We’ll never stop emphasizing the fact that makeup is for everybody.
Growing up in a heternormative society has made us associate makeup with femininity. Don’t feel bad, we’ve all done it! But now, it’s up to us to evolve the use of makeup into something holistic and inclusive.
If any of you friends are struggling on presenting to be more masculine, don’t worry, because QUILL’s here to give you some tips on how to utilize masc makeup efficiently.
Luckily for any beginners, the key to masc makeup is to…
Keep it simple!
The products you need to achieve the simplistic nature of masc makeup mainly have to do with your base. A good BB cream and some concealer should do the trick.
For a BB cream, we recommend this matte one from Covergirl. It’s a highly rated beginner product (with a charming price, too!) and helps control the oil on your face. No makeup tools needed — it can easily be blended out with your fingertips. Having a good base will help elevate your look overall – think of it like a blank canvas.
Concealer is also a must. If you want to sculpt your face more, we recommend getting a concealer that’s one to two shades lighter than your actual skin so we can focus on highlighting your best features. A little bit of chiseling will go a long way with masc makeup. We recommend a classic, tarte’s Shape Tape.
We also recommend going with a contour kit like this, so that you’ll have something to carry around for easy touch ups, and for more carving out the sharp points in your facial structure.
Doing your eyebrows is a fantastic way to present more masculine. Thickening them, along with shaping them will make you feel more assertive. This pencil from Winky Lux has nearly a perfect rating with 4.9 stars. It’s fantastic for making your brows look as thin or as thick as you want, and it even comes with a brush so you can blend everything out.
Lastly, a natural-looking lip tint will bring out your features more dramatically, and will definitely help if your goal is to achieve a masculine makeup look. If you want that contour to pop, we recommend this cheek and lip combo by r.e.m beauty! There’s a ton of different shades to choose from – all quite subtle, yet still buildable.
It’s important to state that masculinity as a look is not strictly defined to what we’ve listed above.
Think of it as a baseline; a beginning point for you to explore with more makeup looks in the future! What’s most important of all is that you define masculinity in a way that’s comfortable, not by what people tell you what it should look like.
We at QUILL understand that identity is not an easy subject to navigate. If you’re struggling with your identity right now, take it step by step. Little things, like using makeup products to help with passing, make all the difference.

Do you have any masc makeup tips of your own to share? Let everyone know in the comments!