Product Update
Is War Paint Still in Business? (2026 Update)
Is War Paint from Dragons’ Den still around in 2026? The deal it made, the dragons who invested, and where to buy War Paint today.
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War Paint For Men set out to make a case that had barely been made on British television before: that make-up for men is a real, viable category, not a novelty. The short answer to whether it is still in business is a firm yes. Founder Danny Gray's pitch is one of the clearer Dragons' Den success stories in our index.
The Short Answer
War Paint For Men is still trading, and trading well. The brand sells through its own website and has built a genuinely wide retail footprint since its Den appearance, stocked in more than 80 countries with major retail partners. It does not currently sell through Amazon.
For a category that barely existed as a mainstream retail proposition before this pitch, that kind of expansion is a strong signal the underlying idea worked.
The Pitch
War Paint appeared in Series 17, Episode 5. Founder Danny Gray asked for £70,000 in exchange for 12 percent of the business, pitching a men's make-up range built specifically around male skin and grooming habits, at a time when the entire category was still treated as a curiosity by most retailers.
Gray's pitch leaned less on the product mechanics and more on the cultural argument: that the stigma around men wearing make-up was outdated, and that a brand built specifically for men, rather than a repackaged women's line, could own the space. That combination of clarity and conviction is what tends to move a room of investors.
It's the kind of pitch that could easily have gone the other way. Category-creation businesses ask investors to believe in a market that does not clearly exist yet, which is a harder sell than simply proving demand for a known product. Gray's confidence in front of the panel, described afterwards as a founder who spoke with clarity and purpose, appears to have been the deciding factor.
The Deal
The pitch worked, and worked well. Tej Lalvani and Peter Jones jointly backed the business, putting up the full £70,000 for a combined 12 percent, matching Gray's original ask on both cash and equity. That is as clean an outcome as a Dragons' Den pitch gets.
Two Dragons splitting a deal usually signals real conviction on both sides, since neither wants to dilute their own stake without good reason. Jones and Lalvani both have strong retail and consumer track records, which made them a sensible pairing for a brand that needed to break into physical stores, not just sell online.
Jones in particular has built a reputation across the show's history for backing businesses with a genuinely differentiated retail proposition rather than incremental variations on existing products, and a men's make-up brand entering a category with essentially no direct UK competitor at the time fit that pattern closely.
What Happened After the Cameras Stopped
War Paint has gone on to build out a serious retail presence, landing in John Lewis, Sephora, Mr Porter, Harvey Nichols, Loft in Japan and Arnotts in Ireland. The brand also opened what it billed as the world's first dedicated men's make-up store, on Carnaby Street in central London.
Years after the pitch, Tej Lalvani has continued to publicly champion the business, posting about it as recently as 2026 and describing the original pitch as a reminder that the best founders reshape perspectives, not just markets. That kind of continued public backing from an investor years on is a good indicator the relationship, and the business, held up.
Opening a flagship physical store is a significant commitment for a brand that started life as a Dragons' Den pitch. It requires real retail infrastructure, ongoing footfall and a level of brand recognition that most companies at this stage do not yet have, all of which points to a business considerably further along than the typical post-Den survivor.
The Bigger Story Behind the Numbers
Beyond the sales and retail expansion, War Paint's story is worth reading as a genuine market-creation success. Category-pioneer pitches on the Den don't always work out; convincing consumers that a market they didn't think they needed actually exists is one of the hardest things a founder can attempt on live television. Gray managed it, and the retail partnerships that followed, particularly with prestige names like Harvey Nichols and Sephora, suggest the wider beauty industry came around to the same view the Dragons reached in the studio.
That combination, investor conviction that held up years later plus buy-in from major retailers who didn't need to be convinced by a pitch, is about as strong a signal of staying power as a consumer brand can produce.
Where Things Stand Now
War Paint For Men pitched in Series 17 for £70,000 and 12 percent, closed the deal on those exact terms with Tej Lalvani and Peter Jones, and has since expanded into 80-plus countries with a growing list of major retail partners.
If you're wondering whether men's make-up as a mainstream retail category survived past the pitch that helped popularise it, the answer is yes, and War Paint is still leading it, with a flagship store, international retail partners and continued public backing from the Dragons who invested.
Where to buy War Paint
Still selling as of 29 May 2026. Check today's price and availability.
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See the full War Paint deal breakdown and term sheet →
