This study draws on the theory of Social Semiotics and the methodology of Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis (MCDA) to examine the textual and visual design of skincare advertisements targeted towards men. The current proliferation of the market for male-oriented facial products represents an important shift towards the increased attention to the beautification of male bodies in Western societies. Such beautification encourages men to work on and improve the self (and face) through intensifying practices of “aesthetic labour.” Aesthetic labour places emphasis on an entrepreneurial self-care and self-control regime that promotes an active late lifestyle fostered through ideas about “successful ageing.” As expected, the analysis of the corpus consisting of advertisements from L'Oréal Men, Nivea Men and Clarins Men shows that the male face is generally constructed as a “problem” that can be cured through the consumption of skincare products. The consumption of these products increases men's visual literacies of the face and hence normalises male beauty practices that seemingly encourage men to care for and work on their skin, which can be construed of as a feminising practice. Nonetheless, the advertisements employ masculine traits and strategies that link cosmetic products to traditional values of masculinity. The beautification of the male body, thus, turns the consumption of skincare products into a performance through which men can maintain their already privileged status in society, rearticulating the double standard of ageing (Sontag, 1972).

本研究利用社会符号学理论和多模态批判性话语分析（MCDA）方法来研究针对男性的护肤广告的文字和视觉设计。当前男性面部产品市场的激增代表着西方社会对男性身体美化日益关注的重要转变。这种美化鼓励男人通过强化“审美劳动”的实践来努力和改善自我（和面子）。审美劳动强调企业家的自我保健和自我控制制度，通过“成功老龄化”的理念促进积极的晚年生活方式。正如预期的那样，对欧莱雅男士、妮维雅男士和娇韵诗男士广告组成的语料库的分析表明，男性面孔通常被认为是一种可以通过消费护肤品来治愈的“问题”。这些产品的消费提高了男性对面部的视觉素养，从而使男性美容习惯正常化，这些美容习惯似乎鼓励男性护理和保养自己的皮肤，这可以被理解为一种女性化的做法。尽管如此，这些广告还是采用了男性特质和策略，将化妆品与男性气质的传统价值观联系起来。因此，男性身体的美化将护肤品的消费变成了一种表演，通过这种表演，男性可以维持其本已在社会中的特权地位，重新阐明衰老的双重标准（Sontag，1972）。