Repeatedly confronted with their own faces on virtual meetings, Japanese businessmen are embracing make-up to glam up their online reflections. In pursuit of a boost of self-confidence, older men are dissolving beauty binaries, reinventing masculinity for themselves.

Staring at our face close-up on constant Zoom calls isn’t doing most people’s self-confidence any favors. A little bit of make-up can give our self-esteem a boost and Tribe is catering to cosmetics-curious men by offering modern make-up’ without the dated messaging of hyper-masculinity.

In China, the desire to be perceived as marriageable and successful has long driven men to adhere to a rigid (and largely unrealistic) model of masculinity – but societal shifts have sparked changes in attitudes. What does the ’modern man’ look like and what does he value in life?

Upticks in male make-up and luxury sales, alongside the rising influence of ‘pretty boys’, point to a shift in gender norms among men in China. But government officials are looking to tamp down what they see as the ‘feminisation’ of men, and their efforts have the country divided in opinion.