Look Who’s Preening

All done to give a 100 per cent natural look. A trend,which he tells us,picked up a few months ago and has the men experimenting something that was not really done before. The facial spas and manicures may have been popular a few years ago apart from a slew of fairness cremes but men applying make-up is the new thing.

“Right from their weddings to someone else’s party,men now want to look perfect,” says Khan,who adds that the make-up of men is made to look tan — an effect that adds to their oomph factor and is dusted to look manly.

Khan strays away from the notion that make-up gives men a feminine appearance and that only celebs are allowed to experiment with make-up. “One look at my appointment diary will tell you that the number of men coming for make-up to our salon has drastically increased from one male client a month to around ten now,” he says.

If we walk into Score,a pub and restaurant in Sector 8,the number of youngsters with brushed faces will surprise you. “It has become a part of dressing up these days,” says Rohit Sharma,a first year student at the Panjab University,who is proud to flaunt his new blemish-free look. But Shaurya Sharma (name changed) is not very keen to spread that he’s taken to the “feminine art of maquillage”.

“Though I bought a shine reduction powder,face bronzer and a brow gel,they all remain hidden in a drawer that is otherwise marked for shaving cream,deodorant and toothpaste,” tells this resident of Hostel No 3 at Panjab University. While,he is now looking forward to buying Yves Saint Laurent’s Touche Eclat for Men — a highlighter that promises to cover dark circles — this foundation is his prized possessions now.

From a time when only male models and celebrities sat in make-up chairs before making a public appearance,now it has spread across the city men. “Women aren’t the only ones who want to accentuate their best facial features and hide blemishes and scars. Men too are coming forward. However,its mostly men in the age group of 17 to 32,who are cashing in on the trend,” says Ali of Midaas,a unisex saloon in Sector 8,who tells us that the trend was triggered of by the likes of Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard,who wore make-up to casual occasions.