jimin is without a doubt one of the pioneers.
Since the very beginning of his career, Jimin’s powerful, intriguing gaze and dark grey smoky eyes have conquered fans’ hearts all over the globe.
Jimin’s make-up tends to be simple overall, but when talking eyes, he’s an expert at playing with different intensities and layers. One of his favourite things to do is match his hair colour to his eyeshadow, always contouring with a dark brown or black shade to add depth and then smoky-ing things up with a colourful hue.
Exo’s Baekhyun
Another perfect representative of what duality means, Baekhyun can go from cute to fierce in a split second and make-up plays a big part in that – from intense, dark, smoky eyes to colourful eyeliners, glittery sunset hues and everything in between.
In terms of colours, scarlet, marigold and plum seem to hold a special place in his heart, often mixed with some sort of glitter or metallic shade that will add a touch of glamour to the final look.
His aesthetic motto is to keep it simple and easy but with a focus on details, so he’s always trying to find new ways to experiment with colours and traditional items – to the point that he’s set multiple styling trends in the K-pop world, such as the red smoky eye, mullets, underline colour liners and fire-red hair.
NCT 127’s Taeyong
If there’s an idol who can pull off anything and everything it’s Taeyong. A true chameleon, the idol is always mixing things up, trying – and adapting – new trends, or simply starting his own both on and offstage.
For Taeyong, more is more. He’s an expert and finding the right balance between too much and too little, focusing on statement pieces and make-up looks that represent a certain time in his career, such as a concept he wants to take further or a vibe that suits his music performances.
While some idols use make-up to perfect up their looks, Taeyong is all about boldness, always going for vivid, eye-catching colours that complement his hair and outfit.
Holland
The first openly gay K-pop idol, Holland has been a pioneer in the K-pop industry in terms of LGBT community visibility and aesthetic freedom.
Make-up plays a big role in his story, as it was one of the first forms of self-expression he approached at a young age.
Besides making statements with his music, music videos and not hiding his relationships, the idol has found refuge in make-up and its infinite possibilities, and that’s why he’s not afraid to go bold and abstract when building up a look.
In the past he’s revealed that his taste is constantly changing, so you’ll see him wearing bright colours all over his face one day, and pale skin paired with black lips the next.
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