Artistmss Intl Group Inc (AIGI)

[charlina]

hmm, maybe the Kims are on to something....from ABCNEWS.COM



Korean 'Flower Men' Buy 20% of the World's Cosmetics for Men
Every morning Chung Yong-Hyen, 35, goes through a daily ritual of applying five skin care products.

"I wash with face cleanser, serum booster, toner, moisturizer, and sun screen," he says while being pampered at Amorepacific Spa in downtown Seoul.

The lean 6-foot tall marketer in public relations visits the spa once or twice a month and spends about $500 every season on various products "to maintain and take care of" himself.

Chung's lifestyle may seem at odds with conservative Korean culture in which macho men tend to have dominated the social scene. But the latest numbers show a surprising trend of Korean men striving to look beautiful. Nearly 21 percent of global sales of men's cosmetics, a total of $495.5 million, have been sold here last year, according to Euromonitor International, a global market research firm.

That makes Korea the largest market and by far the largest in terms of per capita – only 19 million men - as well.

Marketers make a point that the new consumers of cosmetics are straight men who are embracing a new version of handsome.

The whopping sales figures are expected to increase by 79 percent this year, reaching $885 million, according to South Korea's largest cosmetics company, Amorepacific.