Chinese men wear more makeup to "get rid of being single"

Younger Chinese men are paying more attention to their appearance and are increasingly interested in applying makeup before dates, Toutiao News reported. As the Lunar New Year is a popular time for blind dates, the demand for makeup services for men is also on the rise.

Xiaodan, a makeup artist in Sichuan Province, China, said the cost of each makeup consultation has increased to nearly 200 yuan (nearly 700 thousand VND), while at other times of the year the fee is only 60 yuan (more than 200 thousand VND).

The service has become popular in rural areas as well as cities, she said, including in her hometown of Jiangxi, where elders arrange multiple dates a day for single men in their families.

"Who doesn't want to make a great first impression? Nowadays, many men are also more into makeup. My makeup appointments for men on blind dates were fully booked during the week-long Lunar New Year holiday. I would meet and beautify at least two clients a day," Xiaodan said.

Another makeup artist, Coco, from Guangdong province, also has a busy schedule during this time. In January 2024 alone, she had 36 male clients and her February schedule is completely booked.

Coco says men tend to focus on improving their skin and eyebrows, while some want to get a new hairstyle. Many of her clients tell her they have failed to attract the opposite sex on blind dates, so they come to her to improve their appearance in the hope that it will help.

“Makeup can help boost their confidence,” says Coco.

Mr. Wang, 31, is one of Coco's clients. Wang was introduced to the makeup artist by a friend because he was not good at choosing clothes or hairstyles.

After this trend exploded, it attracted a lot of attention on Chinese social networks.

"I think it's a good thing. It shows that men are starting to respect their dates more," said one netizen.

Some people wonder if these men will still wear makeup on second dates?

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that there were 240 million single people in China in 2018, and the number of single men aged 20-49 was much larger than single women of the same age.

According to the China Statistical Yearbook 2022, the number of people getting married in the country fell to 6.83 million in 2022, down about 803,000 from 2021.