That understated approach sets Buquen apart from heavily glammed-up influencers such as James Charles, who became the first male spokesperson for CoverGirl in 2016, and Manny Gutierrez, hired to rep Maybelline the following year. But Buquen’s brand is also different because, unlike these maximalist male makeup pioneers, he’s straight. This is something he makes clear by featuring whatever woman he’s dating prominently on his Instagram grid, and it doesn’t seem incidental to his swift rise. It’s easy to imagine his appeal—he’s got chiseled features and the physique of a gym rat who divided his adolescent leisure time between ballet lessons and rugby matches—for cosmetics industry marketing departments interested in chasing an emerging market that’s repeatedly failed to emerge: dudes.