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Skin brightening products for men

Skin brightening products for men are on the rise. Actor Hyun Bin is the model for Laneige Homme's Pure Brightening series.
/ Courtesy of Laneige Homme

It's been a while since cosmetic brands brought men out of the dark and inserted an array of beauty products in their lives, starting with foam cleaners all the way to tinted moisturizers. According to Euromonitor International, a market research institute, Korean men spent about 444 billion won in 2011 on skincare, ranking them the number one male beauty consumers in the world.

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Now the spotlight is on skin brightening formulas. Brightening products, unlike in whitening, focus on activating vitamin production and facilitating circulation using natural extracts. Beauty companies are introducing routine-based products for men that resemble those tailored to women such as facial sprays and peeling cleansers.

Laneige Homme, Amore Pacific's male beauty brand, launched its Pure Brightening series on Monday. Using Vitamin B3 inducing ingredients, the new package of cleanser, toner and lotion combo, essence, and mist targets men looking to brighten up and even improve their skin tone. Vitamin B3, also known as niacin helps improve circulation.

Pure Brightening mist (20,000 won) which one can spray on the face before going out the door or whenever the skins feels oily, signals a new trend in men's grooming. In recent years, nearly all cosmetic brands for women began offering spray products as a solution for dry work environments. The launch of the male version of the beauty sensation is likely to trigger a similar craze in the market.

Lab Series, one of the pioneers in the male beauty industry, also hit the market with a three-step package, Power Brightening DR4, this month. Comprising of a serum, eye balm and water lotion, this bundle relies on four key ingredients for relieving discoloration; extracts from tropical plant dianella ensifolia (an antioxidant), ascorbic acid 2-glucoside (vitamin C inducer), seaweed palmaria palmate extract, and pinanediol from pine trees. The formula is appropriate for men who experience skin darkening due to freckles and blemish scars.

The handiest is the eye balm (53,000 won) which comes in a lip gloss-like tube with a metal applicator so one can directly apply the cream to counter the dark circles or bags under the eyes. leann.noh@koreatimes.co.kr

By Noh Hyun-gi

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