Today, Scott McGlynn an influencer and actor with over 265K followers has persuaded Superdrug in his home town of Blackwood in Wales to let him take the makeup and place it in the men's section. It's in a bid to remove the stigma men feel when it comes to buying makeup from high street stores. As part of his Superdrug Blackwood takeover he’ll spend some time in the shop helping any local teens or men how to pick the best makeup products or concealers.
Scott says he has lost count of the amount of times men have approached him to talk about feeling embarrassed to buy makeup from high street shops. They say it is due to its placement near to all the women’s sanitary products - which is the case in most of the UK’s beauty and health retailers. Men often tell him that due to the stigma of being seen in the women’s aisle they buy makeup online instead. They face quite a few colour issues though and would prefer to try before they buy. This goes for both gay and heterosexual men according to Scott.
Back in 2020 a survey by Direct2Florist found that 65% of men would wear makeup or concealer if there was no fear of being judged by others. In another study by YouGov back in 2019, it revealed that 1 out of 20 men now wear makeup and it is likely that that figure has now increased.
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“I am passionate about changing the way we see men wearing makeup and male skincare in general. I often have men messaging me for advice and this always come up. I think it is time we moved the make up into a more gender fluid area of the shops and Superdrug have been kind enough to let me trial it at my local store," Scott explained.
Scott suffered from severe acne when he was a teenager and through that and being gay in a rural Welsh town, he was badly bullied. He left school with nothing. It was only as an adult that he decided to share his skin story and the bullying he faced in a bid to help others.
Customers told Scott in the shop said: "I think it's really natural and blends in with everything else. It helps people and it fits in really well, it's good to have both genders in the same section."
Rebekah Leigh, the manager at Superdrug Blackwood, said: "I think this is a fantastic idea. We want to make sure that makeup is genderless and that anyone who comes into our store feels comfortable buying makeup. Scott is a skincare expert and a local lad so we are thrilled he wants to do this with us."
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