KEY POINTS:
Are you sick of nicking your girlfriend's kohl pencil, or tired of borrowing her L'Oreal mascara? But are you too afraid to nip down to the pharmacy and buy your own from the ladies' department? Well boys, shy away no longer.
This may come as a bit
of a shock to all you macho red-blooded males, but a new range of make-up for men is being targeted at you. In this metrosexual world, the cosmetic companies are now broadening their customer base to include men too - straight men!
In Britain last week, Superdrug launched a new male cosmetics range called Taxi London, with guy-liner and manscara "to enhance the eyes of the male in your life." Is it a matter of time before the trend takes off in GodZone?
Now before you scoff, and take another slurp from your bottle of Speight's, remember when guys would rubbish the notion of using fake tan. And how many men do you know who secretly slap it on before summer, or nip down for a fake bake at the tanning salon? Are cosmetics that much more of a stretch?
Make-up for men is nothing new for celebrities like Russell Brand and Robbie Williams who can often be found on the red-carpet sporting kohl-rimmed eyes and pancake faces. Question is, are you as brave as Russ or Rob?
And to the ladies: would you buy men's make-up for the bloke in your life? I'm not sure I would. Personally I wouldn't encourage any man to use the mirror any more than is necessary. Vanity's not a virtue. And who wants their bloke to be prettier? A good friend of mine insists that there can only be one star in the relationship, and that role belongs to the ladies.
But let's be honest, male grooming has become a huge phenomenon. Since David Beckham and Dan Carter stripped to their undies to pose all shiny and bare-chested (post wax), metrosexual grooming has become quite the norm. Isn't make-up just the next rung up on the men's grooming ladder?
So, who are NZ's best groomed men? I quizzed some guys at the Herald on Sunday (who only agreed to take part in this poll if I made it clear they're not gay - what a gay thing to say, eh?) and they reckon NZ's best groomed metrosexuals are:
1. Simon Dallow
2. Adam Rickitt
3. Dominic Bowden
4. Karl Urban
5. Richard Kahui
6. Neil Waka
7. Daniel Carter
8. John Campbell
9. Alistair Wilkinson
10. Ric Salizzo
Click here to view piccies of our hottest metrosexuals. Have we missed anyone?
Rachel Glucina