Chinese "fresh meat" idols, with their huge fan base, have become the new darlings of the country's cosmetics market.
Japanese cosmetics brand Shu Uemura has sold more than 250 boxes of a new eye shadow palette for 980 yuan (&145) each at its Taobao online store after the brand announced on Thursday that Wang Yibo, a 22-year-old Chinese singer and actor who has nearly 14 million followers on Sina Weibo, as its global brand ambassador.
Shu uemura is just one of reportedly about 40 cosmetics and skin-care brands that had tie-ups with Chinese male stars in 2018. Others include L'Oreal with Wang Yuan from boy band TFBoys and Shiseido with actor Huang Xuan.
Wang's fans bought L'Oreal products worth more than 13.93 million yuan in March and April 2018 after the 19-year-old became the endorser for L'Oreal's makeup and hairdressing products, sohu.com reported in May 2018.
Male star endorsements have led to huge sales, a female staff surnamed Xia from Shiseido Shanghai branch told the Global Times on Sunday.
May, a 28-year-old woman working in Beijing, told Global Times on Monday that buying a male celebrity-endorsed product is like doing favorable thins for her own son or boyfriend, which she said makes her very willing to spend money.
"I want more advertisers and film producers to see my idols' business value and provide them with more opportunities," May said.
However, May said she is more cautious when it comes to female star-endorsed products.
"I will wonder if the products can really make me as beautiful as those female stars, which is usually impossible," she said.
May bought three KissKiss series lipsticks from Guerlain, which was endorsed by actor Yang Yang. The lipstick's sales reportedly increased more than 300 percent on Guerlain's website after Yang endorsed Guerlain's products in China.
The booming male cosmetics industry in China may also explain the popularity of male endorsements. The market is expected to increase grow 15.2 percent in the next five years.
