Pretty Boys: Legendary Icons Who Redefined Beauty (and How to Glow Up, Too)

by David Yi, Paul Tuller (Illustrator)

Overview

In this inclusive, illustrated history and guide to skin care and beauty, journalist and founder of Very Good Light David Yi teaches us that self-care, wellness, and feeling beautiful transcends time, boundaries, and binaries—and that pretty boys can change the world

Chanel and Goop might have seemed ahead of the curve when they launched their men’s beauty and wellness lines, but pharaohs were exfoliating, moisturizing, and masking eons earlier. Thousands of years before Harry Styles strutted down the red carpet with multicolored fingernails, Babylonian army officials had their own personal manicure sets. And BTS might have become an international sensation for their smoky eyes and perfect pouts, but the Korean Hwarang warriors who put on a full face before battle preceded them by centuries.
 
Pretty Boys unearths diverse and surprising beauty icons who have redefined what masculinity and gender expression look like throughout history, to empower us to live and look our truths. Whether you're brand new to beauty, or you already have a ten-step routine, Pretty Boys will inspire and teach you how to find your best self through tutorials, beauty secrets, and advice from the biggest names in the beauty industry, Hollywood, and social media.
 
From Frank Ocean’s skin-care routine to Clark Gable’s perfectly styled hair, Rami Malek’s subtle eyeliner to a face beat to the gods à la Boy George or Kimchi the drag queen, K-Beauty to clean beauty, Pretty Boys will completely change the way we all see gender expression and identity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780358410683
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/22/2021
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	1,124,585
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 7.20(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

DAVID YI is the founder of Very Good Light, a site that has aimed to redefine masculinity through a beauty lens. Prior to Very Good Light, David launched fashion and beauty verticals at Mashable, reported for WWD, and was the fashion editor at the New York Daily News, in addition to writing for many other publications. He has received a GLAAD Award and two Webby nominations, and was named one of “25 People Changing the Beauty Conversation” in Marie Claire.

Table of Contents

Neanderthal (50,000 BCE) 20

Highlight Like It's 50,000 BCE, with Anthony Nguyen 22

Ramses the Great (1303-1213 BCE) 25

Rule Over Your Eyeliner Like Ramses the Great, with Jessica Ortiz 28

Hatshepsut (1479-1458 BCE) 29

Cyrus the Great (600-530 BCE) 33

How to Wash Your Face, with Joomee Song 36

Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE) 39

The Nose Knows: A Guide to Scent 41

Hwarang (576-925 CE) 43

Paint Your Lids Like the Hwarang, with Daniel Martin 46

Korean Skincare 101, with Charlotte Cho 49

Vikings (700-900 CE) 50

Shaving 101 52

King Louis XIV (1638-1715) 55

Wigging Out Like King Louis XIV, with David Lopez 58

Macaroni (1760s-1800s) 61

Macaroni Beauty Must-Haves 64

Julius Soubise (1754-1798) 65

Cleaning Up 67

Coming Clean with Beauty 70

Beau Brummell (1778-1840) 72

Black Panther Party (1966-1982) 75

Grow Your Best Hair Ever, Inspired by the Afro Movement, with Vernon Scott 79

(Pretty) Boys To Men 83

K'inich Janaab' Pakal (603-683 CE) 86

Get Your Brows in Shape, with Joseph Carrillo 88

Beyond the Binary 89

Own Your Gender-Nonconforming Identity, with Chester Lockhart 92

Chester's Tips for Gender-Fluid Beauty 93

Lit's Get It Clear 94

Consulting the Expert, with Dr. Y. Claire Chang 99

Max Factor (1877-1938) 101

Black Beauty Brands Broke Barriers 106

Remove Your Makeup the Right Way 111

Rudolph Valentino (1895-1926) 113

Rudolph Valentino Gave a Damn About His Part, with Kristan Serafino 116

Clark Gable (1901-1960) 118

Shi Pei Pu (1938-2009) 121

(Chapped) Lips Don't Lie 125

RuPaul (1960-) 127

All the Products You Need to Go Fish, with Plastique Tiara 132

Drag Queens: A Herstory 135

Catching Up with Kim Chi 140

Billy Porter (1969-) 143

How to Get That Majestic Glow, with Sir John 146

Frank Ocean's Blond(e) Moment (1987-) 148

How to Get an At-Home Facial, with Sofie Pavitt 152

Patrick Starrr (1989-) 155

How to Become a Starrr 158

Bad Bunny (1944-) 160

How to Paint Your Claws with Unistella 163

You've Got Nail 164

Ian Alexander (2001-) 171

Lord Byron (1788-1824) 176

Body Positivity, with Troy Solomon 180

The Lugubrious Tales of Body Modifications Past 182

Little Richard (1932-2020) 187

Glam Rock (1970s-1980s) 191

And Then Came Prince 193

Visual Kei (1980s-) 195

Boy George (1961-) 199

Club Kids (1980s) 204

Harry Styles (1994-) 207

Troye Sivan (1995-) 210

Hair to Dye For, with Rita Hazan 212

Nicola Formichetti (1977-) 214

BTS (2010-) 219

Korean Boy Beauty Secrets, with Ivan Lam 224

K-pop: Unmasking Masculinity (1992-) 226

How to Get K-pop Makeup, with Pentagon's Yang Hee-yeoun 230

Five Minutes with Holland, K-pop's First Openly Gay Idol 232

Bretman Rock (1998-) 235

Your SPF Guide 238

What I Love About Me 240

Acknowledgments 252

Notes 256

Index 266

Editorial Reviews

"A visual journey worth your time. David’s unique take on beauty is compelling and stunning, a must have." —Jonathan Van Ness, New York Times bestselling author of Over The Top and host of Queer Eye "Before I became Patrick Starrr, I was like any other young boy trying to figure it all out. Pretty Boys is a beautiful collection of relatability that guides us through a similar emotion that many prominent people have felt throughout history. It proves that beauty has always been tied to all people no matter their backgrounds." —Patrick Starrr, Beauty Guru & Founder of ONE/SIZE  "It's time to learn your history, darling! David's storytelling and research bring to life the deep connections between masculinity and mascara! The idea of what a man is has changed throughout time, and keeps changing...so smear on some eyeshadow, draw on a lip, and bring out the "Pretty Boy" inside!"—Sasha Velour, Drag Queen Extraordinaire “What I really love about beauty is that it makes me embrace the full power of Bretman Rock. But not everyone is comfortable with the power that is associated with feeling beautiful. This book proves that men and gender non-conforming people like myself have always used makeup and cosmetics as a way to elevate their look and spirit; giving themselves the power to change the world. Yes, pretty is powerful, and Pretty Boys has the receipts!”—Bretman Rock, Social Media Guru "The beauty industry is so important as it allows different demographics to feel seen and represented. But for far too long, the beauty industry has excluded men from the conversation. David transformed the beauty landscape by creating a safe space for guys to also participate not only in beauty, but find others like them. Pretty Boys will do the same and showcase men in all forms. When this book hits shelves, it will absolutely be revolutionary." —Charlotte Cho, co-founder of Soko Glam and author of The Little Book of Skincare "In a political time that seems rather dark, it's encouraging to know we have a beacon of light. David has challenged the notions of masculinity since he started his mission and continues to do so with Pretty Boys. Pretty Boys is more important now more than ever and will certainly inspire future generations to push culture forward."—Joe Zee, fashion editor and producer "David's work in both the beauty and masculinity space is not only important, it's culture-pushing. It also inspires anyone and everyone to embrace their authentic selves. We need a bold, beautiful, glittery beacon of hope more than ever and I know that that comes in the form of Pretty Boys."—Nicola Formichetti, artistic director and designer —

From the Publisher