Men, glam up for Navratri!

Guys, put your best face forward and steal the show this festive season

With big-time beauty brands emerging with their first-ever male ambassadors, genderless makeup making its way into the beauty space and jaw-dropping beauty trends shaping our very existences, the term “fairer sex” demands a perusing reconsideration. Beyond everything, men deserve a little shimmer too!

With Navratri and the ever zealous dandiya nights looming around corner, personal grooming has become a matter of great (national) concern. On one hand, we witness women originating kick-ass beauty and fashion trends every day, on the other, to our pleasant surprise, guys are fiercely breaking stereotypes and gearing up (and how!) for the ongoing nine-days festival. “Gasp!!” fittingly defines how we feel about that.

As the festive mood stirringly envelops the air, men put their best “face” forward with beauty services such as hair spa, beard trims and more. Beauty salons and spas are overwhelmed with an increase in the number of
male visitors.

Frequently availed beauty services by men:

Shimmer and sherwani go hand in hand.

Men are breaking some serious stereotypes and these are more commonly highlighted during festivals and occasions. From perfectly illuminated jawlines to an utter perfection of contouring and blending, guys are steering the wheel of beauty in a completely contrasting direction.

The male grooming market in India is estimated to reach a valuation of Rs 5,300 crore by the year 2018. Quite naturally, beauty salons and spa centres have come round to becoming a big part of this story. Therefore, as an increasing number of men make up the salon/spa clientele, and their male friends and colleagues witness the results of those visits, one needs to find new ways to appeal to these customers!

"With an adoption of western culture, and with an upsurge in aspiration to have a high standard of living, the urban Indian man is spending 20 per cent more on spas and beauty salons than the previous two years. This splurge is more prevalent during the times of festivals such as Navratri, Diwali and so on. These indeed are revolutionary years," shares Sandeep Kesavanunni, Business Head of Transactions of Fabogo. -Team Fabogo

Facial cleanups
Who doesn’t appreciate an acne and blemish free visage? To exotify the whole affair of men setting beauty trends during festive seasons, beauty salons report a large chunk of male visitors call for facials, cleanups, anti-tans and acne treatments. Highlighting the perfect jaw line has never seemed easier. The radiance might just be envious to the women, but hey, why should girls have all the fun?

Hair colour
Shades of brown and blondes are all the rage right now, and are more prevalent amongst men in contrast to women. Right before Navratri commences, men gear up for the funkiest hair colours and hair highlights (at the very least) to rock a thoroughly groundbreaking avatar at dandiya nights. Jaw shattering hairstyles have us lit throughout these nine days! So much for eye candy, eh?

Beard trim and shave
A well-groomed beard paves its way ever so smoothly into a woman’s heart! And when the beard is perfectly fashioned, you know you’ve cut yourself a good deal. The festive season (Navratri) sees a swarm of men coming in and going out with perfectly-shaped beards to flaunt in the dandiya nights! An added bonus is the trend of using an illuminator which favorably enhances the look one’s donning and leaves behind a trail of gasping women.

Manicures and pedicures
It is not just the basic manicures and pedicures, men are all up for luxurious pampering with body polishes, delicate masks and more. The festive season displays a high demand amongst men for platinum facials, diamond body polishes, jasmine and caviar body wraps, in fact, they welcome the fanciest run-up to flaunt in pandals and fests all throughout the day and night. So much for stereotyping!