Metrosexual men still blush at buying beauty

WHO can now doubt that the age of the metrosexual is now fully ensconced, if not quite in the kitchen then certainly in the make-up box. New research reveals that women are leading a boom in sales of men's grooming products – stung into action in a bid to curb the male theft of moisturisers and face scrubs.

Rather than risk embarrassment and a nervous breakdown at the beauty counter, men are raiding their partners' stash of face slap and moisturiser to hide their blotches and keep their complexions clear. Male grooming products are one of the fastest growing areas of the health and beauty sector – and women, it seems, are now buying half of all such items. The trend towards a healthier male look has been driven by sporting models such as David Beckham.

So what, other than moisturiser, should be a fixture in the modern male beauty arsenal? For those wishing to disguise the ravages of the previous night out, there is Touche Eclat, applied on the face to hide eye bags. It contains a light-reflecting pigment but, priced at around 20 (or more than six pints in man talk) it does not come cheap.

Eyeliners and anti-wrinkle creams are likely to take off. But for the more traditional male the old standbys will never fade. There's nothing quite like Brasso to cover those drinking blotches and, as for those unsightly spots, has anything really improved on Polyfilla?