There are early records of men using cosmetics across China and Japan from 3000BC onwards, staining their fingernails and skin with plant-based products. Ancient British warriors also covered themselves in blue, gaining the Roman nickname ‘the painted ones’, and Alexander the Great was mocked for opting for a little coverup before going into battle.

But hundreds of years later, even as society has become less ruled by binary gender rules, it is still generally accepted that most men would be pushed to remember to moisturise, let alone undertake a full beauty routine. This has left the make-up industry skewed towards women, and the men who dared to dabble in eyeliner considered flamboyant or subverting popular culture. 

Trends like punk, emo, goth, glam rock, and the new romantics of the 1980's, popularised by iconic figures like David Bowie, Prince and Boy George, used make-up as part of their uniform, but it was not considered the preside of the mainstream man. 

And even those that did do male-specific, products were largely marketed with terms such as “grooming”, which make-up artist Jake Xu says makes it sound like you’re “talking about a dog”. 

But today, the tide finally seems to be turning. Perhaps the moment in 2019 when David Beckham appeared on the cover of Love Magazine wearing teal eyeshadow, beauty experts should have predicted it was a sign of things to come. If you can get a 44-year-old dad and former footballer (even if he is one of the most fancied men on the planet) on newsstands in eyeshadow, surely we should sit up and take notice?