從護膚開始 重新定義男子氣概
David Yi had an early introduction to beauty regimes.
戴維•李(David Yi)很早就接觸到了美容之道。
“Growing up in a Korean household, my mother would give us facials,” said Mr. Yi, the founder of Very Good Light, a website about men and grooming that goes online this week. “She’d put all these creams on me, and I dreaded it. But I started to realize it was indicative of how important it was to present yourself to the world.”
“我是在一個韓國家庭長大，從小母親就會給我們做面部護理，”本週上線的男士美容護理網站Very Good Light的創始人戴維•李說。“她會給我塗各種面霜，我當時很討厭。但我慢慢意識到，這說明了向世界展示自己是多麼重要。”
His parents, who moved to Colorado from Korea in 1983, were also vigilant about his daily application of sunscreen, he added with a laugh, threatening punishment if he skipped it.
戴維•李的父母於1983年從韓國移居到了美國的卡羅拉多州。他們很注意讓他每日堅持塗防曬霜，還威脅說如果他不塗就會受到懲罰，戴維•李笑着說。
Mr. Yi, 29, sat at a table at Dimes Deli in Chinatown, eating a gluten-free peanut butter cookie and drinking coconut water mixed with chlorophyll. He wore generously ripped black pants, a black T-shirt and a tattoo in script on his arm that read “elevate.”
現年29歲的李坐在唐人街的Dimes Deli餐館裏，正在吃無麩質花生醬餅乾，喝着添加葉綠素的椰子汁。他穿了一條有很多破洞的黑褲子和一件黑色T恤，胳膊上有“elevate”（昇華）字樣的紋身。
After stints as a writer and editor for The Daily News, WWD and Mashable, Mr. Yi decided to lend his expertise to guys who didn’t grow up with an education in personal-care products. “Men are just supposed to figure it out,” he said. With Very Good Light, he hopes “to redefine masculinity and to redefine men’s beauty.”
戴維•李此前在紐約《每日新聞》報(The Daily News)、《女裝日報》(WWD)和新聞博客網站Mashable做過撰稿人和編輯，後來他決定拿自己的專業知識爲不曾在小時候接觸過個人護理知識的男性服務。“人們覺得男人應該自己去搞明白這些東西，”他說。他希望可以通過Very Good Ligh“重新定義男子氣概和男性之美。”
The timing may be right.
這個時機或許是對的。
“A lot of guys resort to asking questions on Reddit, because they don’t know where else to go,” said Emily Weiss, the founder and chief executive of Glossier, a site that, along with Man Repeller and Refinery29, served as inspiration for Very Good Light. “The younger generation of men are embracing beauty and skin care in a more open-minded and forward-thinking way.”
“很多小夥子會跑到Reddit上提問求助，因爲他們不知道還可以上哪兒問，”Glossier創始人兼首席執行官艾米莉•韋斯(Emily Weiss)說。這個網站連同Man Repelle和Refinery29都是Very Good Light的靈感來源。“更年輕的一代男性正在以一種更開放和更超前的方式接受美容與護膚理念。”
Chris Salgardo, the president of Kiehl’s and author of “Manmade: The Essential Skincare & Grooming Reference For Every Man,” said: “Now is absolutely a great time for a site fully dedicated to men’s grooming and skin care. Over the past year and a half, there’s been a growing conversation in our stores, and on my own social media, as men reach out with questions beyond basic skin care or shaving to learn more about anti-aging and ingredients.”
契爾氏(Kiehl)總裁、《膚在人爲：男性基礎護膚與個人護理指南》(The Essential Skincare & Grooming Reference For Every Man)一書的作者克里斯•薩爾加多(Chris Salgardo)說：“現在絕對是創建一家完全專注於男性個人護理與護膚網站的好時機。在過去的一年半里，在我們的店鋪和我個人的社交媒體上，此類話題都越來越多，男士們提出的問題已經超出了基礎護膚或剃鬚的範疇，而想了解更多有關抗衰老和成分的知識。”
Mr. Yi envisions his start-up capturing the spirit of skin care and grooming. “Big brands and media outlets are too afraid to push the envelope,” he said. “They are stuck in 2014 still talking about beard oil when no one has beards anymore.”
李設想自己的創業公司會捕捉到護膚與個人護理的精髓。“大品牌和媒體機構太害怕，不敢挑戰極限，”他說。“它們停留在2014年，還在談論須油，而現在已經沒人留大鬍子了。”
In one column on the site, influential men — the Diesel creative director Nicola Formichetti, editors and sports stars — talk about their skin-care regimen. (LeBron James is Mr. Yi’s dream interview.) There are stories on how to properly cover a hickey, an introduction to BB creams, and something titled “You’re Actually Parting Your Hair All Wrong.”
在網站的一個專欄中，他們會邀請有影響力的男性——迪賽(Diesel)服裝設計公司創意總監尼古拉•福爾米凱蒂(Nicola Formichetti)、以及多名編輯和體育明星——談論自己的護膚之道。（勒布朗•詹姆斯[LeBron James]是李最想採訪的對象。）也有文章教你如何正確地掩蓋吻痕，介紹BB霜，還會有這樣的文章標題：“你分頭髮的方式實際上完全是錯的”。
There are also features that take a broader approach to personal care, culture and what it is to be a man.
其中也會有一些專題文章更寬泛地探討個人護理、文化，以及何爲男人。
Six American Sikh men are interviewed about turbans, with photographs by Mike Tessier and styling by Christopher Kim, a former Carine Roitfeld assistant.
有六位美國錫克教徒就纏頭巾的問題接受了該網站的採訪，文中配有邁克•特西爾(Mike Tessier)拍攝的照片，造型師則是曾擔任卡琳•洛菲德(Carine Roitfeld)助理的克里斯托弗•金(Christopher Kim)。
There is an essay called “Why I’m Not Afraid to Be Called Feminine,” about masculinity in black culture, and; a story about a biracial man who came to understand his mother through Korean skin care.
有一篇名爲《爲什麼我不怕被人說女性化》(Why I’m Not Afraid to Be Called Feminine)的文章談論了黑人文化中的男子氣；另一篇則講述了一名混血男子如何通過了解韓國護膚知識，漸漸理解了他的母親。
Eventually there will be sex and dating. “We’ll talk about kissing and seduction, but it will be very PG-13,” Mr. Yi said.
最終還會有關於性和約會的文章。“我們會討論如何接吻和誘惑對方，不過內容會是非常限制級的，”李說道。
Another eventuality is advertising. Right now, Very Good Light is a labor of love. “It’s not funded at all,” Mr. Yi said. “I have called in a lot of favors.”
另一個最終會出現的東西是廣告。目前Very Good Light的工作是沒有回報的。“完全沒有資金投入，”李說。“我欠下了不少人情。”
The target market is Generation Z. “Sixteen to 26 is our sweet spot,” he said. “They are the first generation to be completely born on digital and the web. They’re savvy with social media and its risks.”
它的目標市場是Z世代。“16到26歲的男性是我們的理想受衆，”他說。“他們是第一代完全成長於數字和網絡時代的人，非常瞭解社交媒體及其風險。”
He considers this audience fearless and sexually fluid. His inspirations are the rapper Young Thug and the actor Jaden Smith. “They are so secure with themselves and their manhood that they will wear, quote-unquote, women’s blouses and skirts.” David Bowie “was very Very Good Light,” he added.
他認爲這部分受衆無所畏懼，在性別認知上也比較靈活。給他啓發的是說唱歌手“青年暴徒”(Young Thug)和男演員傑登•史密斯(Jaden Smith)。“他們自我感覺很好，不擔心自己的男子氣受損，會穿所謂的女性襯衫或裙子。”大衛•鮑伊(David Bowie)“就非常Very Good Light，”他接着說。
Mr. Yi spoke of his own struggle to come into his version of manhood. “My masculinity was so different from the Western ideal,” he said. “Pampering yourself was seen as so effeminate. That’s what girls did.”
戴維•李也談到了他在形成自己的男子氣觀念中遭遇的困難。“我所認爲的男子氣與西方的理念非常不同，”他說。“精心呵護自己當時被看作是非常女性化的，是女孩纔會做的事。”
Korean pop (or K-pop) stars helped. “Looking at them, they wore guyliner, they had smoky eyes, they wore foundation and BB creams,” he said. His love affair with K-pop was such that his parents let him stay with relatives in Seoul while he was in high school so that he could try his hand at pop stardom. After a few months, he was signed but realized he yearned for the life of an American teenager: getting a driver’s license and going to the prom.
在這方面，韓國流行歌星幫了他的忙。“看看他們，他們塗男士眼影，化煙燻妝，也會用粉底霜和BB霜，”他說。他對韓國流行歌星的喜愛如此強烈，以致他的父母讓他在上高中時留在首爾和親戚一起住，以便他能嘗試當流行歌星。幾個月後，他簽了約，但他意識到自己其實渴望過美國青少年的生活：拿駕照，參加舞會。
Still, he has kept one foot in Korea, which is now known worldwide for its multistep skin care. “I do seven steps: cleanser, toner, a mist, a serum, an essence, a moisturizer and sunscreen,” Mr. Yi said. “If I’m meeting someone special, I’ll do a cushion or concealer, maybe a highlighter.”
不過，他依然保留了與韓國的關係。這個國家如今以多步驟護膚爲全世界所知。“我有七個步驟：潔面乳、化妝水、噴霧、精華乳、精華液、潤膚霜和防曬霜，”戴維•李說。“如果要見什麼特別的人，還會上氣墊粉或遮瑕膏，或許再打一個提亮。”
