[7.6(Tue)]More men prefer to be beauty than beast

More men prefer to be beauty than beast Men have never been allowed this much freedom to pamper themselves, at least for a couple of centuries. Be it David Beckham or "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," men are fast claiming the sacred zone of beauty formerly reserved for women. Choices abound, especially when it comes to cosmetics. Men do not have to fret over finding the right beauty products or look for them on their female partners` vanity tables. Those days are over, according to Jean Paul Gaultier, who says a "new chapter" has begun. "The growth rate of men`s beauty products has been as high as 15 percent last year, compared to 5 percent in women`s cosmetics. This shows the ever-growing demand in the men`s cosmetics market," said Lee Hyeon-seon of Lancome Korea, explaining the launch of Lancome Homme, a full range of seven cosmetic products geared for men. "Men`s skin is different from that of women: It gets irritated due to everyday shaving and is thicker than women`s skin. While the blood circulation is a lot more active, men lose elasticity and hydration more easily. Men`s skin also has a higher level of acidity and discharges about twice as much sebum as women`s," added Lee. The Lancome Homme range includes a cleansing gel, face scrub, shaving foam, aftershave balm and moisturizer as well as its Anti-fatigue Eye Treatment and Relax Mask. Eye Treatment is said to prevent dark circles and under-eye drooping, while the sheet-type disposable mask has restoring, de-stressing and hydrating effects. "Men suffer from dark circles more than women do," said Lee. With the slogan "Power your skin," Shiseido also introduced its Shiseido Men range here, which simply consists of two products: Hydrating Lotion and Moisturizing Emulsion. "Men are under a lot of stress, which affects skin condition. Each skin-care product lets the skin de-stress and improve on its own," said Jung Mi-ra of Shiseido Korea. "According to our survey done in 2002 and 2003, men suffer from excessive sebum and dryness. "Stress, lack of sleep and constant shaving are among the things that make men`s skin lose its self-repairing capabilities, thus leaving it damaged and coarse." Both products contain Damage Defense Complex, which removes dead cells and helps promote cell restoration for soft, moist skin. ClarinsMen, a range of eight skin- and body-care products, has been a huge hit in Korea since it was introduced last year. "We have had requests from men who have been using our foaming cleanser and eye gel to name a few. So we decided to launch a complete range of cosmetics products specifically designed to meet the needs of men," said Yang Hye-ra of Clarins Korea. The lineup includes basic skin-care products such as a foaming cleanser, shaving foam, moisture gel and shampoo, as well as more unusual ones including Shave Ease, a two-in-one oil, Under Eye Serum and Fatigue Fighter, an antipollution energizing booster. Natural beauty brand Fresh boasts a facial cleanser, shaving cream, body wash and Skin Soother for Face, an aftershave/moisturizer, as well as Tobacco Eau de Toilette. Its products contain natural ingredients such as grapefruit, lemon and pomegranate for an even skin tone; meadow foam seed oil, jojoba oil and grapeseed oil for moisturizing; olive and gingko extracts for antiaging; and orange, mint and ginseng water to stimulate the skin. Local leading cosmetics company Hera joined the competition with its Hera for Men range, which includes Sports Sun Block SPF36, Whitening Fluid and Wrinkle Care Serum. This reflects the diversifying needs of men, who are seeking more options than a splash of Old Spice. Come September the invisible thin line between the cosmetic spheres of men and women will be broken. Fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier challenges the rule, this time with his beauty product ranges for men: Tout Beau and Tout Propre. Tout Beau is a skin-care range that consists of five products: Smooth Face is a soothing, moisturizing face balm; Better than Tan is a scented, matte bronzing powder with sunscreen; Sharp Eyes is a two-in-one kohl pencil and concealer; Sneaky Eyes is lip gloss or lip balm with natural colors; and Strong Nails. If these sound too much for you, try Tout Propre. It has four basic products - soap, shower gel, deodorant and aftershave, all scented with his signature fragrance Le Male, which contains mint, vanilla and lavender. "Men these days do not think trying to be good-looking and well-groomed undermines their being a man. They accept the fact that men have the right to seek beauty as much as women do and are not afraid to voice their needs and try," said Gang Ji-young, editor of GQ Korea. (<a href="http://go.daum.net/bin/go.cgi?relative=1&url=/Mail-bin/login_f.cgi%3Ferror%3Dlogin%26lu%3D/Mail-bin/send_mail.form.cgi%3FTO%3Dglamazon@heraldm.com">glamazon@heraldm.com</a>) 1.What do you think about man with a makeup? 2.What does man make himself up? 3. Why does man think much of appearance compare to past?