But just how far should men go in pursuit of beauty? Jemma Walton finds out:

Tell your boyfriend that you want him to wear makeup and he'll probably start laughing, shouting or crying.

Because, while a spot of blusher and a dab of concealer might be OK for panto dames, it's another thing entirely for red-blooded alpha males.

They sneer at the idea of giving Mother Nature a helping hand, turn their noses up at the idea of a bonny spot of blusher and a delicate dab of lip gloss.

But French designer and Eurotrash presenter Jean Paul Gaultier thinks that men are just being shy, and has just launched a range of skincare products – including makeup – for blokes.

His Monsieur range includes everything from Fluid Bronzer Multi-Complexion – which ladies might recognise as foundation, through to eyeliner.

According to the blurb: "A Monsieur lies hidden in every man. Monsieur is sophisticated and elegant; without fuss or complication, but of course not without humour."

We persuaded two of The ET's finest specimens of manhood to find out if they had a "Monsieur" lurking in them, and the results were interesting.

Duncan Jackson is the paper's chief sub-editor, and his job is one of the most important as he makes sure the paper is laid out and sent to the printers on time.

He's not beyond slamming phones down, checking copy with a ruthless eye, and was just recovering from running the London Marathon when he agreed to take part, and so isn't short on testosterone, but didn't hesitate when we asked him to be our guinea pig.

Duncan has lovely English rose skin, with just a few blemishes which we covered with a tiny bit of concealer (£17).

We highlighted his eyes with a stripe of eyeliner (£9) and polished the look with some bronzing powder (£29).

As several dozen ETmen gathered behind him, shouting things like "It's Dale Winton on a bad day," we gave him a slick of lip balm (£12).

"I thought I looked a bit orange but I didn't mind wearing it," he said. "But I'd never do it in real life, and I don't think any of my mates would either. I only have a shave every couple of days, and I let my hair get quite long before I have it cut.

"I had a free facial once, and it was OK, but I wouldn't pay for it – that would seem too vain."

Duncan had a meeting with the editor, who didn't notice any difference in his appearance, and Duncan didn't get any stares or comments when he went to Asda to do his shopping.

"There obviously is a market for men's makeup," he added. "But it must be quite a small one.

Most blokes would laugh at another bloke trying to cover up his spots or whatever with some concealer."



Groomed or doomed?

WHEN it comes to male grooming products, I can usually hold my own in a debate over the relative exfoliating merits of synthetic microbeads versus crushed walnut shells.

But this particular foray into the realm of the metrosexual may have gone too far for me.

It is not so much wearing makeup per se that has me wanting to talk in a blokish fashion about sweepers, stoppers, and the flat back four to compensate. Rather, it is the ham-fisted way in which my glamorous female assistant has slapped this stuff on my unlovely features.

In short, I feel like an unfortunate cross between Robert Smith of The Cure and the permatanned Judith Chalmers from holiday shows of yesteryear.

My eyelined peepers are a particular crime against male elegance, suggesting I got caught in the crossfire between Joe Calzaghe and Bernard Hopkins at the weekend.

In the spirit of fearless inquiry, I nonetheless step out into the city centre to see how my altered image goes down with the discerning folk of Peterborough.

Frankly, they do not seem too bothered. I get the odd moment of eye contact for a split second longer than usual as I pass strangers in the street, and maybe an assistant in a coffee house that shall remain nameless clocks me for a kindred spirit.

But the awkwardness is all on my side, it seems. Even my brief stop in a betting shop fails to prise the attention of the punters away from the 3.30 at Kempton.

Still, it is a relief to return to the office, wipe off the make-up and get back to my old self, warts and all.


The men who love a secret facial

According to the experts, lots of blokes love nothing more than a nice facial – secretly. Beauty therapist at the Garden of Eden Tatiana Gabri said a growing number of men are coming to her for treatments, and are always shocked when they find out that she also helps their mates to look good.

"They say 'such and such comes here, does he? Really?'" said Tatiana.

She has around a dozen male regulars, including businessmen and builders. "Once they've been in a lot of men will book manicures and pedicures," she said.

"But the most popular treatment is probably a sports massage."

Tatiana added that the building's appearance might just con- tribute to its popularity with blokes. "It doesn't look like a typical salon," she said. "And so men don't look in the window and see lots of women having their nails done and feel intimidated!"

Garden of Eden is in Park Road, call 01733 344144 for more details.


Old-fashioned style

Next door to the Garden of Eden is Spencer's, which offers gents the chance to kick back, relax and enjoy a shave the old-fashioned way.

Hairdresser Liza Schwarz has been trained in the fine art of shaving with a cut- throat razor, and is keen to get to work on the city's beards.

She said: "Having a proper, old-fashioned shave is relaxing, and a good way for men to pamper themselves. It gives a closer shave, and a lot of men don't shave correctly, and so we can give them hints on how to shave and avoid things like spots and ingrowing hairs."

The ET's deputy news edi- tor Andrew Jackson has had a cut-throat razor shave before on holiday in Turkey, and is a big fan. He road- tested Liza's version, and said he felt great afterwards.

He said: "Normally I'll just have a shower and then have a shave afterwards, and get it over with as quickly as possible, but it's nice to be able to sit back, relax and have someone else do it for you.

"Afterwards my skin felt a lot cleaner, and I felt a lot fresher."

A 30-minute cut-throat razor shave (plus hot towels, facial scrub and more) usu- ally costs £15 or £30 for the luxury package, but Spencer's is currently offering one free when you have an £18 haircut there.

For more information, call 01733 345550.