Grooms at the altar this wedding season will be sporting a more polished look. Men are increasingly investing in makeup, nails and skincare for their big day, according to research from Pinterest.
“When it comes to weddings, they’re no longer a beauty moment just for brides,” says Naureen Mohammed, director of consumer packaged goods at Pinterest UK. According to Pinterest, searches for “groom makeup” rose 42 per cent over the past year, and according to influencer marketing agency Billion Dollar Boy, social media posts across Instagram and TikTok mentioning the beauty trend increased 31 per cent in 2025 compared with the year prior. “This shift reflects how men are more widely embracing and investing in their appearances beyond traditional grooming,” says Mohammed. Pinterest also found that searches for “men’s nails” rose 110 per cent year-on-year. “Just like fashion and hairstyling, beauty serves as a platform for self-expression, which is universal.”
Men’s makeup is nothing new, but perceptions have been improving over the past decade. In 2013, Tom Ford launched a men’s beauty line that included skincare and grooming products, as well as a concealer and bronzing gel, which were considered somewhat taboo at the time. Since then, a growing number of brands have introduced male-targeted lines, such as Chanel’s makeup line Boy de Chanel (2018) and men’s grooming lines from L’Oréal (2018) and Dior (2022). Instead of having a dedicated range for men, Rihanna’s Fenty has maintained a gender-neutral approach, including men in advertising campaigns for its makeup and skincare offerings since their inception.
Makeup for grooms
What makeup looks are grooms requesting for their wedding day? Makeup artist Damilola Adejonwo, who specialises in male makeup and grooming, sees a split among his clients. “It’s different depending on the wedding and the client,” says Adejonwo. “With a lot of grooms — particularly hetrosexual guys — they’ve never worn makeup before, so we’re just doing a skin prep, powder, oil control and making the skin look better. But some of the male clients I’ve done for LGBTQ+ weddings will go full glam.”
This rings true for author and influencer Charlie Michael Baker, who got engaged last month, and says he and his partner both plan to wear makeup at their wedding. “We’re in the social media era. My wedding will be in the public eye so it will be very glam, with cameras and everything, which is why we’re both wearing makeup,” he explains. Baker typically wears makeup day to day — he suffers with psoriasis flare-ups, which he usually conceals. “My makeup will have heavier coverage. My partner [who doesn’t often wear makeup] will just be concealing any dark spots that the camera would pick up on more than in real life.”
For men who haven’t worn much makeup before, Adejonwo says it’s important that the makeup artist makes them feel comfortable. “With guys, you have to ask a lot of questions, you can’t just assume what they want. Does he want more coverage? Does he want his skin to show through? Does he want the texture to show? It’s all about their comfort at the end of the day,” he says. “In a way, it’s harder than full glam because you may have to adjust it more, and they can get freaked out if it looks like they’re wearing makeup.”
Adejonwo approaches the ‘no-makeup’ makeup look the way you’d approach editorial makeup, or makeup on male film stars or celebrities. “It’s all about skincare; I’d say it’s 80 per cent skincare and 20 per cent makeup. That’s what makes the skin look good and for the look to have durability,” he explains. “Men tend to sweat more than women and we have oilier skin, so I use a lot of oil-control primers and focus more on powdered products that conceal and smooth the skin texture without looking like makeup. Less is more, the aim is for the makeup to melt into the skin so you can’t really see where the separation is.”
Adejonwo has noticed that most of his male clients don’t seem particularly curious about learning makeup techniques, which suggests they’re seeing it as a one-off rather than something they want to invest in for the daily. While this presents a challenge for some male-focused makeup lines, it highlights an opportunity to craft marketing campaigns around weddings and other special occasions — not just for grooms, but for other guests, too.
Skin, hair, nails: Grooming trends among grooms
Not every groom or male wedding guest is interested in wearing makeup, but many are looking into other forms of grooming. “Men are getting comfortable with the idea of taking care of themselves,” says Marc Terlet, co-founder and CEO of grooming brand Horace. Some of Horace’s most popular products include its Purifying Face Cleanser and Mattifying Face Moisturiser, which combined account for 15 per cent of Horace’s revenue alone. “The surprise comes from our serums, which account for 10 per cent of our revenue,” Terlet says. Horace’s tinted products and technical skincare are also growing categories. And in addition to skincare, there’s a growing number of men investing in facials ahead of their big days.
Beard and haircare are also rising in popularity. Adejonwo sees a lot of interest in beard grooming among his male clients — “the beard contours the cheeks, which ties together the look,” he says. He also often applies hair fibres, brown or black mascara, or eyeshadow to fill in any sparseness on his clients. Hair fibres, in particular, have boomed in popularity thanks to TikTok Shop. Baker says he has sold “at least 10,000” SKUs of hair fibre on his TikTok Shop, and has seen growing interest in PRP treatments for hair regrowth as well as hair transplants.
Adejonwo also sees a lot of interest in nail grooming. “A lot of guys want to get their nails done so they look clean and tidy,” he says.
Will grooms invest in tweakments?
On the more extreme end, there’s also a growing number of male patients undergoing cosmetic treatments and plastic surgery.
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the amount of money men spent on Botox (sometimes referred to as ‘Brotox’) rose 400 per cent between 2000 and 2023. Typically, men will opt for filler to sharpen the features — such as the jawline, chin or cheekbones — with ‘masculinisation’ procedures. Meanwhile, they opt for Botox to smooth fine lines for a more camera-ready appearance, which is particularly appealing for weddings or public-facing events.
Plastic surgeon Taimur Shoaib, who is based between London’s Harley Street and Glasgow’s City Centre, says he’s also seen an uptick in the number of men seeking surgical procedures ahead of their big day. “Men are looking for large changes in their appearance, in general, and there is an age divide in what I’m seeing,” he says. “Younger men are looking for surgery to normalise their appearance — rhinoplasty and prominent ear correction. The more mature man is looking for treatments to make him age gracefully such as blepharoplasty, for either hooded eyes or eye bags, or even face lift treatments.”
This is in contrast to female bridal party members, from brides to their mothers, who seek more subtle treatments and tend to plan in advance. “I’ve seen brides-to-be coming in for consultations two years prior to their big event. You only have to go shopping on Christmas Eve to understand how some of my [male] patients try and plan their major life events — and I do tell my patients they need time to recover from anything I do for them,” says Shoaib.
The future of grooming
Most brands that have launched male-focused grooming or makeup lines have presented them as inclusive initiatives that challenge gender norms. However, when US President Donald Trump added two new fragrances to his merch shop (Fight, Fight, Fight and Victory 47), it sparked a debate around the interplay of current grooming trends with rising conservatism. This has manifested in TikTok manosphere trends like looksmaxxing (a term used to describe intentional practices aimed at improving one’s physical attractiveness, ranging from basic grooming to cosmetic surgery), which is particularly popular among online incel communities.
“I do believe more men are becoming conscious about their appearance, and it’s impacting younger generations as well as older generations,” says Baker. He sees a growing pressure among men around beauty standards, bolstered by social media. “I do feel there’s a pressure for everything to be perfect these days since the pictures go on social media. Even for other men who aren’t in the public eye, they’re feeling they need to be perfect because what if Sandra from down the road sees a spot on your face.”
Nevertheless, grooming is here to stay. “Men will get more comfortable with grooming, just like they got more comfortable with fashion and fragrance. It will be gradual,” says Horace’s Terlet. “We’ve been seeing that via our sales and the engagement on our social media platforms. Social media is accelerating the shift.”
Adejonwo agrees: “In the next five to 10 years, I think male grooming at weddings and special events is going to become the standard.”
Disclosure: Taimur Shoaib, the plastic surgeon quoted, is related to the author.
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