Boy de Chanel and the Rise of the Boy Beat

This week, WWD announced that Chanel is launching a “men’s makeup collection“, Boy de Chanel, arriving first in South Korea on September 1. The headline piqued my interest, not because a legacy luxury brand was targeting men with cosmetics, but in addition to Chanel’s established success with previous Boy products, there’s been a trend brewing on YouTube surrounding the “boy beat”.

The Boy Beat is an extension of the Glossier look, popularized by Beyonce’s makeup artist Sir John. The hallmarks of this trend include fluffy brows and enhancing features typically considered to be flaws such as rosacea, freckles, dark circles, and acne.

While men wearing makeup is not a modern concept, cultural comfort surrounding a fluid approach to self-expression is on the rise. Genderless brands are launching with increasing frequency, like Fluide and NOTO Botanics, to take advantage of Instagram’s ability to visually target their desired customer.

Which leads us back to Boy de Chanel, Chanel’s new makeup line. In a statement shared with WWD, Chanel said: “By creating Boy de Chanel, its first makeup line for men, Chanel reaffirms the ever-changing codes of an unchanging vision: Beauty is not a matter of gender, it is a matter of style.” The Boy line is named after Arthur “Boy” Capel, Coco Chanel’s longtime lover, who has served as the inspiration for a fragrance, handbags, sunglasses, small leather goods, and watches.

Although the brand is calling this collection its first men’s makeup release, I personally believe it has a genderless appeal. The matte black packaging is incredibly chic (as we expect from Chanel) and features three core products focusing on skin texture, lips, and complexion. I’m hopeful that this collection will eventually include a brow pencil, brow gel, mattifying powder, and SPF to complete the full Boy Beat aesthetic. Chanel has announced that Boy de Chanel will be available on their website and in boutiques, but there’s no word if it will be joining the edited assortment of Chanel makeup products in Ulta stores.

*Edited to add: the lovely Paris B shared her post on this release with me on Twitter, alerting me to the fact that there is indeed a brow pencil in the collection. Thank you so much, Paris! Check out her blog below.

Are you attracted to this collection? Sound off in the comments below!