What does James Charles, a 17-year-old high school senior from New York, have in common with Zendaya, Pink, and Katy Perry? This October, CoverGirl announced its first male representative, James Charles, to join the impressive list of celebrities acting as spokespeople for the company.
Charles’ ability to do hair and makeup went viral when he posted on social media that he retook his senior portraits because he was not happy with the way his highlighter looked in the first ones.
Prior to becoming a CoverGirl, Charles would offer to do his friend’s makeup and eventually began to make YouTube tutorial videos, which amassed to over 100,000 subscribers and 800,000 followers on Instagram. Although Charles is not professionally trained to do makeup, he has some true talent that he attributes to all his practice.
Charles will be collaborating with Katy Perry, who announced via Instagram that Charles would be CoverGirl’s newest spokesperson. James Charles has completed filming his first CoverGirl television commercial and will continue to work on his campaign with the company, which will include tips and how-tos as well as advertising on social media, television, and print.
Although CoverGirl officially launched in 1961, James Charles is their first male ambassador in the company’s history and is not only a huge breakthrough for CoverGirl, but also the beauty industry as a whole. Charles’ work with CoverGirl further breaks gender norms and continues to redefine “what it means to be beautiful.”