In this week’s male beauty news, the majority of American men (57%) consider themselves sexy, according to a new global survey by market research firm Synovate. Across all the markets surveyed, American men were among those most confident in their sexiness, after men in Greece (81%), Russia (80%), South Africa (78%) and Brazil (63%).

Synovate recently surveyed nearly 10,000 men and women in 12 countries to find out how men feel about their looks, which countries are seen as having the best looking men and all the things men do to make themselves look good.

Do ya think I’m sexy?

Rod Stewart posed that perennial question to women in his classic 70s disco tune, but the Synovate male beauty study asked the men themselves. Of the survey’s nearly 5,000 male respondents worldwide, about half (49%) think they are sexy though there were vast differences in self-belief across markets. While the above mentioned countries were highly confident in their magnetism, most Malaysian males (78%) said they are not sexy, as did Chinese and French men (both 66%).

Hey, good-looking

The survey also asked respondents, both men and women, which one country has the best-looking men. Many were simply not sure (it’s hard to narrow it down to just one!) but there was a clear winner among the named countries.

Italy was ranked as the place with the best looking men (11%), followed by the US, Russia and Brazil (all 8%). Italian men had top ranking among both men and women (12% of the survey’s male respondents chose Italian men as did 10% of all female respondents).

Bob Michaels, Senior Vice President of Synovate’s Consumer & Business Insights group in the US, said that, overall, most respondents were very patriotic and nominated men from their own country.

“One stand-out, and possibly quite reassuring, finding for men was that in most markets, women were even more likely than their male counterparts to go for handsome home-growns than to look abroad.

“But it’s perhaps more interesting to look at the results within markets to see which nations are parochial and which look outside their borders for attractive people,” he said.

Some of the market-specific findings:

· Russia had the highest result for its own nation, with 65% of people saying the best looking men come from their own country

· The US was fairly confident in the attractiveness of its men, with 55% saying Americans were the best looking men

· Canada had a low result for its own men… only 24% of respondents said the best-looking men are to be found at home

· Brazilian women were a lot more patriotic than the men, with 57% of women saying Brazilians were the best-looking versus just 39% of men. Additionally, the Brazilians were pretty keen on Italians (16%) and American men (9%)

· Brits had a pretty low opinion of the homegrown men… only 23% went for the home vote. And nearly the same number chose Italian men… 21%

But are men’s looks actually important? Synovate asked male respondents to rank just how important their appearance is to them on a five-point scale and found that 34% of men across the globe rated their looks as ‘very important’ to them. This was highest in South Africa (61%), Brazil (55%) and Russia (53%). Only 15% of American men think their looks are ‘very important’ though another 44% said their looks are ‘quite important’ while an additional 37% said their looks are neither important nor unimportant.

Beauty basics

With this in mind, what is the bare minimum a man must do before he can be considered handsome? Pleasing women could be easier than men think as it turns out keeping it simple and sticking to the basics is far more important to women than it is men. More than one third of all American women (36%) said that good hygiene was an absolute necessity before a man could be considered handsome, while only 23% of American men thought this was the number one requirement. Instead, American men thought that a man who ‘carries himself with confidence’, was the most important requirement (36%). Eleven percent of American men also think that working out and being physically fit is an important requirement compared to just 2% of women who think this.

Bald men need not worry. Only 1% of all respondents, including all Americans surveyed, said that a ‘full head of hair’ is necessary for someone to be handsome.

However, a clean shaven face seems to be a must in most places across the globe. Synovate asked male respondents whether or not they preferred the way they look with a clean-shaven face. Nearly eight in ten (79%) men agreed that clean-shaven was best although there were significant differences between markets.

Those who most preferred a clean shaven face were South African men (90%), followed by men in China (88%) and Spain (84%), while those most likely to embrace a beard were men from Greece (34% disagreed on preferring to be clean-shaven), Australia and Brazil (both 25%), and Canada (24%).

The study also asked women whether they preferred the look of clean-shaven men and the same number of women as men agreed (79%). Again, the highest results were South Africa (92%), Spain (87%) and China (86%). Women who are more open to facial hair are from Canada (30%), Australia and the US (both 26%).

Michaels said, “It’s no coincidence that all three of these countries have a pioneering history and a love of the outdoors.

“But there’s also the celebrity factor… while most American women still seem to prefer the clean-shaven look, celebrities like Brad Pitt and George Clooney have made the ‘five o’clock shadow’ synonymous with sexy. Women are conceding that they don’t mind a little stubble on a man’s face – it’s considered rugged and masculine.”

American men are already using some products in droves. A whopping 78% of men say they use mouthwash (second behind deodorant at 95%), 66% use cologne or aftershave and 39% use hair spray, gel or mousse. It’s all part of their main motivation to look good for themselves (67%) as well as their partners (37%). It seems there’s no particularly negative stereotype in the US for men to use some types of beauty products, with 44% of Americans saying that men who use these products are actually more confident. Only 16% of respondents said that men who use beauty products aren’t as masculine as those who don’t.

Michaels said the survey uncovered some fun facts, but there is a serious side to male beauty too, offering the thought that a male beauty standard simply does not exist.

“Men never – or very rarely – talk about male beauty (although you cannot shut some of them up about female beauty!), making it an almost-taboo subject among our gender.

“Men don’t comment on each other’s appearance. They wouldn’t dream of dissecting male celebrities’ or athlete’s looks. And men don’t discuss beauty routines or products.

“In the end, men just want to be men. What that actually means changes from culture to culture, but the drive to be masculine is near universal,” Michaels said.

For more information on this study, visit www.synovate.com/insights/infact/issues/200811/.

Photo credit: Synovate.com

What a festively awesome idea is this???

Truman’s Gentlemen’s Groomers is offering the men of New York the chance to BE the Holiday window display, starring alongside a sexy Mrs. Claus – think Lucille Ball, but with a modern edge – in a playful male interpretation of the traditional Holiday department store window display.

For two nights in December, various New York men will be handpicked to step up into Mrs. Claus’ chair for a Holiday treat, with passersby watching as she pampers them with a complimentary street-front grooming session. The Truman’s staff will be in character, including an attractive Mrs. Claus with more body art than Tommy Lee and an elf, dressed in the Will Ferrell tradition.

The Live Window Holiday Series will showcase Truman’s Holiday Gift packages for men, which include a massage, a straight-edge shave, a shoe-shine, a haircut and Truman’s famous “Handshake Maintenance,” a.k.a. the manly manicure. Men will be slathered and groomed with products from the new men’s skincare range, ESHU, containing unique ingredients such as Kakadu plum and Paperbark oil, sourced in the rugged Australian Outback.

WHO WILL SIT IN THE WINDOW for Truman’s Live Window Holiday Series?

Do you have a man in mind?  Then nominate him for the Live Window Holiday Series.

Visit www.trumans-nyc.com to nominate someone who deserves the Truman’s treatment or to nominate yourself. Judges will consider:

- How much he is in need of grooming

- How much he deserves a grooming package (measured by how significantly he helped other people / contributed to the community in 2008)

New Yorkers can check out the action of the Live Window Holiday Series in the store’s front window at 120 East 56th Street from 6:30pm –8:30pm on Tuesday Dec. 16 and then again from 6.30pm – 8:30pm on Tuesday Dec. 23. Each Tuesday there will be something new in the window, with a cast of characters performing the services.

Party Season has arrived and it’s time to get those suits out. For the
perfect ensemble, no man is complete without a signature fragrance - and when
the dress code is black tie, your cologne should be just as elegant.

For your go-to on this season’s top fragrances, check out this guide from DETAILS:
http://men.style.com/details/blogs/knowandtell/2008/12/the-best-scents.html

Girls, I am sure you are all very familiar with at least one incredibly sexy man who wears Axe. In reality, chances are they would be hot even without the scent…but it certainly doesn’t hurt.

Due to this - and the fabulous man candy apparent at all their affairs - I am always super excited to receive any sort of invite from AXE to attend their events. In the past months, they have them to celebrate everything from body wash to to body spray - and last night, they went in a whole new direction: Axe hair care!

Held at the super trendy Prive Salon in even trendier SOHO, NYC, there was a stylist on duty styling men in the style of Axe, over pink cocktails and platters of lobster salad and empanadas. (And hot Aussie bartenders!)

As we prefer our men to look sexy but not be all metrosexual about it, Axe does a great job describing a product’s use on the container itself: from clean-cut, to messy and shaggy, or spikey for the extremists.

We left with oodles of samples to share with the men we heart. And even better, FIVE readers right here will win the entire new AXE hair line. This includes:

AXE SHAMPOOS

· AXE Just Clean Shampoo provides a fresh scent and invigorating feel

· AXE De-Glue Shampoo + Scrub features rock crystals and removes the gunky product build-up blocking guys’ game

· AXE De-Poof Shampoo features a hydrating Kukui blend and deflates poofy hair

· AXE Anti-Dandruff Shampoo + Conditioner offers zinc-based dandruff control

· AXE 2 in 1 Shampoo + Conditioner combines cleansing and conditioning to speed up guys’ clean and their game

AXE CONDITIONER

· AXE: Just Soft Conditioner leaves hair super soft

AXE STYLING PRODUCTS

· AXE Messy Look Paste gives hair a messy, just-out-of-bed look

· AXE Spiked-Up Look Putty gives hair hold without all the hard

· AXE Clean-Cut Look Pomade gives guys a polished look without appearing wet

· AXE Shaggy Look Cream gives longer manes an easy-going look

AXE is setting out to prove to men that their lack of attention to hair care and styling is a major turnoff to us women, and conducted a national survey, which led to some pretty interesting results. Basically, guys are mostly clueless when it comes to what women find acceptable and attractive (are you surprised?). The study shows that while “Only 29 percent of guys think hair is very important when it comes to attracting a girl, two-thirds (63 percent) of girls say that guys with bad hair don’t understand that their hair makes a negative impression on girls.”

Here’s some other interesting factoids we learned last night:

“Most girls (72 percent) think guys do not know how to style their hair to its full potential, but 85 percent of guys think their hair is pretty good.”

And: (Check out this - first-ever for eBeautyDaily.com - live-action commentary with additional Axe factoids!)

To have your chance to win one of these five hair sets, tell me the scariest thing your man has ever done to his hair…and how these girl-approved items will help him. (Guys are welcome to enter as well!) Deadline is December 24.

Does your man smell nice? Want to help him smell even nicer?

I’ve just discovered the Sephora Scent Sampler Best Sellers For Him - it’s truly an incredible value, and already found a place on my Xmas shopping list - it’s a great choice if you don’t know (or like) your man’s scent but don’t know what new one to choose.

This set includes ten samples of Sephora’s top selling men’s fragrances to try, plus a gift voucher of equal value that can be redeemed at any Sephora store for a full size bottle of any one of the samples included, and a fragrance guide.

Truth is, the samples alone are a great gift! They include Bulgari Aqua Pour Homme Marine, Canali Canali, Carolina Herrera 212 Sexy Men, Diesel Fuel For Life Men, Giorgio Armani Acqua Di Gio Pour Homme, Hugo Boss Boss Pure, Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male, Lacoste Essential, Prada Infusion D’Homme, and Yves Saint Laurent L’Homme.

Here’s how it works:
1. Purchase the Fragrance Gift Certificate as a gift or for yourself.
2. Sample the fragrances and choose a favorite.
3. Fill in the enclosed voucher.
4. Bring the voucher in to your local Sephora store and redeem it for the fragrance you’ve chosen.

It’s like 10 gifts in one box…which will make you very popular. (And improve your own gift.)

Photo credit: Sephora

First of all, I want to welcome Tris Hussey and Manscaping-101 to the Beauty & Style channel!

If you don’t know Tris, he is a well known blogger and photographer in the Canadian tech niche (well, really the whole tech genre).  He shows his beautiful photography off at A View From the Isle, and talks Canadian geek-speak at Maple Leaf Two, and now he is getting into the really fun side of blogging with Manscaping-101 - a grooming blog.  Fun fun!  I hope you will hook your men up with this blog, Tris is a wonderful writer and is quite passionate about looking good!  Check out what he has up already - coupons, tattoo shaving (??), and he has already broached my favorite man-scent-topic (are you listening Darren and Grant?) - Burberry Brit.  Yeah (yum!)!  Welcome Tris!  xox

We also have some contests going on around the channel that you might like to know about:

• Giveaway on Spa Beautifully! The prize is a grouping of delicious smelling bath & body products from International Orange. Feel free to enter from now until April 20th.
• Contest on Her Accessories. Win a sterling silver necklace from Island Cowgirl Jewelry (just remember to read the rules carefully Open from now until April 22nd
• And of course the contest I just posted on eBeautyDaily: Win the new Sephora book and a gift bag of goodies from Sephora

Best of luck to you - and get out that camera and that beauty bag - this book from Sephora is a DON’T MISS!