The men’s beauty market has been under stress: Men’s skin-care brand Disco shuttered in November 2023, men’s nail polish brand Faculty shuttered at the end of December, and, also as of last year, the one-time men’s skin-care brand Geologie is now marketing itself as gender neutral.
Nevertheless, Evangelo Bousis, the husband and business partner of designer Peter Dundas, believes he can do things differently in the men’s sector. In February, Dundas and Bousis founded Dundas Beauty catered to the “Revolve girl.”
On Friday, Bousis introduced Enhanse, a men’s skin-care brand with a makeup bend that is selling on Amazon and its own direct-to-consumer site. The products, which range in price from $22-$42, include a hypochlorous acid-based mist the brand is positioning as a cleanser alternative, plus a mattifying mist, a brightening and tightening eye gel, and two self-tanners, one for the face and one for the body.
Bousis aims to improve upon errors made by brands that have not succeeded in the men’s beauty space, he said.
“[Other brands] have tried to convert men into wearing makeup or blue eyeshadow — and [maybe] or younger kids are exploring that. But they forgot the whole middle ground,” Bousis said. “I wanted to create a brand that spoke to a wider audience of men and gave them things that could enhance their looks with little, almost undercover enhancements.”
For example, the Enhanse lineup includes tanning products and also an eye gel with a trademarked ingredient called KoboBlur, which is said to blur imperfections for a poreless finish.
To launch the brand, Bousis partnered up with beauty industry veteran Keri Parker, who has worked for brands including NuFace and Kopari and serves as Enhanse’s chief operating officer.
According to the founders, there’s proven demand for men’s tanning products. “In general, the self-tanning space on Amazon is robust, but it’s not gender specific although 50% of its shoppers are men. … There is a massive opportunity on Amazon for men’s self-tanning,” Bousis said.
He added, “Part of our ethos is to normalize men using products to look and feel better. … We have seen first-hand how much better guys look and feel with a little color.”
And tanning is a gateway to makeup, Parker said, adding that makeup is in the brand’s plans for the future.
While Dundas Beauty launched as a joint venture with Anastasia Soare, founder of Anastasia Beverly Hills, Enhanse has so far been self-funded by Bousis. However, conversations with investors are in swing. The founders declined to provide their first-year revenue goals.
Out of the gate, the brand’s success will lean on Bousis’s connections and celebrity friends — he has 244,000 followers on Instagram. For awareness, the brand is also exploring partnerships with gyms, hotels and retail partners.
As for launching on Amazon, Parker said the retailer has the potential to change the men’s beauty landscape.
Bousis agreed. “When you look at a man, that where he’s shopping, and he’s buying toothpaste and deodorant,” he said. “It’s the way I shop.”
