We've all heard the familiar cliché: some women buy oodles of expensive products, while some men are perfectly happy with a bottle of 3-in-1 soap.
In recent years, self-care products targeted toward men have become more mainstream, and an increasing number of men now count skin care as part of their daily grooming routine.
TikTok user Katie Lane confronted this stereotype face-to-moisturized-face when she discovered her male date's collection of luxury hair and skin care products.
For Lane, her date's impressive (and expensive) array of products hinted at another possibility: he already had a woman in his life.
“Is he clean, or does he have a girlfriend?” Lane whispered offscreen as she panned over her date's product collection in a TikTok video posted on Apr. 11.
Alongside drugstore brands like Lubriderm and Neutrogena, products were visible from upscale skin care brands including Caudalie, Charlotte Tilbury, goop, Tatcha and Paula's Choice, as well as multiple haircare products from Olaplex and Ouai.
Some of the priciest products featured were the Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream, which retails for $100 for a 50 mL jar, GOOPGENES face oil ($98 for 30 mL), and two bottles of the Caudalie Vinoperfect serum ($82 for 30 mL).
So far, the video has garnered 8.6 million views and over ten thousand comments.
TikTok users debated whether the collection of products pointed towards a robust self-care routine or a longtime female partner.
“The Ouai was all I needed to see to know he has a wifey,” one TikTok user commented.
Most viewers concurred. “Ouai, olaplex AND charlotte tilbury?? No man could ever,” a user wrote in a comment that was liked over 100 thousand times.
Other commenters were less certain. “Yalll, my bf has a whole Paula’s choice skin care set 😭 some men just into skin care. But the charlotte tilbury is an immediate giveaway he has a gf,” a TikTok user wrote.
Several of the brands featured in the video weighed in from their official TikTok accounts.
Charlotte Tilbury, founder of her namesake brand, shared her advice in the comment section, writing: “Darling, run.”
“We plead the fifth bestie,” Paula's Choice commented on the video with a blank-face emoji.
Some brands pointed out specific products as red flags.
“The Caudalie Vinoperfect Serum was all we needed to see,” Caudalie's TikTok account wrote.
“The St. Barts really sold it bestie,” Ouai's TikTok account commented with a side-eye emoji.
In a follow-up video posted the next day, Lane revealed that she confronted her date about his pricey products.
“I immediately confronted him and I was just like, what is all this stuff? You have a girlfriend,” she said in the video.
Her date responded with a fairly solid alibi — his sister is a dermatologist and he buys the products that she recommends. He even showed Lane his Instacart order.
However, he did object to Lane filming and posting the video of his bathroom.
“I'm probably not going to see him again — definitely not going to see him again — because this all is just so odd,” Lane said in the TikTok. “And if you know that bathroom, let me know.”
Lane posted a video she called “the final update on bathroom boy” on Apr. 15.
