Jon Shanahan on Men’s Cosmetics

Smart Sex, Smart Love with Dr Joe Kort

Approximately 56 percent of men “admit” they use makeup. “Admit” is the key word. There seems to be a taboo associated with men’s cosmetics. Like sex, it’s something we don’t talk about it. But it IS time to talk. During a Smart Sex, Smart Love podcast, host Joe Kort, PhD, spoke candidly with Jon Shanahan, co-founder of Stryx, a men’s cosmetics company launched two years ago to provide the products men need, but aren’t comfortable saying so. Jon likes to tell everyone that he is straight, married and the father of two children. He immediately wants to announce that men’s cosmetics are for all men because all men need them. The company started when his business partner woke up the morning of his wedding to discover a pimple on his face. His fiancé had spent hundreds of dollars on makeup for that day, but he had nothing to cover up a pimple. Every man has a story like that … the day of a big presentation, a first date … it can throw your game off. The need and desire for men’s cosmetics is on the rise … quietly. If a man has a blemish, he searches his wife’s cosmetic bag for a concealer, or is forced to go to the cosmetics counter at Sephora’s or Macy’s where women shop and men shouldn’t be seen. The cosmetics industry is so heavily marketed to women, but there is no on ramp for men. That’s why Stryx was launched. Men should have a quick and easy fix for a blemish, a shiny forehead or to cover dark circles under their eyes. The goal of Stryx is to destigmatize the shame many men feel about wearing makeup. Men should feel empowered to buy a man’s cosmetics product, not embarrassed. It is time for that complete evolution for men.