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Asia's metrosexuals: Mirror, Mirror...
By Ling Liu (Time)
Updated: 2005-10-28 09:04 Meanwhile, Asian cosmetics companies mount multi-million-dollar marketing
campaigns—spearheaded by famous personalities including Beckham, actor Richard
Gere, and hunky Japanese pop idol Takuya Kimura—to carry their message of
"cleanse, exfoliate, hydrate" to the spotted male masses. Japanese cosmetic
giant Shiseido was an industry pioneer. In 1996, the company began offering
Geraid, an eyebrow plucking and waxing kit for men that comes complete with
diagrams for shaping the ideal arch. Competitors now all boast men's lines, with
names such as Man Holding Flower, made by Somang of South Korea, and Gatsby skin
and hair care, made by Mandom Corp. of Japan.
And all that effort isn't just good for your looks—it's great for the soul
too. "Makeup is not just about outer appearance," explains Yu Sang Ok, the
72-year-old CEO of Seoul-based Coreana, who felt so strongly that men should
become comfortable using his products that he wrote a 2002 autobiography
entitled The CEO Who Wears Makeup, an affirmation of manly fastidiousness.
"Makeup," says Sang, "is for the inner self." It is also for the corporate
bottom line. Men's cosmetics now bring in $20 million a year for Coreana,
accounting for 10% of overall sales.
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