How Times Have Changed With the New Face for CoverGirl

I recently stumbled upon an article on Facebook about CoverGirl announcing its first ever male face for their cosmetics products. With that said, modeling contracts have long been for celebrities and top supermodels, however CoverGirl announced its first non-celebrity cover on the magazine and it’s a boy. His name is James Charles, from Bethlehem, PA, a seventeen year old high school senior who has joined the ranks of Katy Perry, Pink and Christie Brinkley to name a few. James Charles grew to fame on Instagram with over 400K followers for his quirkiness and creative approach using makeup. Additionally, he grew to stardom (15-minutes of fame turned to being the face of one of the top cosmetics brands in the world) when he retook his senior portrait twice to make sure his makeup highlighter will “pop.” In the like manner, he took his story to social media to make that claim and from there all is history.

What is truly fascinating about James’ story is that it puts a perspective on how much 21^st century has evolved and where it has taken society today. With that said, James is the first ever CoverGirl/Boy male to be featured as the face of the brand in 58 years. His face will be featured on various digital and social media platforms, as well as print. This is huge and a game changer in the beauty industry due to the fact this historical moment, especially given in a time full of hate, bullying and gender inequalities. Furthermore, the traditional boundaries of gender in beauty and fashion has expanded and major growth to both females and males becoming social media famous.

CoverGirl is an established and reputable brand that acknowledges beauty in every format and is not gender exclusive. Moreover, it gives hope to young people to live their dreams, have self-expression and not have society dictate what is considered the norm. As a matter of fact, the reality is that the power of social media is our digital identity and part of how we are and how people view us. Therefore, by leveraging the use of social media it opens endless opportunities or it may provoke negative responses. Furthermore, the use of social media such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter is so powerful that it creates a buzz and a voice for people to express themselves. With that said, CoverGirl has broken the boundaries of what beauty and fashion is all about with the use of social media being a powerful tool in itself.

Source:

Chan, M.-A. (2016, October 11). CoverGirl just announced its first male face — & he couldn’t be more deserving. Retrieved from Refinery 29 website: http://www.refinery29.com/2016/10/126003/covergirl-first-male-model-james-charles#slide