Are Guys Getting Too Girly?
First it was just about borrowing a little of our self-tanner to fake a glow, but then, soon enough, guy's sporting orange faces became a red carpet norm. Now, there's also boy bling, man bobs, perfectly plucked brows, and even pejazzling (google, if you must.) Has men's grooming gone too far into the repertoire of women's beauty moves? Let's break down the recent surge of not-so manly tendencies.
Man Jewelry
Guys have been rocking earrings long before Justin Bieber was born. However, for the new crop of young twenty-somethings (or in Bieber's case 17-somethings), the latest trend has turned to studs on steroids. Unfortunately though, when a guy's bling is bigger than mine it comes off less as sexy and more as sleazy.
Man-ing
Another male beauty no-no: man tanning, otherwise known as man-ing. Leonardo DiCaprio's recent tanning disaster, in which he showed up to the premiere of his new film, J. Edgar with an orange-y glow is a big reminder as to why men need to stay out of the tanning beds. If a guy's unnatural coloring looks like it would be acceptable on the Jersey Shore, he might want to think again.
Man or..Woman?
While Leo lies on one end of the spectrum, Australian model, Andrej Pejic, sits at the opposite end with his porcelain-smooth fair skin. The model has taken the industry by storm with his super feminine features and ability to model for both mens' and womens' wear. His unique look has taken androgyny to a whole new level by keeping people guessing on whether he's a man or woman. And although it's great to be kept on your toes when dating a guy, his sex is one thing I shouldn't have to question.
Man Nail Polish
It seems as though there's a new breed of dude on the rise and while I'm hesitant to call him a "beauty bro", the term "metrosexual" just doesn't seem strong enough. When I saw that Los Angeles-based grooming company EvolutionMan had come out with a nail polish collection for guys, my first thought was "Nail polish? For men? AHA, good luck marketing that!" Apparently though, joke's on me. Over the past few weeks the two-time winning Sexiest Man Alive (Johnny Depp, duh) did something very unsexy. He hit the red carpet sporting bright blue nails. Call me crazy, but there are a few beauty products I'd be willing to share with my guy. Nail polish is not one of them.
And while I thought this whole manly nail polish fad was just a part of Depp's "mysterious" persona, looks like I was wrong. Even NBA megastar Dwayne Wade recently admitted that he likes to paint his nails.
"'Three years ago I was like, 'Man, I kind of want to paint my toenails black...At first I thought, 'Nah, I can't do that. They're going to kill me. But eventually I decided to try it,'" he said in an interview with GQ.
Really, 2006 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year? All I have to ask is, why? I know guys often hear that they need to tap into their sensitive sides and express themselves, but c'mon. This is just too much.
Maybe I'm old-fashioned in wanting a manly man who doesn't borrow my nail polish, hit the tanning salon, or go for a pejazzling (seriously, wasn't vajazzling bad enough?), but is that really too much to ask for?
