To gain a wider understanding of existing brands on the market, rather than simply using Google images, primary research was conducted in a local Boots store. This included a vast range of skincare.
The first noticeable thing was the segregation of female skincare product's to men's. This could be to simply allow the consumer to find their desired brand/product, however it also insinuates that it wouldn't be as desirable to mix male brands within female brands, perhaps due to a lot of masculinity issues that the modern male faces. They may be (if younger) taunted by peers, or feel ashamed to use these products if they are within the other 'girlier' brands, and take comfort in knowing that a brand is 'for men', validating use.
The women's section of skincare is bright, clean and colourful, which may not attract a male consumer. They may be put off by the branding involved. But this begs the question, why are females bombarded with extremely 'girly' brands, why can't there be a gender neutral section for skincare and even make up?
In comparison, the male section is predominantly darker, with use of harsh blacks, greys and navy. This communicates a more masculine aesthetic as blue is a colour that has been stereotypically assigned to the male gender, in comparison to pink for females. Male skincare appears to look like a tool more than a cosmetic product, and in a way this will reassure the male that it is justifiable to use as it is 'manly'.
In the women's section, brands simply used their brand name and then the product name but within the men's section, they seemed to predominantly use "men" or "for men", again to segregate the products so a man knows they are using a male product, which is an effective method for males who may have fragile masculinity.
In these images you can see the brand "man cave", a phrase that describes a male's personal space or area, a term describing a room which a man does as he wants. This brand has used this term to communicate that males who will purchase this are free willed and do what they wish, whilst reaffirming masculinity.
The second is "Bull Dog", a breed of dog which is classically known as being aggressive, hardy and of course, manly. The image an individual may picture when seeing this brand is a stocky male, again which would reaffirm the consumers masculinity and justify the purchase - they aren't using female brands, they are using a manly brand which of course will probably be almost the exact same product as a female would use, simply exercising different branding.
These brands are effective when appealing to men, but why do we need segregation and why do men need to feel masculine when using skincare? While creating this campaign it is important to appeal to both females and males simultaneously, keeping it neutral is the crucial point.
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