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Asked to think of cosmetics products for men, few people until recently would have been able to name more than a simple moisturizer or aftershave. But the Metrosexual revolution has meant that there is no longer a stigma attached to men wanting healthy skin and a fair complexion. The industry is delighted, launching a diverse number of interesting products for men, from beauty packs to eye cream and slimming products.
Lancome has introduced a cream for tired eyes that reduces swelling and dark circles, and a ¡°Cool and Matte Tissue¡± for use when men's faces get shiny from sweat and stress. Mirepa launched a ¡°Goodbye Sebum Essence¡± and Hera Homme released a ¡°Recovery Peeling Pack¡± and a ¡°Well-Looking Color Lotion.¡± Biotherm, meanwhile, looks to the torso with its ¡°Abdosculpt,¡± targeting men who want to tighten their stomach and get rid of fat. Lee Na-young of Biotherm said the company was getting inquiries about the product from men in their twenties to their fifties.
Lancome¡¯s Ryu Ji-yeon said growing numbers of young men use basic cosmetics as a matter of course, just like women, from cleansing to essence. It is inevitable that brands reflect such changes, he said. An official at Pacific Amore estimated Korea¡¯s men¡¯s cosmetics market for this year at around W350 billion (US$350 million). That is still less than 10 percent of the women¡¯s market, but while the women¡¯s cosmetics market is wilting, the market for men has been showing annual growth of six percent.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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