Are Male Beauty Campaigns Built for the Female Gaze?
Men are becoming the face of beauty brands, and everyone’s wondering if it’s real progress or just marketing.
Beauty was never just for women. While the category has long catered to a specific type of person, in 2026, beauty fans transcend the usual labels and demographics that have been historically associated with makeup, skincare and hair. Yet, brands often seem more focused on standing out than reflecting who their customers really are. With the recent wave of male-led campaigns, brand experts have started to question whether the trend is just another marketing tactic rather than a real shift in how brands view their evolving consumer base.
Whether its Harris Dickinson becoming the first man to star in a Rhode campaign or Seth Rogen appearing in Sephora ads, male celebrities are no longer just interacting with brands, they’re becoming the face of them. For many, this new development seems like a step in the right direction for gender-less beauty — but, beauty experts have mixed feelings about the intention behind these campaigns, especially when it seems like their sole purpose is to garner clicks. “When beauty brands collaborate with male celebrities and influencers, it’s unexpected,” communications strategist Candace Youde tells Hypebae. “The element of surprise can make headlines and stop a consumer’s doomscroll. In today’s increasingly competitive beauty landscape, attention is currency.” Because that attention is often all that brands are after, male beauty campaigns carry a responsibility to do more than just turn heads.
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Even with a surprising face like Seth Rogen fronting Sephora, many brand experts remain skeptical that male-led ads can carry out that responsibility all while speaking to the male demographic — unless brands follow the casting with real inclusivity. According to Joycelyn David, owner and CEO of AVCommunications, the real work goes beyond just tapping famous men to sell products, “The beauty industry is adept at finding safe, profitable ways to appear progressive while avoiding the harder work of true equity. It can create an illusion of inclusion. The question is whether these campaigns are accompanied by meaningful progress for diverse consumers. Visibility matters, but who else is being represented, served and included?”
Men fronting beauty campaigns might feel new in the U.S., but experts note that K-beauty has a proven track record of utilizing male ambassadors: from BTS’s Jin being named Laneige‘s first male global ambassador to Stray Kids’ Felix serving as HERA’s first male ambassador. Although America has yet to match Korea’s appetite for male beauty products, male-led campaigns in both markets share one similarity: their desire to tap into the female gaze. “A male celebrity brings the power of the female gaze and parasocial fandom. Historically, female faces in beauty have often projected an aspirational standard of perfection, which can play [in to] women’s insecurities. A male face can interrupt that,” David adds.
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After internet heartthrob Rob Rausch of Love Island USA and The Traitors became the face of not one, but two makeup campaigns in mere months, it became evident that brands weren’t seeking out men that actually use their products. For fans and experts alike, seeing a male celebrity as the face of a beauty brand isn’t the issue, it’s the inability to create something that feels authentic to both the brand and the male face. In response to Rausch’s partnership with MAC Cosmetics, Youde found that the storytelling fell flat, “While the announcement may have generated initial excitement and attention, it felt like his connection to MAC or makeup was unclear.”
Similarly, in the case of Seth Rogen and Sephora, Olivia DuCharme, Director of Content at Artemis Ward, says that even though the comedic undertone of the ad made it enjoyable to watch, there’s also a fine line between making a joke and alienating an entire audience of beauty fans, “If brands aren’t careful, they can reinforce the very stereotypes the category is trying to break. If the main role men play in beauty advertising is the clueless shopper who needs things dumbed down for him, what message does that send to a teenage boy who’s interested in skincare? That his interest is somehow unusual, or that beauty is someone else’s territory?”
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Although male beauty campaigns are enough to stop you mid-scroll, the beauty community is questioning their true intentions. Beyond their manufactured virality, the trend has also shed light on how a category built on inclusivity has somehow left many people feeling shut out. “In trying to make beauty more accessible to men, the industry has often reinforced the very conventions that made it feel inaccessible in the first place,” Jamie Ray, CEO and founder of Buttermilk, says. “Beauty should invite curiosity, not come with a prescribed set of rules about how men are supposed to engage with it.”
