Boy teenager wanting to wear make up

[user1480352014]

Just want to find out from anyone else with a boy teenager wanting to wear make up.
It started with foundation, concealer which is fine to hide spots.. but now moving to eye shadow and nail varnish.
Why? and what shall I do?

Nothing.

Never make a fuss about anything which washes off.

(unless he's nicking yours without permission, in which case a bollocking for taking without asking - just as you would with any item).

I'd say you'd have to ask him why as it could be any number of things - because he wants to look more attractive, like a woman, artistic, spontaneous, likes goth make up.

What do you think you should do? It's his choice.

Meh.
Goths wear makeup, EMOs, punks, the New Romatics did, who cares?

I quite like a man in a bit of eyeliner anyway

Would you be asking the same thing if he was a girl?

I would buy him a makeup set to experiment with and leave it up to him what he does with his own face.

I'd make sure that he had a decent make up remover and general skincare, and leave him to it.

I would ask him what he would like and buy him a nice set for Christmas.
I think if we just normalised these things less children would think they are transgender, when really they just want to wear make up and be who they are!

Show him footage of David Bowie and Adam Ant and celebrate his willingness to be a bit alternative.

The YA book Eleanor and Park has a character from a conservative background and he starts wearing make up. Maybe a good Christmas present for both of you.

Lots of boys wear make up! And they aren't "transgender". They're just boys who like make up.

What to do? Could you pay for a few make up lessons?

CoverGirl had their first 'CoverBoy' this year.

There are some good male makeup wearers on a YouTube - PatrickStarr, MannyMUA, Wayne Goss to name a few. All of them are just men who like makeup, none of are trans if that's your worry!

The kindest thing to do is to treat him as your son and just love him. You don't have to encourage it by buying make up if you don't want to, but you need to ask yourself why you don't want to. Because it might be that you don't accept that part of your son and that is a bigger issue than just make up and might affect your future relationship with him.

So I'd be making sure he had some make up supplies including a good make up remover and moisturiser too. And that he knew he could talk to me if he wanted to.

I hope you find a way to deal with this-it's not a big thing unless you make it one.

So, hopefully established that you should just let him get on with it, but of course ensure that he obeys whatever rules the school has re makeup.

Obviously at school he should follow the same rules as everyone else - usually strict limits in most schools. Otherwise he does need to know a good cleansing routine, but shouldn't be shamed in any way for wanting this. Lots of men wear makeup - historically there have been times when every man has done so. Don't let it worry you.

Yeah, no problem.

He'll grow out of it faster the least fuss you make.

How nice to have a DS who takes care in his appearance.

Wish teen DS3 had more interest in looking good.

Don't worry OP - it may not be such a 'thing' as it was in the 80s, but he's still far from the only one doing this.

You don't need to do anything, make up isn't exclusive to woman and he'll be easier to buy for at Christmas!

He might end up as a famous make up artist working in Hollywood for all you know.

DS1 has been wearing liquid eyeliner and strutting around saying "eyes on fleek".
I have shown him where the eye make up remover is and let him get on with it.

Teenagers experiment and make up isn't solely for women- think of the New Romantics/Adam and the Ants/Robert smith (If anyone can provide me with a slightly more up to date reference - in the last eon or so would do - I'd be grateful [old gimmer emoticon] )

I'd let him crack on with it, hardly cocaine is it. There are worse hobbies than learning how to make your eyeliner more winged.

Leave him to it. He isn't breaking any laws here.

Let him. Just help him apply it so he knows how to use it.

My son went through a phase of wearing foundation around a year ago. He also dyed his hair red and got his ear cartlidge pierced. He's stopped wearing the makeup now, is back to a natural hair colour and hardly ever wears piercing. He was experimenting and j let him get on with it (even dyed his hair black and blue for him during the school holidays) and now he's grown out of it. I think it's better to support them in these things so long as they don't do these things school. It's fun and they need to express themselves in my view

You us3d to be able to get "guyliner" - maybe see if that's still a thing and get him some? Men look quite sexy in eyeliner.