If you’re one of those blokes who has pinched some of your wife’s moisturiser or concealer on occasion, you’re not alone.

But now you can come out of the closet. David Beckham has made a bold statement that it’s more than OK and was seen sporting pink nail varnish recently.

That might just be stretching your boundaries a bit too far, but there are plenty of alternatives for the well-groomed male. We take a look…

Spas are being cited as boosting the popularity of male grooming.

“Men wouldn’t really want to go to beauty salons,” says Dawn Driscoll, spokeswoman for Cobella in Kensington, West London. “Our spa isn’t girly-looking so men feel comfortable.

“We have a lot of celebrities and sportsmen come to the spa. The men’s facial and massage are very popular.”

So men today are more comfortable with the idea of grooming – but don’t expect to see a rush on pink nail varnish just yet.

Cobella offers a manicure for men – however, it’s called ‘sports nail care’ to remove any hint of girliness.

“They are increasingly popular,” Dawn tells us. “David Beckham is so confident, he can carry most things off – but I don’t think the average bloke will go for pink nails.”

Other popular treatments for men include back and shoulder waxing, facial treatments and eyebrow shaping. Belfast’s male grooming expert Jason Shankey has seen the demand for his services grow.

“We have clients from 12 to 78, from businessmen to builders,” says Colleen Wilkinson, a consultant for the Jason Shankey salon.

“It was slow at the start but men are now really coming around to the idea. For some there’s still a stigma but you find men come in initially with a voucher bought for them by their wives, then they will come back.”

Men also have the same insecurities as women when it comes to looking after their appearance.

“The body-firmer is a best seller,” says Hilary Andrews, founder of men’s online grooming store Mankind.

“Anti-ageing eye gels and face masks are also popular. Make-up is still a no-no, apart from concealer and moisturiser. And packaging has less flowery wording and is more masculine.”

Taylor of Old Bond Street has been supplying gentlemen’s grooming products since 1854.

“It is different today. Men are much more interested and are buying things they wouldn’t have dreamed of doing five years ago,” says chairman Leonard Taylor.

“Men are buying fragrances, face creams and soaps with moisturisers – things that would have once have embarrassed them.”

But does he think David Beckham will start a trend? Various other male celebrities have sported nail varnish, from Robbie Williams to Lenny Kravitz, albeit in more masculine shades than David’s pink.

“Not at the moment I wouldn’t think so,” says Leonard. “But who knows? Things have changes a great deal with men’s grooming.”

Published Teletext Lifestyle C4