When UM recently made a trip to Scottsdale/Phoenix, one of the stranger highlights for me was a drunken facial I received from a cute (and quite sober) beautician at the Philosophy counter in Nordstrom’s.

Not only did it feel great, but I looked my best for that night’s outing to Myst (an uber-hot club in the area).

As any regular Urban Monarch readers know, we’re big fans of staying well groomed overall.

Apparently, we’re far from the only ones.

It’s the fastest-growing segment of our cosmetics,” said Tina Hodak, creative merchandising manager for St. Louis-based Macy’s Midwest.

Another interesting tidbit?

Actually, men’s concern about their skin has been going on for years, but what is new is their openness about it and their assertiveness in seeking out moisturizers with sun protection and wrinkle-fighting ingredients. Indeed, retailers believe that men secretly had been sneaking into the medicine cabinet for years and using skin-care products belonging to their wives and significant others.

What’s behind the surge?  For one thing, overall health (specifically the fear of skin cancer).  For another, newfound affordability:

And these offerings are at all price points, starting at less-expensive private-label drugstore lines to new offerings from long-existing upscale labels like Clinique and Lab Series.

via Atlanta Journal Constitution