Meet the first-ever male to become the face of a popular cosmetic brand

Defying gender norms

A 17-year-old guy has defied all gender norms by becoming the first male spokesmodel of CoverGirl.

An aspiring New York makeup artist, James Charles, rose to fame after his senior pictures went viral. The social media sensation revealed that he had brought his own ring light at the portrait session.

So I retook my senior photos & brought my ring light with me so my highlight would be poppin. I love being extra 💀 pic.twitter.com/7Qu1yu8U2P

— James Charles (@jamescharles) September 5, 2016

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James is about to break the internet again as the famous cosmetic brand announced today that he is officially the new face of the brand — and the first ever male to represent them.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BLbN-CzAJsz/

“I really hope that as the first male CoverGirl that I am able to inspire others and give other people confidence to try out makeup! Hey, if a random 17-year-old guy can do it, you DEFINITELY can too," James told Buzzfeed.

“Breaking gender norms just comes instantly as soon as a boy is comfortable and confident enough to put on makeup. I think it’s so important to love who you are and be comfortable in your own skin,” he added.

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Fellow CoverGirl spokesmodel Katy Perry took to Instagram to break the news. "Honoured to have the pleasure to announce the very first COVERBOY, James Charles!" she wrote in her post.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BLaV3V3Ay99/

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James currently has over 400,000 Instagram followers and almost 70,000 YouTube subscribers.

“I started my account to post pictures of client makeup I did to get more gals during prom season! I never in a million years would’ve expected to be where I am today, or even working with CoverGirl,” he told BuzzFeed.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BK1wzOwAJTl/

James has joined the ranks of Sofia Vergara, Janelle Monáe, Pink, and more.

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