FLOWER MEN: South Korea, a socially conservative, male-dominated country with a mandatory two-year military conscription for men, has become the male makeup capital of the world.

APPEARANCES MATTER: South Korean men spent $495.5 million on skin care last year, about one-fifth of global sales, according to research firm Euromonitor International. That makes it the largest market for men's skin care in the world, even though there are only about 19 million men in South Korea.

FOUNDATION FOR SUCCESS: Fierce competition for jobs, advancement and romance have driven the change over the past decade as well as women's growing expectation that men will take the time and effort to pamper their skin.