Unless it’s called “Cool Metal,” “Sports Blast,” or “Anarchy” (and yes those are actual Axe body spray names), a large portion of straight cis men seem to feel it’s unmanly to have clean skin, silky hair, and chap-free lips. Enter A$AP Rocky.
The rapper has come out with a lip balm under Rihanna’s famed beauty line Fenty Beauty, aiming to end the plague of men with dry lips who cannot be bothered with putting on a little smudge of something healing. Whether it’s because they genuinely feel skin hydration and smooth lips undercut their masculinity or because male skin care has simply never been on their radar as a possibility, a lot of men don’t have even a basic skincare regimen, and don’t know where to start with one.
Thankfully, A$AP and Rihanna are here to help.
The balm, called Lux Balm, retails for a whopping $16! The product description on the Fenty Beauty site reads:
“Keep talkin’ your s***—just make sure you do it with soft, smooth lips. This juicy, Barbados Cherry-powered lip balm brings dry, chapped lips back to life with instant hydration. Sleek and discreet, it’s mess-free and slips effortlessly into any pocket.”
To announce the collab, Fenty released a short video featuring the rapper which is now making the rounds on TikTok.
Though it’s great that we are getting more marketing for male lip care, the short rap still includes the gender-binary-reinforcing line, “Nah b***h this ain’t lip gloss, lip balm up in my palm.” Gloss is just a step too far for them at this point.
Regardless, based on some of the TikToks that have been appearing since its release, it appears that men have been running to the stores to get their hands on some balm and some balm on their lips.
This TikTok user points out just how easily men have been influenced by A$AP Rocky, crying out, “For years we’ve been telling men to ‘go moisturize your lips, it’s not that bad.'” A$AP drops one video and “that’s all it took.”
Another user asks, “Why did it take A$AP Rocky jumping on a Fenty ad for men to decide they don’t want to have chapped lips anymore?”
This user’s take makes out that perhaps Rihanna was dropping a subtle hint to her partner A$AP by inviting him to collab on the lip balm. Honestly, if that’s true then well done Rihanna, well done you devious queen. We have you to thank for all the people out there kissing men with now wonderfully hydrated lips.
Another user wonders why anyone would pay $16 for the product when you can steal your significant other’s (*sigh* just like mine does).
However you want to go about getting those men so averse to self-care to actually start taking care of themselves, I am all for it.
(featured image: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)
